1950s pinup model Bettie Page dies in LA at 85 / 元モデルの…
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Bettie Page, the 1950s secretary-turned-model whose controversial photographs in skimpy attire or none at all helped set the stage for the 1960s sexual revolution, died Thursday. She was 85.
Page was placed on life support last week after suffering a heart attack in Los Angeles and never regained consciousness, said her agent, Mark Roesler. He said he and Page's family agreed to remove life support. Before the heart attack, Page had been hospitalized for three weeks with pneumonia. "She captured the imagination of a generation of men and women with her free spirit and unabashed sensuality," Roesler said. "She is the embodiment of beauty."
Page, who was also known as Betty, attracted national attention with magazine photographs of her sensuous figure in bikinis and see-through lingerie that were quickly tacked up on walls in military barracks, garages and elsewhere, where they remained for years. Her photos included a centerfold in the January 1955 issue of then-fledgling Playboy magazine, as well as controversial sadomasochistic poses.
"I think that she was a remarkable lady, an iconic figure in pop culture who influenced sexuality, taste in fashion, someone who had a tremendous impact on our society," Playboy founder Hugh Hefner told The Associated Press on Thursday. "She was a very dear person." Page mysteriously disappeared from the public eye for decades, during which time she battled mental illness and became a born-again Christian. After resurfacing in the 1990s, she occasionally granted interviews but refused to allow her picture to be taken. "I don't want to be photographed in my old age," she told an interviewer in 1998. "I feel the same way with old movie stars. ... It makes me sad. We want to remember them when they were young."
The 21st century indeed had people remembering her just as she was. She became the subject of songs, biographies, Web sites, comic books, movies and documentaries. A new generation of fans bought thousands of copies of her photos, and some feminists hailed her as a pioneer of women's liberation. Gretchen Mol portrayed her in 2005's "The Notorious Bettie Page" and Paige Richards had the role in 2004's "Bettie Page: Dark Angel." Page herself took part in the 1998 documentary "Betty Page: Pinup Queen." Hefner said he last saw Page when he held a screening of "The Notorious Bettie Page" at the Playboy Mansion. He said she objected to the fact that the film referred to her as "notorious," but "we explained to her that it referred to the troubled times she had and was a good way to sell a movie."
元モデルのベティ・ペイジさんが11日（木）、ロサンゼルスで亡くなった。85歳だった。
エージェントのMark Roesler氏によると、ペイジさんは先週、心臓発作を起こしそのまま意識が戻らなかったため、家族の同意を得て生命維持装置が外された。心臓発作を起こす前は、３週間、肺炎で入院していたという。
Roesler氏は、「彼女はその自由奔放さとセクシーな肉体で、何世代もの男女の想像力をかき立ててきました。まさに美を体現した存在でした」と振り返った。
ペイジさんは、性に対して保守的だった50年代のアメリカにおいて、創刊当初のPLAYBOY誌などでモデルとして活躍。セクシーな体を披露したピンナップ写真は、兵舎やガレージなどあらゆる壁にはられ、その多くは何10年も残ることになった。
PLAYBOYを創刊したヒュー・ヘフナー氏は「偉大な女性でした。性的表現やファッションセンスにおいて、われわれの社会に大きなインパクトを与えたアイコンです」とコメント。
ペイジさんはポルノ追放運動の影響から、50年代中期に公共の面前から姿を消し、その後、数10年にわたって行方不明となっていたが、90年代にメディアに再登場。たびたび取材を受けたが、写真撮影だけは断固拒否した。その理由について、98年のインタビューでこのように語っている。「わたしは歳を取った姿で写真を撮られたくありません。私自身、往年の映画スターの老年の写真を見るのが好きではありません。とても悲しい気分になるので。私としては彼らの若いころの姿を記憶に焼き付けていたいんです」
21世紀になってから、ペイジさんブームが再燃し、伝記映画やドキュメンタリー映画、彼女を題材にした楽曲やコミックが生み出された。フェミニストのなかには、ペイジさんを女性解放運動の先駆者として称える人もいる。
ちなみに、05年の伝記映画『ベティ・ペイジ』では、グレッチェン・モルが主人公を演じている。