I got a laugh this morning from an article on the AP wire about Bettie Page. It's a nice enough article:
More than half a century after her pinup pictures first appeared in magazines, cult idol Bettie Page is finally earning a good income for her work.
From 1949 to 1957, Page posed in thousands of photos in seductive nurse, teacher, cowgirl, and jungle costumes, her hair styled in kitschy bangs.
According to her agents at CMG Worldwide, Page's Web site, http://www.BettiePage.com, has received 588 million hits in the last five years. CMG markets not only Page's image but also those of Marilyn Monroe and Princess Diana.
The problem with the article is the photo attached. It's not Bettie Page, it's Patti Page.
Obviously neither lady was terribly hard on the eyes, but getting the two confused is quite a pop-culture screw-up. It'd be like getting Dean Martin confused with Jerry Lewis, or Piper Laurie mixed up with Sandra Dee.
From Patti Page's biography page:
Patti Page is one of America’s true musical icons. In the course of her seven-decade recording career, she has become a living legend by selling more than 100 million records, making her one of the biggest selling female recording artists in history.
Patti’s silky-smooth voice engulfed the airwaves during the ‘50s and ‘60s, providing her with a staggering 111 hits, 15 gold records and four gold albums. Patti became the first crossover artist to take country music out of the country and onto the pop charts with such million record sellers as “Mockin’ Bird Hill,” “I Went To Your Wedding,” “Mister & Mississippi,” and, of course, the legendary “Tennessee Waltz,” which was #1 concurrently on all three charts (Pop, Country, & R&B) and sold more than 20 million copies. She was also the first artist to use multiple voice techniques on records and the only singer —male or female—to have had shows bearing her name on all three major television networks.
Update: It turns out I was completely wrong and that the woman in the article is Gretchen Mol, who plays Bettie Page in an upcoming film. She looks a hell of a lot like Patti Page, though.
