WHO SAYS BLONDES HAVE MORE FUN?Byline: - Bob Strauss Gretchen Mol Gretchen Mol (born November 8, 1972) is an American actress. Biography Early life Mol was born in Deep River, Connecticut where her mother, Janet, is an artist and teacher and her father is a school principal. was the petite, delicately featured blonde who got a lot of publicity for a few movie supporting roles some eight years back. Bettie Page Bettie Mae Page (though listed "Betty" on her birth certificate) born April 22, 1923 in Nashville, Tennessee, is a former American model who became famous in the 1950s for her fetish modeling and pin-up photos. was the voluptuous, raven-tressed pinup pin·up n. 1. a. A picture, especially of a sexually attractive person, that is displayed on a wall. b. A person considered a suitable model for such a picture. 2. model who blazed new trails in nude and fetish fetish (fĕt`ĭsh), inanimate object believed to possess some magical power. The fetish may be a natural thing, such as a stone, a feather, a shell, or the claw of an animal, or it may be artificial, such as carvings in wood. photography during the uptight 1950s. Mol plays the mysterious fantasy figure in ``The Notorious Bettie Page'' (April 14). And while she admits that some were skeptical of her ability to, um, embody the porn pioneer at first, Mol says that a philosophical kinship, along with thick-banged black wigs, enabled a remarkable transformation. ``Going in, you had to be prepared to do what she did in her photographs, whether she was tied up or nude or whatever,'' Mol says of Page, who, though still alive, remains something of a recluse since becoming a born-again Christian Noun 1. born-again Christian - a Christian who has experienced a dramatic conversion to faith in Jesus Christian - a religious person who believes Jesus is the Christ and who is a member of a Christian denomination and, reportedly, spending some time institutionalized in·sti·tu·tion·al·ize tr.v. in·sti·tu·tion·al·ized, in·sti·tu·tion·al·iz·ing, in·sti·tu·tion·al·iz·es 1. a. To make into, treat as, or give the character of an institution to. b. . The film is focused on Page's taboo-breaking, '50s heyday. ``I really believed in what I took to be her philosophy of nonjudgment,'' Mol continues. ``She had an effervescence ef·fer·vesce intr.v. ef·fer·vesced, ef·fer·vesc·ing, ef·fer·vesc·es 1. To emit small bubbles of gas, as a carbonated or fermenting liquid. 2. To escape from a liquid as bubbles; bubble up. 3. , she seemed so free and liberated, particularly when she was doing the nude photographs outside. I really do feel that we have so much shame and so many issues surrounding the naked body. I just had to tap into the feeling that this is pretty liberating, actually. But it was still something, obviously, that I thought through.'' Even the greatest trepidations were counterbalanced by a fantastic discovery: Brunettes do have more fun. ``I loved being a brunette,'' Mol enthuses. ``And I'll never be able to have that much hair, it was so fun for me. Even when I was doing some of the more difficult, more vulnerable, more naked scenes, I always had that wig. So I never felt totally exposed.'' Though she hasn't been in the publicity spotlight in recent years, Mol has been diligently building a distinguished body of work that includes a television production of ``The Magnificent Ambersons'' and both stage and screen versions of Neil LaBute's ``The Shape of Things.'' ``Bettie Page'' marks her biggest role yet. ``I've not been this involved with anything I've done before, so I'm excited about that,'' the 33-year-old actress notes. ``But the trajectory of one's career ... I don't know Don't know (DK, DKed) "Don't know the trade." A Street expression used whenever one party lacks knowledge of a trade or receives conflicting instructions from the other party. . It was definitely strange, the way it all happened. But I wouldn't say that I regret it at all, because I feel like who I am now is all part of the picture, the lessons and things you gain. And I also did a lot of things that I've been proud of in the interim. So I think it's all OK. And it's nice to kind of still be kickin' around.'' CAPTION(S): photo Photo: (color) `THE NOTORIOUS BETTIE PAGE' April 14 |
|
||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion