Ellsworth Boyd photos of Bettie: The Last Pinup

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The Last Pinup
These bikini shots are considered to be the last pinup photos taken of Bettie.

The year was 1957. I was lifeguarding in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, one of a dozen Ocean City, Maryland Beach Patrol nomads who made the sunshine state pilgrimage in the late 1950s and early 1960s.
There weren't many lives to save in the calm waves off this party town that one of the guys dubbed, "Ft. Liquordale." The beach was the focal point of social activity, and pretty girls were as bountiful as seashells on a shoreline that stretched more than five miles from Port Everglades to Lauderdale-by-the-Sea. But of all the girls I had seen in my six-month beach tenure, none were more beautiful nor more stunning than Bettie Page.

-- Ellsworth Boyd
Skin Diver 50th Anniversary Edition

Bettie was on her way to Miami to be married, but she stayed in Ft. Lauderdale long enough to learn to snorkel from Ellsworth Boyd on his favorite coral reef in Lauderdale By the Sea. She later told him that this inspired her to learn to scuba dive.

Ellsworth asked Bettie if she might pose in some of the dive gear and she was happy to do so. He didn't realize that these were to be Bettie's last poses before retiring from modeling.

She did get married shortly thereafter and then became very religious. The whole story, accompanied by two photos, appears in the January, 2001 issue of Skin Diver Magazine: "The Last Pinup" by Ellsworth Boyd.

These copies, of which there is a limited supply, are true collectors items. Skin Diver, after 51 years in publication, went out of print in December, 2002.

The magazines and five photos of Bettie are for sale with all proceeds going to her. The magazine, 154 pages, is $30 plus $6.50 priority mail and insurance. The photos are $30 each or all 5 for $125 plus $6.50 priority mail and insurance. Postage to addresses outside the U.S. will be more. Payment is by money order or Paypal. Personal checks will be accepted, but held until they clear. There is a money back guarantee if you are not satisfied. Contact: Ellsworth Boyd, 1120 Bernoudy Rd., White Hall, Maryland 21161. E-mail: ellsboyd@aol.com

In 1997, Ellsworth was interviewed in his home by an E! TV reporter and photographer. He appears on the 1997 "True Hollywood Story: Bettie Page," which is still sometimes aired on late night E! TV. This production documents "The Last Pinup" and features Ellsworth holding one of his Bettie Page photos.