53deluxe

Sunday O’dare

Todd Merrick — Tue, 01 May 2012 00:48:18 +0000

Hello! My name is Sunday O’dare I’m a 5’1″ Southern Belle currently living in Orlando, FL. I’ve been a vintage pinup model for a couple of years now. I started out in the burlesque scene, then made my way behind the camera and loving every minute of it! My weaknesses include side burns, sense of humor, cat lovers, artists and leather jackets. However, I can’t stand bad hygiene, arrogance or cattiness! In my free time I love traveling, car shows, burlesque, thrift shopping, lingerie shopping, horror movies and a nice glass of wine. I’m also a total dork! Comic books make my heart race, I even own a Wonder Woman costume! I’m a Star Wars fanatic and I also collect horror movie memorabilia! Some of my role models include; Tempest Storm, Lucille Ball, Bettie Page, Morticia Addams, fellow models/performers, vintage pinup art and advertisements. One of my favorite quotes to live by “I will not retire while I’ve still got my legs and my make-up box.” – Bette Davis

I’m always looking for new work and exciting shoots! I also do advertising and promotional modeling. If you’re interested in working with me, or would like to keep up with my work feel free to reach me at my pages listed below!

www.modelmayhem.com/2111945

www.facebook.com/SundayOdare

twitter.com/SundayOdare

Photos by James Andrew Photos & Christina P. Ramsey

Gulf Coast MotorSports / 53deluxe in Print

Todd Merrick — Sun, 29 Apr 2012 04:12:17 +0000

We are very happy to have teamed up with Jimbo Perkins and Mike Redinger of Gulf Coast Motorsports Magazine! We will be working together in 2012 on some projects and will keep the online magazine updated here.

Go to their facebook page and hit like for us! www.facebook.com/GulfCoastMotorSports

www.gulfcoastmotorsports.com

Open publication – Free publishing – More car shows

Viva Las Vegas Car Show (Post 2)

Todd Merrick — Sat, 28 Apr 2012 15:22:46 +0000

Here is some more of our Coverage from the Viva Las Vegas Car Show 2012. The Show is held at The Orleans Hotel here in Las Vegas. Cars are strictly pre-63 and must be in a style from that era. There are Over 700 cars registered this year with more than 20,000 attending to view the car show. Pinups, Greasers, Gearheads and great bands year after year. The VLV show brings the Rockabilly Kulture together from all over the globe. Looking forward to next year already!

More info here: www.facebook.com/VivaLasVegasRockabilly www.vivalasvegas.net/car-show

Viva Las Vegas 16

Todd Merrick — Sat, 28 Apr 2012 14:23:23 +0000

VIVA LAS VEGAS ROCKABILLY WEEKEND held every Easter Weekend. www.vivalasvegas.net THE ORLEANS HOTEL & CASINO in Las Vegas Thursday – Sunday March 28th – 31st 2013 Tickets sell very fast so book early, we hope to see you there!

The People of Viva Las Vegas 15

Todd Merrick — Sat, 28 Apr 2012 05:55:49 +0000

The best thing about Viva other than the cars is the people watching. We had a chance to meet up with one of our favorite photographers Mark Jacobs at VLV15. Mark is a Washington State Photographer with a good old classy American style that really catches the essence of the show in his photos. Thanks for sharing these with us Mark!

Check out Mark Jacobs websites: markjacobsphoto.com – facebook.com/Mark-Jacobs-Photography

Happy Birthday Bettie!

Todd Merrick — Sun, 22 Apr 2012 17:31:01 +0000

For this weeks Pin-Up of the Week we celebrate the life of Pin-Up Icon Bettie Page. As one of the World’s most photographed women, Bettie left her mark on a society by doing things her way and not conforming to the typical roles of women. With her erotic, daring photographs she caught the attention of fans and foes, captured the imagination of men and women. Much ahead of her time Bettie exploded onto the scene with her playful exuberant smile, mysterious bright eyes, exotic black hair, sexual confidence and her “not the good girl next door” appeal. She opened the eyes of a country that was craving her arrival! With a genuine desire to live life without limits, Bettie unexpectedly became the guilty pleasure of America. Residing in a barracks, tucked away in dresser drawers, hung on work benchs, pinned to vanities or framed on wall, Bettie Page puts the pin-up era on the map and in our lives!

Full name : Bettie Mae Page
Birth date : April 22, 1923
Born : Nashville, Tennessee
Height : 5 feet 5 1/2 inches
Weight :128
Marriages : Billy Neal (1943 – 1947), Armond Walterson (1958 – 1963) and Harry Lear (1967 – 1972)
Children : none
Hair color : black
Eye color : blue-gray
Measurements : 36-23-35
Education : Bachelor of Arts degree from Peabody College
Favorite actress : Bette Davis in Dark Victory

:: In 1955 she won the title “Miss Pin-up Girl of the World.”
:: In January 1955, she was the centerfold in Playboy’s January issue.

With locks as dark as midnight and a smile as bright as day, Bettie Page was much more than a beautiful pinup model, she was simply the best. A legend as much today as during her modeling days, every facet of Bettie’s life and personality captures the interest and devotion of the thousands of fans that followed her career until the day of her mysterious disappearance. Bettie’s numerous contradictions undoubtedly added to her charismatic personality. Nice and naughty, shy and daring, simple and exotic, Bettie shone with a freshness never before seen in the modeling industry. Without elaborate props, costumes, or set-dressings, Bettie produced some of the most beautiful shots to ever grace the covers of hundreds of magazines. Bettie’s smoothly tanned skin, deep blue eyes and coal-black hair with her trademark bangs, were enough inspiration to spark the imagination of even the least experienced photographers. Her “girl next door” look and innocent smile only complemented that explosive combination of features.

Born on April 22, 1923, in Nashville, Tennessee, Bettie was the second child of Walter Roy Page and Edna Mae Pirtle’s six children. During Bettie’s early years, the Page family traveled around the country in search of economic stability. At a tender age, Bettie had to face the responsibilities of caring for her younger siblings as well as helping her mother with the house chores.

Soon, problems between Bettie’s parents led to a divorce, which only worsened the family’s financial situation. In order to support her family, Edna worked as a hairdresser during the day and washed laundry at night. When Bettie was only 10 years old, her mother placed her and her two sisters in an orphanage while she worked and saved money.

As a teenager, Bettie and her sisters spent countless hours trying different makeup styles and hairdos imitating their favorite movie stars. At the local community centers, Bettie learned to cook and sew, the latter, a skill that proved particularly useful years later when Bettie made her own bikinis and costumes. In these centers, a young Bettie sought refuge from her home and found enough peace and tranquility to do homework and study. It was her hard work and determination that kept Bettie at the top of her class during her high school years. As a student, she was a member and program director of the Dramatics Club, secretary treasurer of the Student Council, coeditor of the school’s newspaper and yearbook; she was even voted “Most Likely to Succeed.”

As the Salutatorian of her class, Bettie won a $100 scholarship to Peabody College where she studied education while dreaming of becoming an actress. In February 1943, Bettie married her boyfriend of two years, Billy Neal. After earning her Bachelor of Arts degree from Peabody College, Bettie moved to San Francisco to be with Billy. It was in San Francisco that Bettie got her first modeling job at a local furrier where Bettie modeled fur coats for clients.

For the next few years, the free-spirited Bettie traveled from San Francisco to Nashville to Miami, even to Port-au-Prince, Haiti, where she fell in love with the country and its culture. Back in the United States, in November 1947, Bettie filed for divorce from Billy and moved to New York. In 1950, during a walk along the Coney Island shore, Bettie met Jerry Tibbs, a police officer with an interest in photography. Tibbs took pictures of Bettie and put together her first pinup portfolio. Little did Bettie know how much her life was about to change.

Tibbs introduced Bettie to numerous other photographers including Cass Carr who organized outdoor photographic sessions, which Bettie intensely enjoyed. In a matter of months, Bettie’s modeling career had taken off. Camera clubs led to posing for various magazines such as Wink, Eyeful, Titter, and Beauty Parade. But it wasn’t until her photographs were published in Robert Harrison’s magazines that Bettie became a pinup star beyond comparison. In 1955, Bettie won the title “Miss Pinup Girl of the World.” In January 1955, she was the centerfold in Playboy’s January issue. She was even named the “Girl with the Perfect Figure,” with her photographs appearing in everything from record albums to playing cards.

In 1953, Bettie auditioned for an apprenticeship at Sea Cliff Summer Theater in Long Island where she studied acting under the tutelage of Herbert Berghoff. With Berghoff’s encouragement, Bettie secured several roles in various New York productions as well as various television appearances. Her off-Broadway productions included Time is a Thief and Sunday Costs Five Pesos. Bettie even appeared in the Jackie Gleason show.

While living and working in New York, Bettie often returned to Florida. During these trips south, she frequently posed for photographers Jan Caldwell, H.W. Hannau, and Bunny Yeager who often featured Bettie outdoors, in boats, and at the beach.

In 1957, Bettie left New York for good and moved to Florida, her modeling career would end at the top of its popularity. Without imagining the consequences on any conscious level, Bettie found that her provocative cheesecake photographs during the period of 1950 through 1957 violated all manner of sexual taboos and finally invoked a United States Senate Committee investigation.

On November 26, 1958, Bettie married her second husband, Armond Walterson. During the following months, Bettie tried numerous jobs, and she traveled to numerous states including California, Tennessee, Illinois, and Oregon. In 1963, Bettie divorced Armond. She would later marry Harry Lear, a marriage that also ended in divorce.

Through the years, to protect the privacy she craved, when people would recognize her and ask if she was Bettie Page, she’d answer, “Who’s that?” Who, indeed. Complex, contradictory, extremely intelligent, exquisitely pretty, naughty or nice, not even Bettie Page herself can tell us who she is, exactly how she got that way, and what it all means. She’s one pin-up no one can pin down, although the mystery fails to deter millions of us — and millions to come — from trying.

Through the 1980s and the 1990s, Bettie Page re-surged as a modeling icon. The media, intrigued by her mysterious disappearance launched a countrywide search for Bettie. Comic books soon featured characters that resembled Bettie, contemporary artists such as Olivia, Dave Stevens, and Robert Blue immortalized their idol with their powerful images.

Despite having worked with only a few competent photographers, despite having thousands of her photographs destroyed on purpose following the congressional hearings, and despite so many extant photos surviving only as inferior copies of the originals, the transcendent beauty and playful yet dangerous personality of Bettie Page trumps all else and continues to inspire documentary films, designers’ fashions, artists’ fetishes, and fans’ fantasies. The dark-haired girl from Nashville has become a living legend, a modern icon, a symbol of beauty and femininity that transcends ordinary standards. In the heart of her adoring fans, Bettie will forever remain the queen of pinups.

Here are a few more great photos!

VIVA RAY VEGAS 3 APRIL 28th, 2012

Todd Merrick — Sun, 22 Apr 2012 04:58:00 +0000

Sin City Jokers Presents VIVA RAY VEGAS 3

Kustom Culture Car Show

SATURDAY, APRIL 28th, 2012

COUNT’S VAMP’D

Becky Ryan

Todd Merrick — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 15:40:05 +0000

Becky Ryan is an Illustrator from Liverpool, England, now based in a small town in Derbyshire. She has created editorial pieces for the ‘Lancashire Evening Post’ and the ‘Liverpool Echo’ along with ‘Wireless’ student magazine and ‘Shebang’ zine.

Specializing in portraits she has worked with many burlesque performers to create illustrations for their promotional material and websites and also designed flyers for burlesque events. She also has experience in logo and flyer design.

Find her here: www.beckyryan.co.uk - www.facebook.com/beckysart

Viva Las Vegas 15 Car Show

Todd Merrick — Fri, 13 Apr 2012 05:09:26 +0000

Here is some of our Coverage from the Viva Las Vegas Car Show 2012. The Show is held at The Orleans Hotel here in Las Vegas. Cars are strictly pre-63 and must be in a style from that era. There are Over 700 cars registered this year with more than 20,000 attending to view the car show. Pinups, Greasers, Gearheads and great bands year after year. The VLV show brings the Rockabilly Kulture together from all over the globe. Looking forward to next year already!

More info here: www.facebook.com/VivaLasVegasRockabilly www.vivalasvegas.net/car-show

Check out some of our photos below. This will be the first of a few posts…we have over 450 photos in the cameras.

VLV 15 53Deluxe

WORLD PREMIERE OF BETTIE PAGE REVEALS ALL!

Todd Merrick — Wed, 11 Apr 2012 04:14:02 +0000

WORLD PREMIERE OF BETTIE PAGE REVEALS ALL!

at the Viva Las Vegas Film Festival April 5-8

FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER, ‘BETTIE PAGE REVEALS ALL’— IN A GROUNDBREAKING DOCUMENTARY MAKING ITS WORLD PREMIERE AT THE FILM FESTIVAL DURING VIVA LAS VEGAS ROCKABILLY WEEKENDER APRIL 5-8, 2012 AT THE ORLEANS HOTEL AND CASINO

* * *

Produced and Directed By Academy Award Nominee and Emmy Winner Mark Mori, the Feature-Length Film—Authorized By the Legendary Pinup Model—Features Narration By Bettie Page and Interviews with Luminaries Including Hugh Hefner, Dita Von Teese, Bunny Yeager, Paula Klaw and Rebecca Romjin Shooting to fame in the 1950s with her fetish modeling and racy pinup photos, Bettie Page continues to enchant and inspire multiple generations of women (who continue to emulate her jet black hair, blue eyes and trademark bangs) and men (who long for her) and. But the story behind her allure, the real person underneath that timeless youthful, sexy image, has been a mystery for the ages—until now.

With the release of “Bettie Page Reveals All,” a feature-length film by Academy Award nominated documentary filmmaker and Emmy winning TV producer Mark Mori, the world at last gets to hear Page’s story, narrated by Page herself in the years prior to her death at age 85 in 2008. The compelling 100-minute film was authorized by the famed former pinup as the only film biography on her life.

The documentary makes its world premiere during the Viva Las Vegas Rockabilly Weekender event April 5-8, 2012. The screenings will be at the Century Orleans 18 Theatre, 4500 West Tropicana Blvd., Las Vegas, NV 89103.

Free screenings for the Las Vegas entertainment industry will take place on Thursday, April 5 at 11:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. (ID will be requested for verification.) Public screenings are scheduled as follows: April 5 at 3:30 p.m., 5:30 p.m., 7:30 p.m., and 9:30 p.m. Friday, April 5-through Sunday, April 8: 11:30 a.m., 1:30 p.m., 3:30 p.m., 5:30 p.m., 7:30 p.m., and 9:30 p.m. Tickets are $10/person and may be purchased online at www.BettiePageRevealsAll.com or at the door.

On Friday, April 6, there will be a VIP/Media Screening and a Bettie Page Lookalike Contest. Contest arrivals start at 5:30 p.m. The first 25 entrants and their guests will receive free admission to the film (regular price: $10/ticket) and the winner will receive a Bettie Page movie prize package, including a DVD of the film. VIP and Media arrivals will be at 6:30 p.m., with an introduction and screening at 7:30 p.m., followed by a short, lively Q&A session and press interviews. Celebrities and VIPs attending include Robin Leach, 2011 Playboy Playmate of the Year Claire Sinclair, iconic Burlesque dancer Tempest Storm, Tatyana Khomaykova and Jan Glaser (Bettie Page Clothing), Mark Roesler (film co-producer and Page’s former agent), and many more TBA.

The setting for the premiere is spot-on because the ongoing fascination with Page perfectly parallels America’s obsession with all things ’50s-’60s retro via events like the Rockabilly Weekender and the TV smash “Mad Men.” Throughout the decades since, Page has inspired millions of women around the world to want to dress the “Bettie Page way” – while remaining reclusive at out of the spotlight for many years.

“Bettie Page Reveals All” offers an intimate look at the rise, fall and resurrection of one of the world’s most recognized and controversial sex symbols. With her razor sharp wit and husky Tennessee twang, Page emerges from decades of seclusion to reveal her secret past. Drawn from conversations Mori had with her after a new surge of pop culture popularity brought her tentatively out of hiding in the late ’90s, the documentary finds Page recounting how her unabashed sexual expression and provocative fetish poses set the stage for the 1960s sexual revolution and ushered in a new era of fashion.

Adding keen insight to Page’s story is a unique array of pop culture names with unique connections to the icon. Playboy Founder Hugh Hefner featured her as “Miss January 1955,” one of the earliest Playmates of the Month. Page also inspired careers for burlesque dancer and pinup model Dita Von Teese; contemporary pin-up artist Olivia; Bunny Yeager, whose early photographs of Page helped propel the pinup to stardom; and Paula Klaw, who along with her brother Irving were renowned fetish photographers who worked extensively with Page in her heyday.

The film, which was co-produced by Mark Roesler with the participation of CMG, and Bettie Page, LLC, includes appearances by Rebecca Romijn, Tricia Helfer, Tempest Storm, Sam Menning, Rev. Robert Schuller, Joey Arias and photographers who worked with Bettie, ex-husband Harry Lear, ex-boyfriends, auto designer Richard Arbib and Brigadier General and Nixon Advisor Charles West. Mori illustrates the story with previously unpublished and rare photos and film of Page as well as new information and documents from her FBI files obtained through FOIA, as well as from the 1955 Kefauver hearings on pornography and crime, which had been sealed for 50 years.

With commentary from people who knew her, photographed her and made love to her, “Bettie Page Reveals All” is steeped in mirth, mayhem and mystery.

Mori says, “I was inspired to make this film and bring Bettie’s joie de vivre to a wider audience by the joyous free spirit that she portrays in her photos as well as my conversations with her. That joy endures in the influence she has had on of women all over the world including pop music icons like Katy Perry, Beyonce and Madonna as well as fashion designers, artists and filmmakers. She’s a force of nature representing joyful sexual freedom that two generations of women can identify with. There’s something very natural about her, and there’s a cool anti-authoritarian quality to her lack of awareness over why people made such a big deal about her.

“The film couldn’t sustain itself for 100 minutes if she wasn’t so personally charming and compelling, and that voice is the key,” he adds. “Bettie had a quality that millions of people and subcultures have projected themselves onto. This movie may shatter some of that mystique but my goal was to create a new mystique and take it to another level. I just wanted to be truthful and dig deeper into what she was all about. I feel honored to bring Bettie’s own statement about her life and who she is to the world.”

Over the past 20 plus years, Mark Mori’s films have garnered numerous awards, theatrical distributions and television broadcasts worldwide. His most notable projects include “Building Bombs,” Academy Award nominee for Documentary Feature (Producer/Director); “Blood Ties: The Life and Work of Sally Mann,” Academy Award nominee Documentary Short (Executive Producer); “The Fire This Time,” Sundance Film Festival Grand Jury Prize nominee, PBS Frontline (Co-Producer); and “Kent State and the Day The War Came Home,” News & Documentary Emmy Award winner (Executive Producer).

Mori and “Bettie Page Reveals All” were profiled in the February 26, 2011 edition of The Wall Street Journal.

Update

BETTIE PAGE
REVEALS ALL
WORLD PREMIERE
Viva Las Vegas Film Festival

Mark Mori & Claire Sinclair (Playboy Playmate of the Year, 2011)

Click the image for more pictures from the World Premiere!

The BETTIE PAGE REVEALS ALL WORLD PREMIERE in Vegas was a huge success!

THANK YOU to all the celebrities, Bettie fans and audience members who attended the film.

CAN I STILL GET MY NAME IN THE CREDITS?

YES!

through a special arrangement
you can still
GET YOUR NAME IN THE CREDITS

and help get Bettie’s movie seen!

We want to help as many Bettie fans as possible to become a lasting part of her legacy so we made a special deal with our digital finishing house which makes it possible for us to still add your name to the credits prior to the theatrical release.

Every person who adds their name will also be helping to cover the distribution costs it takes to get Bettie’s movie seen.

You can also support the release of Bettie’s movie by purchasing official movie merchandise.

Thanks!

Bettie Page Look-a-Like Contest Winners

Look-a-Like contest winners with Director Mark Mori

Grand Prize Winner Roxy
won a $200 Bettie Page Clothing gift certificate.