Meet Bunny Yeager’s Archivist & New BettiePage.com Blogger

Ed & Tori at Viva Las Vegas Rockabilly Weekender #19

Bettie Page and Bunny Yeager were a powerful combination, and their work together basically made them both famous. Bettie fans love her Klaw photos, of course, but Bunny’s shots brought something altogether different and magical. Jungle Bettie? Amusement Park Bettie? Lots of naked Beach Bettie? All thanks to Bunny. I had the pleasure of interviewing her archivist, Ed Christin, and then I got to meet him soon after at the Viva Las Vegas Rockabilly Weekender, where he generously gave me a Bunny Yeager photo book and pinup trading cards! Read on for some Bettie-Bunny scoop.

TORI: It’s nice to meet you, Ed! Tell about yourself and your connection to Bunny, and by extension, Bettie.

ED: I have been a serious photographer myself since 1992. I love street photography in the tradition of Ruth Orkin or Helen Levitt. I pursued a series of photo essays, one in my home town of South Bend (see photo below from 1994), Indiana and another in the favela called Rocinha in Rio de Janiero.

South Bend Billie and Travis, by Ed Christin

I met Bunny Yeager at the photo lab we both used, Darkroom & Digital in Miami. I started repping Bunny’s work at that time and our working relationship grew from there. I was her agent for the last four years of her life, and I am now acting as the archivist for the collection along with Bunny’s daughter Lisa Packard.

When I met Bunny she had just completed her first museum exhibit at the Andy Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh. That show focused on Bunny’s self-portraits, which influenced many other artists. Bunny did what are called conceptual self-portraits. She would take on different looks and personas for her camera. That work was admired by artists like Diane Arbus and Richard Prince. Bunny is in fact the most famous pin-up photographer in the world. Her photos of Bettie Page taken in 1954 made them both famous overnight. Playboy published the January 1955 centerfold of Bettie with a Santa hat and Christmas tree.

Bettie Page in Playboy’s January 1955 centerfold, shot by Bunny Yeager

TORI: Tell us a bit about what Bunny was like.

ED: Bunny was a very independent person–she worked her entire career without an assistant. She did the makeup and hair for her models, designed the costumes, chose the models and told them exactly how to pose. She went from a rather shy young girl to the top model in Miami in the late 1940’s. Bunny won over 30 beauty contests including Queen of Miami, Sports Queen–with Joe Dimaggio as judge–and Miss Trailer Coach. No matter what other accomplishments Bunny attained in life, she was most proud of her days as a model.

I was lucky to have met her at a time when she was open to the idea of having an agent to promote her work and gain recognition in the art world. Bunny got to see the first major museum retrospective on her career at the Ft. Lauderdale Museum, and the publication of two books by Rizzoli NY: Bunny Yeager’s Darkroom and Bettie Page: Queen of Curves, both by Petra Mason.

Bettie Page in Devil Suit, by Bunny Yeager, 1954

TORI: How did she become a photographer–and such a highly skilled and renowned one?

ED: Bunny was dating a man who was taking photography courses, and he suggested that she join him. For Bunny it made sense to take some of her own photos to save money on model composites. The first class project she did in 1953 was a trip to Africa USA, site of her famous photos of Bettie Page, with model Maria Stinger and photographer Bill Hamilton, who was a mentor to Bunny. Much to Bill’s surprise, Bunny’s class photos made the cover of EYE Magazine. Bill Hamilton was a great photographer himself, and one of the few professional photographers, other than Bunny, to photograph Bettie Page extensively.

Bettie Page at Africa USA, by Bunny Yeager, 1954

TORI: Can you share any stories that Bunny might have shared with you about working with Bettie?

ED: Bunny was such a great story teller. Her description of her first shoot with Bettie is one of the best. Bear in mind that Bunny had never photographed a model in the nude before:

“..she came tiptoeing into the studio completely nude and ready for instructions. She walked up on her toes because her legs looked better that way… and also longer. She didn’t want anyone to see her walking like normal people walk, with heel and toe on the floor”. –Quote from Bunny Yeager’s Darkroon: Pin-Up  Photography’s Golden Era, 2012 Rizzoli USA

TORI: What do you personally admire about Bettie?

ED: I admire the way Bettie overcame adversity in her life and never expected people to feel sorry for her. Though her life was a difficult one by any measure, she was tenacious and never gave up.

TORI: What might we expect from future posts of yours here?

ED: I will be posting many photos that have not been seen, along with the stories Bunny told about herself and Bettie. I will also be correcting some inaccurate stories about their relationship, which was a very good one throughout most of their lives.