Betty Page:    April 22, 1923 – December 11, 2008

Marilyn Monroe has a new friend to keep her company in Los Angeles’ Westwood Memorial Park. Betty Page, who died on Saturday, December 11, 2008, will be buried nearby.

I’ve often heard of how smart Marilyn Monroe was in real life. How her dumb-blond naiveté was all an act. But Betty Page, they say, was different. She really was as fresh-faced and innocent as she appeared, even in bondage gear, smiling down from the pages of a magazine.

She left a legacy of sexual freedom, feminine power (not the Steinem variety, but an honest joie de vivre) and cult-figure style that influenced everyone from Rose McGowan and Dita Von Teese to the undergrads that dotted the landscape of my alma-mater, VCU.

A search on Google showed me how easy it is to own a piece of that legacy. Books, mousepads, DVD’s, comic books, clothing for both genders, dolls, lighters, keychains, posters, even incense! Memorabilia of all kinds is plentiful, with Betty at her best.

That’s the beauty of an icon—you’re always in “top form.” Betty Page is the curvy girl with the with the inky black curls and the tongue-in-cheek glee for the risqué. Even when she turned to God. Even when she was institutionalized for a decade. Even when she fell into poverty, to be rescued only by Hugh Hefner. Betty Page reached a place where her image and what she symbolized wasn’t tied to who she was in real life, but had a life all its own.

She is an eternal brand.