Betty Grable
When you hear the term Pin Up Girl, the first image that comes to mind is the famous photograph of Betty Grable. The poster of Betty and her famous legs was printed over 5 million times, and prompted the studio to insure her legs for 1 million dollars. The pin up became popular in the 1940's, first in magazines, post cards and calendars, and then as posters. Widely distributed to GI's during WWI, the pictures of the pin up girls gave the lonely soldiers a welcome distraction.
Betty Grable earned her place as one of the famous pin girls when she became a star in 1943 after making Sweet Rosie O'Grady and Coney Island. Her classic pin up made her a world-wide sensation and she became one of the highest paid stars in Hollywood.
Marilyn Monroe
In the early 1950's a small town girl with big dreams set the standard for blonde bombshells. Marilyn Monroe, with her sexy yet innocent persona, became a box office draw after making Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. Images of the voluptuous star are popular to this day, long after her untimely death in 1961.
Bette Davis
Bette Davis and her famous eyes starred on Broadway before moving to Hollywood in 1930. She was at her peak during the mid to late 1930's with her roles in Dangerous and Jezebel. The epitaph on her tombstone, "She did it the hard way", sums up her career and her life, but with her pin up girl style, she made it look easy.
Jean Harlow
Jean Harlow starred in Platinum Blonde in 1930 and became America's new sex symbol. She made 5 movies with Clark Gable, cementing her place in pin up girl history. Tragically, she died at the age of 26 just as her career was skyrocketing.
Jane Russell
Once introduced by Bob Hope as "the two and only", Jane Russell's career consisted mostly of movies that emphasized her physical assets rather than her acting ability. Even after she proved her skill as a comedic actor in 1953's Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, Hollywood continued to limit her to sexy roles.
Marie McDonald
After becoming Miss New York in 1939, Marie McDonald move to Hollywood to become a star. Even though she had the looks, she lacked the talent to really make it as an actor. She earned most of her fame through scandal, finally ending her life by suicide when she was 42.
Ava Gardner
Pin up beauty Ava Gardner, went to Hollywood in the early 1940's. She had some memorable performances in Mogambo and Night of the Iguana. Never really happy with the Hollywood scene, she move to Spain in 1955.
The perfect pin up girl was a sexy version of the girl next door. The movies of the 1930's, 40's, and 50's left us with a legacy of pin up worthy, women who's wholesome beauty was photographically captured for all the world to enjoy.
Leigh Fenty - I am a published writer of fiction, but find writing for the web, interesting and challenging. When I'm not writing, I am busy designing ...
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