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00:00:24I started out to go to Cuba
00:00:27I landed in Miami Beach
00:00:31It's not so very far from Cuba
00:00:34And oh, what a Roomba they teach
00:00:40My first national talk show started in Miami
00:00:43From the sun and fun capital of the world
00:00:48This is the Larry King Show
00:00:54Miami Beach fermented everything for me
00:00:59Barney Eagle came on my show a few times
00:01:01I interviewed her
00:01:04She was special
00:01:13How many beautiful girls do you know
00:01:16Could have been a major model, movie star
00:01:21How many of you know would be a photographer of pinup girls
00:01:26She didn't really get the credit she deserved
00:01:30She was so far ahead of her time
00:01:33The work that she did paved the way for me to be able to do what I do now
00:01:38In photographing herself, she found incredible empowerment
00:01:44She should be woven into the narrative of art history
00:01:47Because she deserved to be
00:01:53She's fantastic, she's pretty bad
00:01:57She's very sage to be able to do it
00:02:12At that time, she went much to
00:02:14Hollywood , which is a very good idea I want to be able to comeiento
00:02:15Suddenly, did you think, pop it seriously?
00:02:54In the 1940s, Bunny Yeager starts out as a model.
00:03:04She was photographed by a lot of photographers.
00:03:07She got into all the magazines.
00:03:14But then she got an interest in taking pictures herself.
00:03:18She thought, men are getting paid for this, so why shouldn't I?
00:03:22And for whatever reason, right from the beginning, she was shooting great work.
00:03:42Bunny used to work every year with a guy named Roy Penny.
00:03:47He was the one that identified her as the world's prettiest, most beautiful photographer.
00:03:59And that storyline became the cover of U.S. Camera in 1953.
00:04:05She was also one of the world's hardest working photographers, one of the world's most successful photographers, one of the
00:04:11world's most daring photographers.
00:04:16And one of the things that I think really is classic Bunny is that she took it and she ran
00:04:22with it.
00:04:32I really love the pictures of Bunny Yeager as a model when she was super platinum blonde.
00:04:40I love those pictures.
00:04:41I think it's so important that she was like a bombshell, pin-up girl.
00:04:47It really made all the difference in how she photographed other people.
00:04:52There's always been lots of different ways to take a photograph.
00:04:55There's photographs that are about showing you on your best day and then a tiny bit better.
00:05:02That's what Bunny's photographs were.
00:05:08She could take a relatively plain-looking young woman and she'd get the greatest photo she ever took in her
00:05:16life.
00:05:19She just would transform them.
00:05:24Everything in Bunny's photographs was pretty much calculated.
00:05:27Her hair and complexion were so delicate, it was difficult to control the lighting ratio in the sun.
00:05:32Like she said, there was a reason to her madness.
00:05:35I wanted to shoot her this way because in a natural setting, she would be far more outstanding.
00:05:40She would take notes prior to assembling a story or a photograph.
00:05:45She had incredibly high standards and she worked incredibly fast.
00:05:51That's one of my favorite things about working with former models that are also photographers.
00:05:56They know how they want to be seen.
00:05:58They know that they want to be shown in their best light.
00:06:01And they're most beautiful, they're most sexy.
00:06:04They want their flaws disguised.
00:06:06They want their assets amplified.
00:06:15I remember watching my mom mimic the face poses that she wanted the models to have.
00:06:21It was fascinating.
00:06:22If her model could arch her back in a specific way, she was going to arch her back to 110%.
00:06:29What better homework could there be than Bunny Yeager being a pin-up model herself?
00:06:34So she could say like, yeah, I know that's killing your back right now.
00:06:38Yes, I know it feels unnatural, but we are going to get a beautiful shot.
00:06:45She had just this incredible skill for finding models and convincing them to work with her.
00:06:55Because that's, you know, that's the key, especially when you're doing nude photography.
00:07:03If a man or woman walked around a neighborhood, knocked on a door today, and said, hey, hi, so-and
00:07:10-so, I know a photographer, would you pose nude?
00:07:14Then slam the door and call the police.
00:07:15Look, Terry, let me talk frankly with you.
00:07:19You and I could make a lot of money together.
00:07:22You mean by me posing nude for you?
00:07:24What's wrong with that?
00:07:26You've seen my pictures.
00:07:29Bunny specifically picks people because they have a sparkle in their eyes, because they have something in their personality that
00:07:36she thinks she can get across.
00:07:38Bunny always know how to identify a particular face.
00:07:41She's a bunny girl, like Bruce Weber used to say, I can spot a bunny girl in the supermarket.
00:07:47She has that swagger, you know?
00:07:50She has that life in herself, you know?
00:07:53That kind of fearless, like, I don't care what you think of me, I'm just being myself.
00:07:58I won the scholarship to Coronet Model Agency, and that's how I started modeling.
00:08:04For Burdines in the tea room.
00:08:06I modeled for Emilio Pucci, who's very famous now.
00:08:11He's dead, but I think we got something like $25 or $30 for a fashion show, and like $12 for
00:08:22the fitting.
00:08:22You had to go, you know, before and fit into your clothes.
00:08:26My first shoot was Bunny.
00:08:29I was living on River Alto Island, and I think we went somewhere in my neighborhood.
00:08:35Did you feel like when you did that, it was a brave thing to do?
00:08:39No, I thought it was just earning money.
00:08:48Depending on your looks for a living is intimidating.
00:08:55I wouldn't be caught dead going out to get the mail without my makeup.
00:09:04I enjoyed getting the paycheck every time, and it was very much needed.
00:09:08I was supporting my mother and myself, and had a household to take care of.
00:09:15I've looked at a lot of pin-up photography in my life.
00:09:18And the thing that I've noticed about the photos Bunny Yeager took of her models is that you see so
00:09:25much of their personality.
00:09:27There's something inherently female about the way that she looks at her subjects, and you can feel it reflected back
00:09:33at you, because the models, they don't look as much like objects.
00:09:36She's a friend.
00:09:38And you see that in the pictures, the way that the women really trusted her.
00:09:42And we're hungry for a friendship, you know?
00:09:51A lot of these models in a million years wouldn't have worked with a male photographer.
00:09:55People really responded to her.
00:09:57She had a big personality, and she made people feel like they were a part of her world as soon
00:10:03as they came in.
00:10:07She knew how to pose, and she knew just how you were feeling.
00:10:14If you felt awkward or something, she'd say, well, relax just a little bit and try this or try that.
00:10:21You just felt like you were with a girlfriend, actually.
00:10:26Yeah, it was fun.
00:10:29And I think that looked like I was having fun.
00:10:32She was easy to work for in that way.
00:10:35Talking to you and making you laugh and putting you at ease.
00:10:41Bunny was unique in the sense that she was doing, well, cheesecake photography.
00:10:47I mean, a lot of those pictures for the 50s were talking risque.
00:10:53She always seemed to want to pull it down a little bit on the side.
00:11:00Compared to now, they look like, you know, Mickey Mouse.
00:11:10I don't really remember this picture at all, looking at it.
00:11:13It was a Chox on a seaplane.
00:11:16But I do remember Bunny was very creative finding locations.
00:11:26So, the 1950s gives us both this virginal view of the woman as domestic goddess,
00:11:35but also this kind of wellspring of teenage rebellion.
00:11:41For women like Bunny Yeager, for women like Marilyn Monroe,
00:11:46you find that they're really willing to put themselves out there
00:11:50and exploit and explore that friction, that space.
00:11:57My name is Christy Strong, and I'm the granddaughter of Maria Stinger,
00:12:01who was one of Bunny Yeager's best friends and biggest models back in the day.
00:12:14Maria was known as being Miami's Marilyn.
00:12:17She won Marilyn Monroe Lookalike Contest.
00:12:20She was in calendars.
00:12:22She was on the cover of magazines.
00:12:28Bunny was really the one that blew her up.
00:12:31And what she loved about Maria is that Maria had no fear.
00:12:38Maria Stinger was a handful.
00:12:40Maria Stinger was Bunny's best friend.
00:12:42Maria Stinger had a smile that could get anyone in trouble.
00:12:48One of my favorite set of photos that Bunny took of my grandmother
00:12:51was at Africa, USA,
00:12:53which at the time in Miami was this safari theme park.
00:13:01There's no fear in my grandmother's eyes.
00:13:03She looks gorgeous.
00:13:04They're having a wonderful time.
00:13:06Those were the first set of pictures that Bunny professionally sold.
00:13:16I did know Maria Stinger a little bit.
00:13:19I remember us going over to their house one time
00:13:22and me playing with her daughters.
00:13:23I do remember meeting one of the models, Maria Stinger.
00:13:26I didn't know who she was at that time or what her name is,
00:13:29but she was always very good to me.
00:13:33When I was in my early teens,
00:13:36I started to ask more questions about who my grandmother was.
00:13:41My family was kind of almost afraid of what they would find
00:13:44if they dug too deeply into my grandmother's life and work.
00:13:48My grandmother was basically an exhibitionist.
00:13:54Bunny talks about how she didn't have a lot of women friends back in the day.
00:14:00She used to like to tease my grandmother and say,
00:14:03Maria, just, you know, take off your shirt.
00:14:05Come on, you know you want to.
00:14:09And then, inevitably, she'd always take off her shirt.
00:14:14Really, it was this, like, fun, playful dynamic they had together.
00:14:30I think you can see how daring Bunny Yeager was as a photographer
00:14:35from her earliest days by the locations she was choosing.
00:14:39She would photograph models nude on the beach early in the morning.
00:14:44She would get access to amusement parks like Playland.
00:14:48Her first published photograph was taken at a wild animal park.
00:14:54She would ask her friends for use of their mansions,
00:14:58and she would even film people nude in front of her Christmas tree.
00:15:06As soon as Bunny started taking pictures,
00:15:10every magazine wanted to have her stuff in there.
00:15:14Bunny gave cachet to magazines.
00:15:17If you published Bunny Yeager photographs,
00:15:20not only were you getting great photos,
00:15:21you were also getting to say that you were getting photos by Bunny Yeager,
00:15:26the world's prettiest photographer.
00:15:30She understood what the magazines wanted and what was commercial.
00:15:36She was able to take the fact that she was working both in front of and behind the camera
00:15:44and turned that into a brand.
00:15:48Not many people are on both sides of the camera,
00:15:52and Bunny was on both sides of the camera.
00:15:56Smile. Sparkle.
00:15:59Good.
00:16:00All right, let's try something with your arms around your head.
00:16:04You're one of the world's foremost photographers of women.
00:16:09Is this a good job?
00:16:10I'm not trying to play income tax man now,
00:16:12but do you make a good living out of it?
00:16:15Well, I make a nice living,
00:16:16but the big thing about it for me is I'm married and I have two children,
00:16:20and I can make my own hours and still indulge in having a career.
00:16:29Dad talked about it a lot, how special she was.
00:16:33I remember him always telling me,
00:16:34your mom's not like other moms,
00:16:36just being a housewife and sitting around eating bonbons.
00:16:41She's working. She's a photographer.
00:16:45Bunny was the most famous female photographer in America.
00:16:50Bunny Yeager, is that right?
00:16:55Me or Mrs. Yeager?
00:16:57Actually, it's Mrs.
00:16:58Mrs. Yeager. Where are you from, Mrs. Yeager?
00:17:00Miami, Florida.
00:17:01Miami, Florida. Lucky Florida.
00:17:03All right, panel, are you all masked up?
00:17:05It's good that everybody here and about,
00:17:07except those four good characters over there on the panel,
00:17:10know exactly what your line is.
00:17:18One of the factors that really influenced the shape of Bunny's career
00:17:23was how much of an outsider she was.
00:17:26John, it's all too obvious.
00:17:27Mrs. Yeager's from Miami.
00:17:29She is not sunburned.
00:17:31She's a beautiful blonde.
00:17:32She's obviously a typical American schoolteacher.
00:17:35One down at 19...
00:17:36She was an outsider because she was a self-taught photographer.
00:17:39She was an outsider because she was a woman.
00:17:41She was an outsider because she lived in Miami,
00:17:43which was not a center of publishing.
00:17:46Mrs. Yeager, do you deal in services?
00:17:49Yes, I do.
00:17:50Mrs. Yeager once was on the other side of the camera,
00:17:52but for the last four years, you've been in photography.
00:17:54She was an original, and she epitomized, in a sense,
00:18:00what Miami Beach was in the 50s and 60s.
00:18:04Booming, loose, devil may care, let it all happen.
00:18:15I had just started in radio, and I was doing a morning show.
00:18:19And one day, the general manager called me in and said,
00:18:21the all-night guy, Al Fox, is sick.
00:18:24Would you sit in overnight?
00:18:26It's the witching hour.
00:18:27Miami Beach's Midnight Flyer program, we're underway.
00:18:30He says, all you do is just play records and talk.
00:18:33Miami Beach Midnight Flyer, good to...
00:18:34This is not a Bunny Yeager story.
00:18:38But I'm alone in the station.
00:18:40At about 3 a.m., the phone rings.
00:18:46And I pick up the phone, WAHR,
00:18:49and this voice, I can hear it now,
00:18:53said, I want you.
00:18:58I'm 22 years old, no woman has ever said,
00:19:01I want you to me.
00:19:02I suddenly realized there were other advantages
00:19:06to being on the radio.
00:19:12I said, well, I get off at 6.
00:19:14She says, no, I'm not going to work at 6.
00:19:20The only time is now.
00:19:22Did you ever really miss me?
00:19:28Kiss me.
00:19:28So what the audience heard was,
00:19:31uh, ladies and gentlemen,
00:19:33uh,
00:19:34I have a real treat for you tonight.
00:19:38You're going to hear the entire
00:19:39Harry Belafonte
00:19:40at Carnegie Hall album,
00:19:43which took 23 minutes,
00:19:45which is all the time I needed.
00:19:48Down the way where the nights are gay
00:19:51and the sun shines...
00:19:53I put the record on,
00:19:55zoomed over to the house.
00:19:57I open up the door,
00:19:58there's this lady,
00:19:59I never saw her clear.
00:20:01White negligee sitting on the couch,
00:20:03opens her arms,
00:20:04I jump into her arms.
00:20:06My right cheek is against her right cheek.
00:20:09Belafonte's on the radio.
00:20:11And I hear,
00:20:12down the way where the nights,
00:20:14where the nights,
00:20:15where the record gets stuck.
00:20:19I place her back on the couch,
00:20:21go to my car,
00:20:23Jewish masochism,
00:20:24I leave the radio on.
00:20:28Winter station,
00:20:29all the lights are ringing,
00:20:30the phones.
00:20:31I'm picking them up,
00:20:32I'm apologizing to people.
00:20:35I'm sweating.
00:20:37The last phone call
00:20:38was an older Jewish man.
00:20:41And I said hello.
00:20:42And he said,
00:20:43where the nights?
00:20:45Where the nights?
00:20:47I'm going crazy with where the nights.
00:20:50So I said to him,
00:20:51why didn't you just
00:20:54change the station?
00:20:56And he said,
00:20:57I'm an invalid.
00:20:58And I'm in bed all night.
00:21:00And a nurse takes care of me.
00:21:02And when she leaves,
00:21:03she sets the radio
00:21:04on top of the wardrobe,
00:21:07set to your station.
00:21:08and I can't get up
00:21:09and change it.
00:21:14I said,
00:21:15I deeply apologize.
00:21:16Can I do anything for you?
00:21:18He said,
00:21:18yeah,
00:21:18play Hava Nagila.
00:21:23There was nothing like
00:21:24Miami Beach.
00:21:26Nothing like it.
00:21:29It was hard in Miami,
00:21:31Miami Beach
00:21:31to take anything
00:21:33really seriously.
00:21:41People got married,
00:21:42got divorced.
00:21:44Nothing was forever.
00:21:50It was a loose,
00:21:51by a loose town,
00:21:52I mean.
00:21:53It was a very
00:21:54sexually liberated city.
00:22:00Bunny met Sammy Davis Jr.
00:22:02in 1955.
00:22:05Imagine,
00:22:06this is segregated Miami.
00:22:08Sammy couldn't even
00:22:09stay on Miami Beach
00:22:11past 6 o'clock
00:22:12at night.
00:22:14Bunny tells this
00:22:15great story
00:22:16about how
00:22:16she picked Sammy up
00:22:18in the car
00:22:19and Sammy said,
00:22:19I have to get
00:22:20in the back seat.
00:22:21I don't know
00:22:22if Bunny was naive
00:22:23at the time,
00:22:24but that was just
00:22:24absurd to her
00:22:25because Sammy was
00:22:26such a huge celebrity.
00:22:29He still wasn't
00:22:31comfortable riding
00:22:32in the front seat
00:22:32with a blonde
00:22:33white woman
00:22:33in Miami
00:22:34at the time.
00:22:36He would go off
00:22:38during the day
00:22:39with Bunny
00:22:39and photograph models,
00:22:43both of them
00:22:44taking a risk
00:22:44at that time.
00:22:45They would photograph
00:22:47pictures of my
00:22:48grandmother Maria
00:22:49together.
00:22:51They hit it off
00:22:53and she gave him
00:22:53lessons on
00:22:54how to pose models.
00:22:58They photographed
00:22:59together behind
00:23:00her favorite photo
00:23:02shooting place
00:23:03which was the
00:23:03abandoned mansion
00:23:05of the Firestones
00:23:06which is actually
00:23:07where the Fontainebleu
00:23:08is now.
00:23:10So there was a night
00:23:11that Bunny and Bud
00:23:13and Sammy Davis Jr.
00:23:15came over to my
00:23:15grandparents' house.
00:23:19It goes beyond
00:23:20just a couple of couples
00:23:22hanging out
00:23:22and having fun.
00:23:33They all felt
00:23:35comfortable
00:23:35just hanging around,
00:23:37you know,
00:23:38my grandmother's nude.
00:23:39It's just like
00:23:40nobody cares.
00:23:43Bunny was straight
00:23:44in that world.
00:23:45She very much
00:23:47embraced the notion
00:23:49that being a sexual
00:23:50woman gave you
00:23:52an entree
00:23:53into this highly
00:23:54sophisticated society.
00:23:59Bunny really
00:24:00kind of skirted
00:24:01two worlds.
00:24:02In fact,
00:24:03you look at some
00:24:03of her books
00:24:04from the 50s
00:24:05and she'll have
00:24:06the nice girl
00:24:07next door
00:24:08and the next page
00:24:09it'll be a burlesque
00:24:10performer that was
00:24:11over at
00:24:12Place Pigalle
00:24:14on the beach.
00:24:23I grew up
00:24:24in a farming town
00:24:26in Michigan.
00:24:27I'm a natural
00:24:28dishwater blonde,
00:24:30not very glamorous,
00:24:31kind of very
00:24:32ordinary looking
00:24:33and I wanted
00:24:35to be the opposite
00:24:37of what I was.
00:24:38I wanted to be
00:24:38like a Hollywood
00:24:39movie star.
00:24:4018 years old
00:24:41and went to a place
00:24:43in Anaheim
00:24:45and walked
00:24:46into this little
00:24:46blacked out
00:24:47windowed store
00:24:49and it was
00:24:50a fetish store
00:24:51and it was just
00:24:52filled with
00:24:53everything you
00:24:54could imagine
00:24:55and obviously
00:24:55a completely
00:24:56different world
00:24:57for me.
00:24:59That's where
00:25:00I saw my first
00:25:00picture of Betty Page.
00:25:02There wasn't
00:25:03really anybody
00:25:04that was trying
00:25:06to be the new
00:25:06Betty Page
00:25:07so that was
00:25:08kind of the thing
00:25:09that sparked
00:25:09my career.
00:25:12The number
00:25:13ending appeal
00:25:14of Betty Page
00:25:15is how can
00:25:17someone be so
00:25:18sexy and so
00:25:18innocent at the
00:25:19same time?
00:25:27Betty Page
00:25:28was a young
00:25:30woman in the
00:25:3050s who moved
00:25:32to New York
00:25:32with big
00:25:33aspirations of
00:25:34maybe being
00:25:34an actress
00:25:35or a model
00:25:36and ended
00:25:37up being
00:25:37in camera clubs
00:25:39which were
00:25:40these sort
00:25:40of private
00:25:40pervy clubs
00:25:41where men
00:25:42came to
00:25:42photograph
00:25:43for their
00:25:43photography
00:25:44classes
00:25:44but you know
00:25:45it was women
00:25:45in their underwear
00:25:46and in people's
00:25:47living rooms.
00:25:50Betty was
00:25:51an underground
00:25:53hit.
00:25:59The sorts
00:26:00of magazines
00:26:01that Betty
00:26:02Page became
00:26:02famous with
00:26:03would be
00:26:04kind of
00:26:04covered in
00:26:05brown paper
00:26:05wrappers
00:26:06sold behind
00:26:06the counter
00:26:07and you
00:26:08theoretically
00:26:09had to be
00:26:09of a certain
00:26:10age to
00:26:10buy.
00:26:12I think
00:26:13some people
00:26:13are familiar
00:26:14with Betty's
00:26:15pin-up images
00:26:16and then
00:26:17there's the
00:26:18bondage stuff
00:26:18from like
00:26:19the Klaw
00:26:19studios
00:26:20but if you
00:26:20dig even
00:26:21deeper
00:26:21it gets
00:26:22much racier
00:26:23than that.
00:26:24It's so funny
00:26:25that what
00:26:26were considered
00:26:26some of the
00:26:26raciest images
00:26:27of the time
00:26:28that you had
00:26:28to know a guy
00:26:29who knew a guy
00:26:29and then you
00:26:30had to get
00:26:30in a male
00:26:30and a brown
00:26:31envelope
00:26:31were made
00:26:32by a group
00:26:33of people
00:26:34who in no
00:26:35way was this
00:26:35titillating to
00:26:36them.
00:26:37They didn't
00:26:37even really
00:26:37understand it
00:26:38on any
00:26:38sexuality level.
00:26:41This was
00:26:41business.
00:26:42There are guys
00:26:43who will pay
00:26:43money to get
00:26:44special boots
00:26:45made and for
00:26:46women to just
00:26:47do something
00:26:47really specific
00:26:48like dance
00:26:49around with
00:26:49this little
00:26:50stuffed clown.
00:26:56Betty came
00:26:57down in 1954
00:26:58on a vacation.
00:27:02There was
00:27:03someone in
00:27:03New York
00:27:03that Bunny
00:27:04had worked
00:27:04with who
00:27:05told her
00:27:06about Betty
00:27:06and they
00:27:08connected
00:27:08that way.
00:27:21The first
00:27:22shoot she did
00:27:23was at a
00:27:24studio where
00:27:25she just had
00:27:26an ordinary
00:27:27backdrop.
00:27:37The second
00:27:38shoot was at
00:27:39Africa USA.
00:27:40I declare
00:27:41sure enough
00:27:43I'm a hot
00:27:44mama
00:27:46I'm no one
00:27:47by that name
00:27:49I tried to
00:27:50tell Bunny
00:27:51I said Bunny
00:27:52I've got circles
00:27:52under my eyes
00:27:53and I feel
00:27:54terrible.
00:27:54I said I don't
00:27:55feel like
00:27:55posing.
00:27:56She said Betty
00:27:57I had to
00:27:57pay money
00:27:58to Little
00:27:58Africa to
00:27:59use it
00:28:00this morning.
00:28:00She said we
00:28:01have to do
00:28:01it today.
00:28:03The most
00:28:03popular pictures
00:28:04ever taken
00:28:05of me
00:28:05wearing that
00:28:06leopard outfit
00:28:07and you
00:28:07could see
00:28:08circles deep
00:28:09circles under
00:28:09my eyes.
00:28:13And those
00:28:14are the images
00:28:14she sent to
00:28:15Playboy.
00:28:18Playboy sent
00:28:19back a response
00:28:20saying we love
00:28:21these but we
00:28:22only use indoor
00:28:23photographs for our
00:28:25centerfolds.
00:28:25can you
00:28:26shoot her
00:28:26indoors.
00:28:30And that's
00:28:30what she did.
00:28:31She went and
00:28:31she photographed
00:28:32her with the
00:28:33Christmas tree
00:28:33and the
00:28:34Christmas hat
00:28:34and that
00:28:35became the
00:28:35January 55
00:28:37centerfold and
00:28:38they both
00:28:38became famous.
00:28:40I didn't know
00:28:41that Bunny
00:28:42Yeager was
00:28:42going to send
00:28:43pictures to
00:28:44Mr. Hefner
00:28:45for Playboy
00:28:45magazine.
00:28:46I look like
00:28:47I've got a
00:28:48saggy, there's
00:28:49just one breast
00:28:49showing in a
00:28:50picture, you
00:28:50know, that little
00:28:51Santa Claus hat
00:28:51and I'm
00:28:52winking with a
00:28:53little Christmas tree
00:28:54bottle covering
00:28:54you know where.
00:28:57Being in
00:28:58Playboy at that
00:28:59moment was
00:29:01kind of it if
00:29:02you were the
00:29:02kind of model
00:29:03who took her
00:29:04clothes off.
00:29:05Betty Page
00:29:06would not have
00:29:07received the
00:29:08kind of accolades
00:29:10and star quality
00:29:11that stayed with
00:29:13her forever
00:29:14without appearing
00:29:15in the pages of
00:29:16Playboy.
00:29:16And of course,
00:29:18Bunny made her
00:29:19a celebrity.
00:29:27Collaboration of
00:29:28Betty Page and
00:29:29Bunny Yeager
00:29:30changed both
00:29:31of their lives.
00:29:33Before working
00:29:35with Bunny
00:29:35Yeager,
00:29:37Betty Page
00:29:37was considered
00:29:38a fetish model.
00:29:40It had very
00:29:41little to do
00:29:41with celebrating
00:29:43Betty Page.
00:29:45Bunny Yeager
00:29:46celebrated
00:29:47Betty Page.
00:29:49My favorite
00:29:50pictures of
00:29:51Betty are
00:29:51the ones of
00:29:52her surrounded
00:29:53by the lush
00:29:53foliage.
00:29:55There was
00:29:56always sort
00:29:56of like a
00:29:56playful sense
00:29:58of herself
00:29:59in those
00:29:59images.
00:30:01That's one
00:30:01of the things
00:30:02I loved about
00:30:02her and I
00:30:03think that
00:30:03made her
00:30:03so memorable.
00:30:05Not the
00:30:05nudity aspect,
00:30:06but the fact
00:30:06that everything
00:30:07she did was
00:30:08sort of in
00:30:09a light,
00:30:09playful manner
00:30:11and she
00:30:11made it all
00:30:12seem fun.
00:30:18For all
00:30:19of Bunny's
00:30:20photos,
00:30:21I find
00:30:21that there's
00:30:21a kind
00:30:21of joyousness
00:30:22to them,
00:30:23a celebratory
00:30:24quality.
00:30:26That attitude
00:30:27in the 1950s
00:30:28was unthinkable
00:30:29and approaching
00:30:31it with that
00:30:31kind of innocence
00:30:32is one of
00:30:33the common
00:30:33connections
00:30:34that Marilyn Monroe
00:30:35shares with
00:30:36Betty Page.
00:30:45A flood
00:30:46tide of
00:30:47filth is
00:30:48engulfing
00:30:49our country
00:30:49in the form
00:30:50of newsstand
00:30:51obscenity.
00:30:52It's directly
00:30:53responsible for
00:30:54a substantial
00:30:55amount of
00:30:56juvenile
00:30:56elinquency
00:30:57and child
00:30:57crime.
00:30:58This continues
00:30:59to increase
00:31:00for one
00:31:01reason.
00:31:02It is
00:31:02big business.
00:31:04You're really
00:31:05looking at
00:31:06a choice
00:31:07that women
00:31:07were making
00:31:08to get
00:31:08involved
00:31:08with pin-up
00:31:09photography
00:31:10at the
00:31:10time that
00:31:11was a lot
00:31:11more complicated
00:31:12than just
00:31:12I'm willing
00:31:13to take my
00:31:14clothes off
00:31:14in front
00:31:14of a camera,
00:31:15yes or no.
00:31:19Playboy was
00:31:20this magazine
00:31:21that, sure,
00:31:23it was about
00:31:23sex, but it
00:31:25was also about
00:31:25jazz and it
00:31:26was about
00:31:26fashion and it
00:31:27was about who
00:31:28you should think
00:31:29the cool new
00:31:29writers are.
00:31:30The names
00:31:31of the writers
00:31:33that came to
00:31:34us as a
00:31:35result of
00:31:36their wanting
00:31:37to appear
00:31:38in our pages.
00:31:39There was no
00:31:40other magazine
00:31:40at the time
00:31:41with that
00:31:42kind of a
00:31:43mix.
00:31:44First issue
00:31:45came out
00:31:45in December
00:31:46of 1953
00:31:48and we sold
00:31:50out and then
00:31:52we proceeded
00:31:53to staff up.
00:31:55And then we
00:31:56started purchasing
00:31:57from independent
00:31:57photographers
00:31:58before we began
00:31:59shooting our own
00:32:00and it was how
00:32:01I became familiar
00:32:02with Bunny Yeager
00:32:02and Bunny Yeager
00:32:03then became a
00:32:04regular contributor
00:32:05to Playboy
00:32:05and a good friend.
00:32:07Bunny had a
00:32:08style of her own
00:32:09and she really
00:32:10captured that
00:32:11girl next door
00:32:12quality and that
00:32:13is one of the
00:32:13things that
00:32:14Hefner felt
00:32:15was so valuable.
00:32:22She was a little
00:32:23adventuresome so
00:32:25she was the girl
00:32:25you could marry
00:32:26who would do fun
00:32:27stuff in the
00:32:28bedroom.
00:32:30It wasn't really
00:32:31an easy thing
00:32:32to accomplish
00:32:33back then
00:32:33because we had
00:32:34strong moral
00:32:36restrictions in
00:32:37America.
00:32:38Love seemed to
00:32:39be all that
00:32:40really mattered
00:32:41but each of them
00:32:42knew deep down
00:32:43that they wanted
00:32:44their marriage
00:32:45vows to have
00:32:45real meaning.
00:32:47It was easy
00:32:48to get a bunch
00:32:48of strippers
00:32:49it was very hard
00:32:50to get an
00:32:50ordinary secretary.
00:32:52The idea that
00:32:53a woman would
00:32:54want to be involved
00:32:55and it would want
00:32:56to produce material
00:32:57for it was
00:32:58perfect.
00:32:58It was something
00:32:59they could advertise.
00:33:00It was something
00:33:00that could bring
00:33:01in readers.
00:33:03The suggestion
00:33:04back then
00:33:06that sex was
00:33:07simply a natural
00:33:08normal part of
00:33:09life was very
00:33:11revolutionary.
00:33:12For however many
00:33:14faults he might
00:33:15have come to
00:33:16be associated
00:33:17with, Hugh
00:33:18Hefner was
00:33:18willing to take
00:33:20the input of a
00:33:21woman very
00:33:23seriously from
00:33:24the beginning
00:33:24in the voice
00:33:25and look of
00:33:26the magazine.
00:33:27Not only
00:33:28was she the
00:33:30first female
00:33:31photographer to
00:33:32shoot for Playboy
00:33:32she was one of
00:33:33the first
00:33:34photographers to
00:33:35shoot for Playboy
00:33:36at all.
00:33:37Hefner had a
00:33:37very special
00:33:38feeling for
00:33:39Bunny because
00:33:40she delivered
00:33:41and she delivered
00:33:43time and time
00:33:44again.
00:33:45The closest
00:33:46relationship he
00:33:47ever had to a
00:33:48photographer was
00:33:50with Bunny
00:33:50Yeager.
00:33:54Dear Bunny, I
00:33:56imagine you
00:33:56received our
00:33:57check for
00:33:58slightly over
00:33:58$1,000 or
00:34:00your September
00:34:01feature, Bunny's
00:34:03Honeys.
00:34:04Her involvement
00:34:06with the magazine
00:34:06went deeper
00:34:07than just the
00:34:09centerfolds she
00:34:10shot.
00:34:11She would also
00:34:12bring models to
00:34:13their attention who
00:34:14maybe their
00:34:14centerfolds would
00:34:15end up being shot
00:34:16on site and not
00:34:17by her.
00:34:18She was very
00:34:19involved in
00:34:20promoting the
00:34:20Playboy Club when
00:34:22it came down to
00:34:22Miami.
00:34:24Bunny Yeager
00:34:25really helps
00:34:27define the
00:34:28look and voice
00:34:29of Playboy in
00:34:30the early 50s
00:34:31and in the
00:34:31mid-50s.
00:34:38As magazines
00:34:40like Playboy
00:34:40made it more
00:34:41culturally acceptable
00:34:43to take off your
00:34:44clothes in front
00:34:44of the camera,
00:34:45women started
00:34:46trying to
00:34:47get that
00:34:48notoriety,
00:34:49you know,
00:34:49get that
00:34:50ability to
00:34:51use that as
00:34:53a career
00:34:53stepping stone.
00:34:54Here were
00:34:54people,
00:34:55these housewives,
00:34:57with no
00:34:57agency,
00:34:58with no
00:34:59creative
00:34:59expression,
00:35:00who were not
00:35:01really allowed
00:35:02to go out
00:35:04and have a
00:35:04career.
00:35:05People were
00:35:06putting them
00:35:06in front of
00:35:07the camera and
00:35:07saying,
00:35:08you are special.
00:35:09It was just
00:35:10something exciting
00:35:12for them to
00:35:13do.
00:35:13It was a
00:35:14form of
00:35:15Hollywood for
00:35:16them.
00:35:17I talked
00:35:18to my dad
00:35:18about that
00:35:19when I was
00:35:19a teenager.
00:35:20I berated
00:35:21him for
00:35:21looking at
00:35:22the Playboys
00:35:23and I said,
00:35:23why would you
00:35:24look at
00:35:24Playboys when
00:35:25you have
00:35:25mom here?
00:35:27And he says,
00:35:28well, I read
00:35:28the articles and
00:35:29it's like,
00:35:29who are you
00:35:30kidding?
00:35:30I'm kidding.
00:35:35You come
00:35:37home.
00:35:39You come
00:35:40into my
00:35:41home.
00:35:44And there's
00:35:46nothing more
00:35:47child I can
00:35:48say than you.
00:35:50You smile like
00:35:51When she started
00:35:52working for
00:35:52Playboys, she
00:35:53was making
00:35:53really good money.
00:35:55I mean, for
00:35:55those years,
00:35:56really good money.
00:36:00What we think
00:36:01we know about
00:36:02Hugh Hefner is
00:36:03he loved women
00:36:04and he wanted
00:36:05to own and
00:36:06control women.
00:36:07But I must
00:36:08tell you,
00:36:09frankly, that
00:36:10I am being
00:36:11taken advantage
00:36:12of in this
00:36:13association and
00:36:15that it is
00:36:15becoming more
00:36:16and more a
00:36:17very one-sided
00:36:19deal with
00:36:20Playboy getting
00:36:21the short end
00:36:22of the stick.
00:36:22And what we
00:36:24think we
00:36:24know about
00:36:25Bunny Yeager
00:36:26is she
00:36:28wanted more
00:36:29and she
00:36:30needed more.
00:36:31She told me
00:36:32that when she
00:36:33really felt
00:36:33that she'd
00:36:34made it was
00:36:35when she
00:36:35published her
00:36:36first book,
00:36:36How to
00:36:37Photograph the
00:36:38Female Figure.
00:36:39That book
00:36:40sold close to
00:36:41200,000 copies.
00:36:45Writing was
00:36:46definitely one
00:36:47of her passions.
00:36:48She, I think,
00:36:49published like
00:36:4920 books in
00:36:50her lifetime.
00:36:55She had an
00:36:56incredible drive
00:36:57to be respected
00:36:58for how hard
00:36:59she worked
00:37:00and how good
00:37:00she was.
00:37:02We have a
00:37:03young lady
00:37:04with us
00:37:04who's made
00:37:04a reputation
00:37:05in this country
00:37:05as one of
00:37:06the fine
00:37:07photographers
00:37:07of gals.
00:37:09Would you
00:37:10welcome
00:37:10Miss Bunny
00:37:10Yeager?
00:37:14Now, you
00:37:15photographed
00:37:15yourself also,
00:37:16don't you?
00:37:16Oh, yes.
00:37:17Of course.
00:37:18Doesn't everyone?
00:37:19Not that I know of.
00:37:20I mean, how do
00:37:20you know that
00:37:20you have the
00:37:21expression that
00:37:21you want?
00:37:22Sometimes I
00:37:23use a mirror.
00:37:23I put a full-length
00:37:24mirror right next
00:37:25to the camera
00:37:25and then I can
00:37:26see just what
00:37:26I want.
00:37:27Now that I'm
00:37:28more experienced,
00:37:28I don't need a
00:37:29mirror.
00:37:29I just know
00:37:30what I'm doing.
00:37:31You take mostly
00:37:32glamour photography,
00:37:33don't you?
00:37:33I mean, would that
00:37:34be the correct
00:37:34terminology?
00:37:37Facial expressions
00:37:37for glamour
00:37:38photography.
00:37:39Amused, laughing,
00:37:40grinning, giggling,
00:37:41playful, animated,
00:37:42contented, tranquil,
00:37:43charming, seductive,
00:37:43sensual, surprised,
00:37:44serene, coy, wanton,
00:37:46interested, calm,
00:37:46provocative, teasing,
00:37:48awe-inspiring, modest,
00:37:49flirty, alluring,
00:37:50wistful?
00:37:50You mean a good
00:37:51model can do that?
00:37:52A good model
00:37:53has to do that.
00:37:54Anyone can smile,
00:37:56but how many people
00:37:57can do those
00:37:57expressions?
00:37:58I really don't know.
00:38:01Bunny was always
00:38:02trying to look ahead
00:38:03and see, you know,
00:38:05where culture was
00:38:06going.
00:38:09And of course,
00:38:10at that time,
00:38:11with the Supreme
00:38:11Court ruling
00:38:12about nudist films,
00:38:14everyone decided,
00:38:15I'm going to do
00:38:16a nudist film.
00:38:17You come home
00:38:20people like
00:38:21Doris Wishman.
00:38:22She did, of course,
00:38:23Nude on the Moon,
00:38:25which Bunny helped
00:38:26cast some of the
00:38:27models for that.
00:38:28You're a child,
00:38:29I keep saving you.
00:38:31You smile like this,
00:38:32you're good to talk
00:38:33that way in these words.
00:38:36She loved being
00:38:38on film sets.
00:38:39She was an extra
00:38:40in many films just
00:38:41because she loved
00:38:41movies so much.
00:38:44Will you take care
00:38:45of Mr. Norman?
00:38:46Certainly.
00:38:46Well, Mr. Norman.
00:38:47Oh, what are you?
00:38:48And why don't you
00:38:49just call me Bunny?
00:38:50Yes.
00:38:51Oh, I do.
00:38:54My grandma took
00:38:55all of the white
00:38:57swimsuit photos
00:38:58of Ursula Andress
00:38:59on that set
00:39:00that were used
00:39:01for the movie posters.
00:39:05Bunny worked on
00:39:06a lot of movies
00:39:08in Florida.
00:39:08She helped write
00:39:09script,
00:39:10she did casting,
00:39:11she did production,
00:39:13she did acting.
00:39:15Tom was still working
00:39:16with another model
00:39:17and since we had
00:39:19time to spare,
00:39:20we paused to watch
00:39:21this willowy blonde
00:39:23in a series
00:39:24of calendar poses.
00:39:31Bunny and her husband,
00:39:33they saw what was
00:39:34happening in the film
00:39:35business that a lot
00:39:36of people were
00:39:37making money.
00:39:41so they decided
00:39:43they were going
00:39:43to make some films.
00:39:45They made three films,
00:39:47Orgy of Revenge,
00:39:49Sextet,
00:39:50and Room 11.
00:39:52These would have been
00:39:54X-rated films
00:39:55at that time.
00:39:56By today's standards,
00:39:58probably R-rated films.
00:40:01Bunny and Bud
00:40:02did very well
00:40:03on the first movie,
00:40:04but they had issues
00:40:05with their distributor,
00:40:06so they never really
00:40:08recouped the money
00:40:09from the second two films.
00:40:13Well, my parents
00:40:14always talked
00:40:15about their work,
00:40:16so I knew
00:40:17from the get-go
00:40:18that they were doing this.
00:40:20Mom or dad actually
00:40:21asked me to draw
00:40:22the logo
00:40:23for one of the films.
00:40:24That was during
00:40:25my high school years.
00:40:27Certainly not something
00:40:28I wanted anybody
00:40:29to know about.
00:40:31I often wonder
00:40:33what it was like
00:40:34to be in Bunny's home
00:40:36in the 50s and 60s.
00:40:39She both brought
00:40:41her work home,
00:40:43but also kept
00:40:45her home orbit
00:40:47in a lot of ways
00:40:48completely isolated.
00:40:53She wanted it all.
00:40:55She wanted to have
00:40:57this picture-perfect vision
00:40:58of herself
00:40:59as a wife and mother,
00:41:00and she also wanted
00:41:01to have this really
00:41:03daring, you know,
00:41:05career that nobody
00:41:06could have plotted
00:41:07for her.
00:41:08She was always
00:41:09going to be more
00:41:10cool than me.
00:41:10I remember when I was
00:41:12in seventh grade,
00:41:13she had this outfit
00:41:15where she had
00:41:16one of those
00:41:17little caps,
00:41:18brimmed caps
00:41:18that were popular
00:41:19at the time
00:41:19in the late 60s,
00:41:21a miniskirt
00:41:22and go-go boots.
00:41:24Now, you can't
00:41:25compete with that.
00:41:31Definitely as an adult
00:41:32now, I can see
00:41:33that my life
00:41:34was very different
00:41:35than most people.
00:41:36But you have to remember
00:41:37that everything I see
00:41:38is through a deaf lens.
00:41:39I think it's different
00:41:40because I was a deaf kid,
00:41:41not because of
00:41:42who my mom was.
00:41:48My dad was
00:41:49Arthur Irwin.
00:41:50He was known
00:41:51as Bud.
00:41:53He was a police officer,
00:41:55and eventually
00:41:55became a detective.
00:41:58He did that
00:41:59for many, many years
00:41:59before he left the job
00:42:01to work with my mother.
00:42:02I have to say
00:42:03that my parents
00:42:04didn't have a lot
00:42:05of personal friends.
00:42:06I feel like
00:42:07most of their friends
00:42:08were business associates.
00:42:10They were very much
00:42:12into each other.
00:42:14They were very close.
00:42:15They were each other's
00:42:16best friends.
00:42:18They were a big love story.
00:42:22Him and my mother
00:42:23always worked together.
00:42:25He eventually began
00:42:26helping her
00:42:26to get the equipment ready.
00:42:29He also served
00:42:29as protection
00:42:30for some of the models.
00:42:34A police detective
00:42:36cannot support his family
00:42:38in Miami Shores.
00:42:39That's not the kind
00:42:40of people that live
00:42:41in Miami Shores,
00:42:41so it was mom's
00:42:43photo money
00:42:43that allowed us
00:42:44to live in such
00:42:45a nice neighborhood.
00:42:47I mean, it took time.
00:42:48She was always
00:42:49having ideas of things.
00:42:50She was very devoted
00:42:51to her work,
00:42:52and sometimes
00:42:53that left me feeling
00:42:54kind of left out.
00:43:01As the 60s go on
00:43:03and she's working
00:43:04with models
00:43:05who have grown up
00:43:06in a culture
00:43:07that has a little bit
00:43:08more sexual liberation,
00:43:09there's a lot more daringness,
00:43:12a lot more untidiness,
00:43:14let's say.
00:43:16Instead of the bouffant beauties
00:43:18who she worked with
00:43:19for a long time,
00:43:21you get these long-haired hippies,
00:43:24these really just natural beauties.
00:43:29into the late 60s
00:43:31and the early 70s
00:43:33when suddenly
00:43:33they wanted to see genitals.
00:43:36It was a huge bar.
00:43:38Women did not feel
00:43:40proud of their pussies.
00:43:42They didn't have
00:43:43any ego about that.
00:43:45That was a part
00:43:45they didn't want people
00:43:46to look at,
00:43:47and it was a huge barrier,
00:43:49and it meant
00:43:50a complete change
00:43:51in the kind of women
00:43:51who would take
00:43:52their clothes off.
00:44:00I think that nudity
00:44:03is really
00:44:04a cyclical phenomenon.
00:44:05I think it comes,
00:44:07it gets very liberal
00:44:09and extreme,
00:44:09then it goes back,
00:44:11reacts the other way,
00:44:11and it just seems
00:44:12to be a cycle
00:44:13in entertainment.
00:44:16Being a figure
00:44:17in Miami
00:44:19put Bunny
00:44:20in a really optimal position
00:44:23to get involved
00:44:25in the next wave
00:44:26of sexual expression.
00:44:32When you get
00:44:33into the 70s,
00:44:34suddenly artistry
00:44:35just wasn't important anymore.
00:44:38Nobody cared
00:44:39about pin-up
00:44:40in the 70s.
00:44:41It was kind of like
00:44:41that was old-fashioned.
00:44:43Guccione with Penthouse
00:44:44introduced pubic hair.
00:44:46Playboy waited
00:44:47about a year,
00:44:48and then they came out
00:44:49with pubic hair.
00:44:57Then you got a guy
00:44:59named Larry Flint.
00:45:00He came out
00:45:02in 1976
00:45:03with Hustler.
00:45:07This was another
00:45:09revolution.
00:45:10It was a market
00:45:11shift.
00:45:12Larry Flint
00:45:13and his enterprises
00:45:14and Penthouse magazine.
00:45:15All that was important
00:45:17was getting
00:45:18the genitals,
00:45:19get those genitals
00:45:20in your face.
00:45:24You know,
00:45:25that's just
00:45:25hardcore porn.
00:45:27You don't need
00:45:27a great photographer
00:45:28like Bunny
00:45:29to do that.
00:45:30Bunny did try
00:45:31somewhat to adapt
00:45:32to the new market,
00:45:36but when they
00:45:37wouldn't accept
00:45:37her work,
00:45:38she wasn't willing
00:45:39to compromise.
00:45:41She was struggling
00:45:42to still try
00:45:43to do the same
00:45:44kind of milder
00:45:45photography
00:45:46that had made
00:45:47her success
00:45:48in the beginning
00:45:48without a real audience.
00:45:52As pin-up
00:45:53gets overshadowed
00:45:55by porn,
00:45:56Bunny really
00:45:56starts to pull back.
00:45:58There was a period
00:45:59where Mom
00:45:59couldn't cross that line
00:46:01because the photos
00:46:02were getting so trashy
00:46:03in the men's magazines.
00:46:04They were not
00:46:05at all respectful.
00:46:06Then in the late 60s
00:46:08and early 70s,
00:46:09feminism was kind of
00:46:10born in that
00:46:11generation's incarnation
00:46:12and it was extremely
00:46:13anti-pornography
00:46:15and by association
00:46:16anti-nudity.
00:46:17The marcher's aim
00:46:18was clear.
00:46:19Let's kill
00:46:19the $4 billion industry
00:46:21that exploits females
00:46:22and female bodies
00:46:23young and old.
00:46:24It has nothing to do
00:46:25with sex,
00:46:26with love,
00:46:26with erotica.
00:46:27It is violence.
00:46:28And in most of the cases
00:46:30of rapists
00:46:31and child abusers
00:46:33who have been questioned,
00:46:34they have said very clearly
00:46:35that they were practicing
00:46:37what they had seen
00:46:38demonstrated in pornography.
00:46:41As I got older,
00:46:43I started to be
00:46:44more embarrassed about it.
00:46:46I didn't want my friends
00:46:47to know what Mom
00:46:49did for a living.
00:46:56I remember the first time
00:46:58that I ever felt
00:47:00strange about it
00:47:01was when my sister,
00:47:02Sherry Lou,
00:47:03began to feel
00:47:04embarrassed about it.
00:47:07She came to me
00:47:08telling me how she felt
00:47:09it was wrong
00:47:10that what Mom was doing
00:47:11and that it was dirty
00:47:12and I didn't agree with that.
00:47:14I feel like that should
00:47:15be something private,
00:47:16that kind of exposure,
00:47:17not just for anybody to see.
00:47:23The 70s were really
00:47:25tough for her.
00:47:28She had to come up
00:47:30with some alternative income.
00:47:33A police officer
00:47:36approached her
00:47:37to do a job for him
00:47:39and it was a picture
00:47:40of a man and woman together.
00:47:42And that was the kind of picture
00:47:44that she hadn't done
00:47:45up to that point.
00:47:46In the mid-70s,
00:47:48Bunny Yeager was charged
00:47:49with obscenity
00:47:50for shooting sexual content.
00:47:56A woman?
00:47:57An outspoken,
00:48:00pushy,
00:48:00famous woman
00:48:02is the easiest target
00:48:04to bring down.
00:48:06It was a ridiculous charge.
00:48:09They believed
00:48:10that it was retribution
00:48:12for Bud's work
00:48:13with the police department
00:48:14because he was
00:48:15in internal affairs.
00:48:17My mom said,
00:48:18if I'm guilty,
00:48:19I will be going to jail
00:48:20for 15 years.
00:48:23Her lawyer
00:48:24went down
00:48:25to the courthouse lobby
00:48:27and picked up
00:48:29a men's magazine
00:48:30and brought it
00:48:31to the courtroom
00:48:31and said,
00:48:32look,
00:48:33this is what's for sale
00:48:34down in your lobby
00:48:35and she's being charged
00:48:36with this same kind of thing.
00:48:39And so the case
00:48:40was dismissed.
00:48:58I don't want to speak
00:49:00for her family
00:49:01to the devastating consequences
00:49:04that had on them.
00:49:08I had come home
00:49:08for spring break.
00:49:11I was so excited
00:49:12to jump in the swimming pool
00:49:14at home.
00:49:14I missed it so much.
00:49:16And as soon as I got there,
00:49:17I looked
00:49:18and the pool
00:49:18was untaken care of.
00:49:20The water was green.
00:49:21It was disgusting.
00:49:23And I ran back in the house
00:49:24like,
00:49:24what's wrong with the pool?
00:49:25I was looking so forward
00:49:26to swimming.
00:49:27They said,
00:49:28we don't have the money
00:49:29to have the pool cleaned.
00:49:34There was some embarrassment
00:49:36over that arrest.
00:49:38My dad was becoming
00:49:40an alcoholic.
00:49:41He was depressed.
00:49:43Bud really blamed himself
00:49:44for Bunny being charged.
00:49:46It just sent him
00:49:48into some depression.
00:49:51Dad tried to take his life.
00:49:53He took pills.
00:49:56Mom found him
00:49:57and called for the ambulance.
00:49:59They pumped his stomach
00:50:01and he survived.
00:50:06My husband and I
00:50:07got married
00:50:08and two weeks later
00:50:09I got a telegram.
00:50:17He took his life
00:50:18using a gun.
00:50:23He was in the front seat
00:50:24of one of the cars
00:50:26and Mom and Lisa
00:50:27found him
00:50:28the next morning.
00:50:34I had gotten up
00:50:34very early in the morning
00:50:35on a Saturday
00:50:39and my mom
00:50:40was in the same clothes
00:50:41that she was wearing
00:50:42from the previous day.
00:50:45I went over to Mom.
00:50:46I'm like,
00:50:46what's wrong?
00:50:47What are you doing here?
00:50:49She's like,
00:50:50I'm just sitting here
00:50:50waiting for your father
00:50:51to come back.
00:50:55And I told her,
00:50:57I'm going to go ahead
00:50:57and take a shower
00:50:58and get ready
00:51:00before I call 911.
00:51:03And when I came out
00:51:04of the shower
00:51:04and Mom said,
00:51:05I found your father's body
00:51:06in his car.
00:51:12I was dumbfounded.
00:51:21I mean,
00:51:22we were all
00:51:22just devastated.
00:51:38It was a very tough time.
00:51:39It really deeply wounded
00:51:41all of us
00:51:42that were left.
00:51:48When my kids
00:51:49were growing up,
00:51:50we moved to Ohio.
00:51:52I was kind of glad
00:51:53for the separation
00:51:54because I didn't want
00:51:55the kids
00:51:55to love the photos.
00:51:58It was a really hard time
00:51:59economically
00:52:00in our household.
00:52:03After Bunny pulls back
00:52:05from pin-up photography,
00:52:06she starts to focus
00:52:07on other aspects
00:52:08of her work.
00:52:10She does a lot
00:52:12of headshot photographing.
00:52:15She does commercial photographing.
00:52:17She teaches classes,
00:52:20puts herself out there
00:52:21taking bit parts
00:52:22in TV shows,
00:52:23does boudoir photography.
00:52:28She started performing.
00:52:30She had a singing act,
00:52:32nightclub act.
00:52:33She had a beautiful voice.
00:52:34She could have done that
00:52:35as her profession.
00:52:37Take up all my care
00:52:39and woe.
00:52:40Here I go swinging low.
00:52:42She has a second act
00:52:45that's wildly different
00:52:46than her heyday
00:52:49as a photographer.
00:52:50And she scrambles
00:52:52to make a living.
00:52:57I had a hard time
00:52:58understanding mom
00:52:59because she would do things
00:53:03that she was not qualified
00:53:05to do, so to speak,
00:53:06officially.
00:53:07Like, she wrote a diet book.
00:53:09Well, mom's not a dietitian.
00:53:12Now, she did have a lot
00:53:13of experience dieting
00:53:15as a model.
00:53:21After my sister's wedding,
00:53:22mom and I lived alone
00:53:24for probably about a year.
00:53:26It was just the two of us.
00:53:28Unfortunately,
00:53:29me and my mom
00:53:30began to have
00:53:31a lot of conflict
00:53:32at that time
00:53:33because this is when
00:53:34I had learned
00:53:35that so much of my life
00:53:36had been kept from me
00:53:37because they couldn't sign.
00:53:38And I was starting
00:53:39to feel very resentful
00:53:40at this time in my life.
00:53:41And I had met
00:53:42my first husband
00:53:43at this time
00:53:43and we got married
00:53:44and left.
00:53:48Think about
00:53:49how hard
00:53:51it is
00:53:52to have been
00:53:53somebody who's
00:53:54considered very elite
00:53:56and become somebody
00:53:58who is really
00:54:00scrambling for economic crumbs.
00:54:14Then we kind of
00:54:15lost track of her.
00:54:17She took no pictures
00:54:18from 80s to 90s.
00:54:21She was working
00:54:22in newspaper,
00:54:23graphic print design.
00:54:24She was selling
00:54:25different pieces
00:54:26to magazines
00:54:28for about 10 years
00:54:29and then she stopped
00:54:30doing that.
00:54:34But there was no profit.
00:54:36The money was terrible.
00:54:40The office
00:54:41was completely closed.
00:54:43Everything from the office
00:54:44had been brought
00:54:44into our home
00:54:45and our house
00:54:46just held everything
00:54:47all of the time.
00:54:49There was a fire
00:54:50and she lost
00:54:51a lot of her negatives.
00:54:52She just felt
00:54:54so deflated.
00:54:55She didn't have
00:54:56a chance
00:54:56to get back up
00:54:58in a sense
00:54:58for herself.
00:55:01In the early 90s,
00:55:03most of the people
00:55:03that I knew
00:55:04that collected
00:55:04pinup art,
00:55:06they were fans
00:55:07of the Rocketeer.
00:55:08They knew about
00:55:09the Betty pages
00:55:09and all these
00:55:10obscure little zines
00:55:12where they could see
00:55:13pictures of Betty.
00:55:15People rediscovered
00:55:16Betty in the 1990s.
00:55:18Betty became this icon
00:55:20of early female sexuality.
00:55:30To me,
00:55:31it was this kind of cipher
00:55:32where people projected
00:55:34things onto her.
00:55:35People thought
00:55:36she was a rebel.
00:55:37People thought
00:55:38she was this SM goddess.
00:55:41A generation of 90s
00:55:43rockabilly girls
00:55:44thought she was
00:55:45the style icon.
00:55:47The number of women
00:55:48I saw in the 90s
00:55:50with Betty Page bangs
00:55:51but like neck tattoos
00:55:53is a lot.
00:55:55I think the young people
00:55:56are embracing again
00:55:58a kind of a retro cool
00:55:59from the latter 50s
00:56:01and the 60s
00:56:01and 70s.
00:56:02In that context,
00:56:03Betty Page
00:56:04is truly iconic.
00:56:07Bunny really leans
00:56:09into trying
00:56:09to get involved
00:56:11involved in the culture
00:56:12that surrounds Betty Page.
00:56:14That's when she started
00:56:15trying to sell
00:56:16some work on eBay,
00:56:18lithoprints
00:56:18and that type of stuff.
00:56:22People who,
00:56:23in the past,
00:56:23if they had wanted,
00:56:24you know,
00:56:25a signed lithograph
00:56:26of Betty Page
00:56:27would have had to
00:56:28write her
00:56:29with a self-addressed
00:56:30stamped envelope
00:56:31can now go on eBay
00:56:33and just buy it.
00:56:44After my mom
00:56:46did that work
00:56:47of Betty Page,
00:56:48it seemed like
00:56:48they lost touch
00:56:49for a very,
00:56:50very long time
00:56:52and that was
00:56:53when mom finally
00:56:54found out
00:56:54that she had been
00:56:55put into
00:56:56a psychiatric hospital
00:56:57and was unable
00:56:58to be reached.
00:57:00Well,
00:57:00hi there,
00:57:01Betty.
00:57:02First,
00:57:03I want to...
00:57:03Long time,
00:57:04no see.
00:57:04When I've been interviewed,
00:57:06they always ask
00:57:07who I thought
00:57:08was the best model
00:57:09I ever worked with
00:57:10and I've always
00:57:11had to answer
00:57:12Betty Page
00:57:13because,
00:57:14you know,
00:57:14you had a face
00:57:15that I believed
00:57:16was perfect
00:57:16in every way
00:57:17and your body
00:57:18was the kind
00:57:18that looked natural
00:57:20when you were nude
00:57:21instead of appearing naked.
00:57:23I think your biggest asset
00:57:24was your enthusiasm
00:57:25and your creative
00:57:27facial expressions
00:57:28that made you
00:57:29better than
00:57:29any other model.
00:57:31I think it was also
00:57:33that
00:57:34and because
00:57:35I like posing,
00:57:36I like the modeling,
00:57:39I can make it
00:57:39in two hours
00:57:40more than I would make
00:57:4240 hours a week
00:57:43doing several work
00:57:45eight hours a day.
00:57:49It's very rare
00:57:50when you find an artist
00:57:51and you look at their work
00:57:53and it literally defines
00:57:55an epoch
00:57:55and a time
00:57:56because they capture
00:57:58the form
00:57:59and the shape
00:58:00of that moment.
00:58:12She captured
00:58:14the essence
00:58:14of what
00:58:15the bikini
00:58:17and the girl
00:58:18go together.
00:58:22It's a major contribution
00:58:24to style
00:58:25and popular culture,
00:58:26the bikini
00:58:26and nobody knows
00:58:28that it was Bunny.
00:58:34There's a famous
00:58:35photo of her
00:58:35that we've had
00:58:37in galleries
00:58:37that is her
00:58:38in a daisy bikini
00:58:40that she made
00:58:41by putting daisies
00:58:42together,
00:58:43fake daisies.
00:58:44And so she had
00:58:45a similar swimsuit,
00:58:47not the iconic one,
00:58:48but made out of flowers.
00:58:50And when I was 14,
00:58:52she asked me,
00:58:52what do you think
00:58:53Holly would happen
00:58:54if you put this on?
00:58:57And I was horrified.
00:58:58I looked at her
00:58:59and I said,
00:59:00I think my mom
00:59:01would kill you.
00:59:02That's what I think
00:59:03would happen.
00:59:15One of the great things
00:59:16about the passage
00:59:17of time
00:59:17is that
00:59:18it will take
00:59:19the veneer
00:59:20of filth
00:59:21off of nude material
00:59:22and turn it into art.
00:59:39There were two main reasons
00:59:41that we decided
00:59:42to do Bunny Yeager's
00:59:43first ever institutional show
00:59:46at the Andy Warhol Museum.
00:59:50Seeing her work
00:59:51and thinking,
00:59:52of course,
00:59:52about Cindy Sherman
00:59:53and Yasomaso Moe Murrah
00:59:55and many photographers
00:59:56who do self-portraiture,
00:59:58utilizing disguise
00:59:59and masquerade,
01:00:00I realized
01:00:01that Bunny
01:00:02had beat them
01:00:03to the punch
01:00:03by at least 15 years.
01:00:07I wanted to make sure
01:00:09that not only
01:00:10did I get to know more
01:00:11about her work,
01:00:12her motivations,
01:00:13but how she should be woven
01:00:17into the narrative
01:00:18of art history
01:00:19because I realized
01:00:19pretty quickly
01:00:20that she deserved to be.
01:00:25Many curators
01:00:26and those
01:00:27in the museum profession
01:00:28would not have
01:00:29viewed pin-up photography
01:00:30as relevant
01:00:31to the lineage
01:00:33of art history
01:00:34until quite recently.
01:00:36Feminism,
01:00:37in its first,
01:00:38second,
01:00:38and third waves
01:00:39within the academy,
01:00:41allowed that door
01:00:42to open
01:00:43ever so gradually,
01:00:45but it took
01:00:46until 2010
01:00:47when we did
01:00:48that exhibition
01:00:49for it
01:00:49to be fully open.
01:00:53I'll never forget
01:00:55that one
01:00:55of the first
01:00:56conversations we had,
01:00:57I told her,
01:00:59we're so thrilled
01:00:59to be showing
01:01:00your work
01:01:00at the Warhol Museum
01:01:01and she immediately said,
01:01:03how much
01:01:03are you going
01:01:04to sell them for?
01:01:06And I said,
01:01:07well, Bunny,
01:01:08we're actually
01:01:08not selling them.
01:01:09She said,
01:01:10well, then
01:01:10why are we doing this?
01:01:13I often tell the story
01:01:14about Diane Arbus.
01:01:16She called Bunny
01:01:17the world's
01:01:18greatest pin-up photographer.
01:01:20She came to Miami
01:01:22intent on meeting Bunny
01:01:23and called her
01:01:24and Bunny said,
01:01:26I've never heard of you.
01:01:27And Bunny refused
01:01:28to meet her.
01:01:29And this was
01:01:30the leading female photographer
01:01:32on the New York scene
01:01:33at the time.
01:01:36She didn't even really
01:01:37understand the significance
01:01:38of that.
01:01:39I don't think
01:01:40she really thought
01:01:40so much about
01:01:41whether she was
01:01:42making art or not.
01:01:43Bunny really did
01:01:45self-portraits
01:01:46all the time.
01:01:48She was fearless
01:01:50like that.
01:01:50It showed her courage.
01:01:52And it's what
01:01:53first got me interested.
01:01:55I said,
01:01:55oh, I want to meet
01:01:56this lady
01:01:57who's taking pictures
01:01:58that looks like this.
01:02:00she gets a museum exhibition.
01:02:03She gets picked up
01:02:04by an art gallery.
01:02:07People start to look
01:02:09at her photographs
01:02:10as part of the story
01:02:13of photographic history.
01:02:15I found out
01:02:16that a gallery
01:02:16was trying to get her
01:02:18to show some of her work.
01:02:20And we were just
01:02:21completely shocked by it.
01:02:23I mean,
01:02:23not because we didn't think
01:02:24she deserved it.
01:02:25She did.
01:02:25She was an amazing artist.
01:02:27But they started
01:02:28to show
01:02:29an extreme interest
01:02:30in her.
01:02:31And from there,
01:02:31it only spread.
01:02:32The calls didn't stop
01:02:33coming from galleries.
01:02:42I remember going out
01:02:44one day
01:02:44and there was just
01:02:45the place was
01:02:46full of cars.
01:02:47Everybody was outside
01:02:48drinking and smoking.
01:02:50It was like a party again.
01:03:04Paz de la Huerta
01:03:05always wanted
01:03:06to be photographed
01:03:06by Bonnie.
01:03:09A Bonnie photograph
01:03:10in our house,
01:03:12literally blocks away
01:03:14from her house.
01:03:20She was an accomplished
01:03:21photographer.
01:03:22She was a successful
01:03:23photographer,
01:03:24but she was also
01:03:25a model.
01:03:27When I photographed
01:03:28her in our studio,
01:03:29Bonnie went back
01:03:30to her modeling years.
01:03:32There she was
01:03:33having another chance
01:03:34at all the things
01:03:35that she loved.
01:03:37It was like
01:03:37everything aligned
01:03:38for her.
01:03:56She still used
01:03:58a film camera
01:03:59until the day
01:04:00she died.
01:04:10She told me
01:04:11that Hugh Hefner
01:04:13is such a gentleman.
01:04:14And sure enough,
01:04:15when she passed away,
01:04:16he was a gentleman.
01:04:17He sent a thousand
01:04:18red roses
01:04:19to her funeral.
01:04:25My mother passed away
01:04:26and you can't imagine
01:04:28the amount of work
01:04:29that she left behind.
01:04:31I was Bonnie's manager
01:04:33and agent
01:04:34for four years.
01:04:37She was one
01:04:38of my best friends.
01:04:40Lisa would say
01:04:42I was probably
01:04:42the worst thing
01:04:43that ever happened
01:04:44to her.
01:04:45From the day
01:04:45I walked in this office,
01:04:48she did not like me
01:04:49and that never changed.
01:04:51She was totally consistent.
01:04:53I felt like Ed
01:04:54was taking anything
01:04:56he wanted.
01:04:56He reorganized things
01:04:58in a way that made
01:04:58no sense to me.
01:05:00It was all this work
01:05:01me and my mother
01:05:02had done
01:05:02organizing these archives.
01:05:05Five years worth
01:05:06of work
01:05:06was just destroyed.
01:05:09The work was being
01:05:10duplicated
01:05:11and just put out there
01:05:12in ways that we
01:05:12had no control over.
01:05:16My impression is
01:05:17that Ed
01:05:17was a very good
01:05:18salesperson for Mom.
01:05:19I think he was
01:05:20one of the people
01:05:21that was encouraging
01:05:22her to get her photos
01:05:24into the art galleries
01:05:25and to do art shows.
01:05:27Lisa was very,
01:05:29very protective
01:05:30of her mom.
01:05:31Not only as a daughter
01:05:33but business-wise.
01:05:35I was so done
01:05:36with him
01:05:36and I decided
01:05:37to hire an attorney
01:05:39to get rid of him.
01:05:41It was personally
01:05:42devastating for me
01:05:43but I bounced back
01:05:45and at the end
01:05:46of the day
01:05:47I think it was
01:05:47all for the best.
01:05:51It was extremely
01:05:52overwhelming
01:05:53to be the only
01:05:54person responsible
01:05:55for the archives
01:05:56of my mother's work.
01:05:58My sister just
01:05:58didn't care about it
01:05:59like I did.
01:06:00She was always
01:06:01on the phone
01:06:02trying to find
01:06:02someone to get rid of it
01:06:03and I was on the phone
01:06:04trying to find
01:06:05someone to partner
01:06:05with me.
01:06:06When I was in college
01:06:07I saw The Godfather
01:06:10and I thought
01:06:11about Michael Corleone.
01:06:13You know,
01:06:14how he did not want
01:06:15to be part of
01:06:16the family business.
01:06:17He so did not
01:06:18want to be part of it
01:06:19and it drew him in.
01:06:21I have kind of
01:06:22felt like that.
01:06:23I wish I could
01:06:25have embraced
01:06:25what my family
01:06:26was doing
01:06:27but I couldn't
01:06:28and I still can't.
01:06:31I don't think
01:06:32that the photos
01:06:33are respectful
01:06:33to women.
01:06:35I understand
01:06:36completely
01:06:37what my mom's
01:06:38feelings are on this
01:06:39but I disagree
01:06:40with my mom.
01:06:42My grandma
01:06:43is someone
01:06:44that I absolutely
01:06:45adored growing up.
01:06:46Someone who is
01:06:47good to me.
01:06:48Someone who is
01:06:48always made sure
01:06:49that I was
01:06:50taken care of.
01:06:54My sister and I
01:06:55decided it was time
01:06:56for us to sell
01:06:57everything.
01:06:58It's hard to say
01:06:59how I feel about it.
01:07:00My sister was the one
01:07:02that really pushed me.
01:07:03She didn't care about
01:07:03my mother's work
01:07:04the way that I do.
01:07:05It was just too painful
01:07:07to go on.
01:07:10Everything was sold
01:07:12to Daniel
01:07:13and Sarah Jane Bloom
01:07:14and I think that
01:07:16they're continuing
01:07:17to sell
01:07:18the work.
01:07:29Bunny worked so much
01:07:32that there is enough
01:07:34material here
01:07:35that I could try
01:07:37and sell it myself
01:07:38for three lifetimes
01:07:40and still not
01:07:40get anywhere.
01:07:44More than anything,
01:07:45I'm really still
01:07:47trying to figure out
01:07:49the best way
01:07:50to talk about her
01:07:51and the best way
01:07:51to see her.
01:07:54What do you think
01:07:55your mother's
01:07:55legacy is?
01:08:06You know,
01:08:07I wish her legacy
01:08:08was different.
01:08:10She changed how
01:08:11photos were shot.
01:08:12She taught people
01:08:13how to take
01:08:14the first selfies.
01:08:15I mean,
01:08:15this is the 21st century.
01:08:17She was so far
01:08:17ahead of her time.
01:08:18Bunny was really
01:08:19expert in creating
01:08:20mood through the use
01:08:23of costume,
01:08:23wig,
01:08:24makeup to create
01:08:25ambiance.
01:08:26That is the
01:08:27Instagram aesthetic.
01:08:32Bunny promoted
01:08:34the idea that
01:08:35it's okay
01:08:37for all of us
01:08:38to see and be seen.
01:08:40That it is not just
01:08:41for the famous people
01:08:43to be photographed
01:08:44as glamorous
01:08:45or beautiful
01:08:45or sexy.
01:08:47She wasn't about
01:08:48the performative
01:08:49sexuality of a body.
01:08:51She was about
01:08:51the sexiness
01:08:52of a body.
01:08:53What you see today
01:08:54is as women
01:08:57try to put themselves
01:08:58forward as sexual
01:08:59beings,
01:09:00try to share that
01:09:01with the world,
01:09:02they need to be
01:09:04their own Bunny Yeager.
01:09:10I love this term
01:09:11reluctant feminist
01:09:12because I kind of
01:09:13felt a little bit like
01:09:14who are you to say
01:09:15what's supposed to
01:09:16make someone feel
01:09:17powerful and what's
01:09:18supposed to make
01:09:19someone feel degraded
01:09:20because it's like
01:09:21you can never
01:09:22really agree on that.
01:09:24One of the things
01:09:25that I think is even
01:09:25more taboo than
01:09:27women's sexualities
01:09:28and women's bodies
01:09:29is women's ambition.
01:09:34She managed to take
01:09:35some of the most
01:09:36iconic photographs
01:09:37of the time
01:09:40and frustratingly
01:09:42most people
01:09:42don't know her name.
01:09:46She didn't really
01:09:47get the credit
01:09:48she deserved.
01:09:51I believe what
01:09:53my mother was doing
01:09:53was purely
01:09:54a beautiful art form.
01:09:56It was always
01:09:57a form of art
01:09:58and beauty.
01:10:02Bunny was
01:10:05unapologetically
01:10:06herself.
01:10:07She didn't conform
01:10:09to any
01:10:10cultural ideas
01:10:12of what a woman
01:10:14a mother
01:10:15a wife
01:10:15should be
01:10:16at that time.
01:10:20I want people
01:10:22to know
01:10:23that it is possible
01:10:24to be revolutionary
01:10:26without realizing it.
01:10:27her son
01:10:30how
01:10:30it be
01:10:37thatÉr
01:11:19When you look back on these pictures, how do you feel about it? Do you feel proud?
01:11:24Yes, my grandchildren, I want them to see and say, because, I mean, they look at me.
01:11:28My one looked at my hands one time and said, well, Gran, I don't want to get old.
01:11:33But I want to show them pictures and say, hey, Gran was hot and she had a good time.
01:12:12What were the ladygirls like?
01:12:16They weren't bad.
01:12:19They weren't bad.
01:12:20They weren't bad.
01:12:21They weren't bad.
01:12:29They weren't bad.
01:12:32They weren't bad.
01:12:34They weren't bad.
01:12:36They weren't bad.
01:12:39They weren't bad.
01:12:41They weren't bad.
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