As evidenced by last year’s “Couch Potato” post, Bettie Page made a career out of finding new and fascinating ways to athletically straddle, lounge across, or perch precariously on all sorts of furniture—including the kind not meant for sitting. How many times did your parents reprimand you for sitting or standing on tables? Well, Bettie’s … Continue reading Queen Bettie: Table It
Bad Girls We Love: Molly from Batman (1966)
Decades before Tim Burton’s Batman (1989) movie ignited Batmania across the land, the original Batmania spread like wildfire after the debut episodes of the 1966–1968 Batman television series. One of the few instances of an honest-to-goodness pop culture phenomenon, Batman’s camp sensibilities and colorful pop art style endeared it to millions of fans, including yours … Continue reading Bad Girls We Love: Molly from Batman (1966)
Baby Pfeiffer, Baby Fran, and the Hollywood Knights
What was the elevator pitch for The Hollywood Knights (1980)? “It’s American Graffiti meets Animal House, only twice as silly and half as fun!” Sold! I don’t care how inferior it is to those films, though. I have a major soft spot for this one. Overall, it’s a frivolous and fluffy affair, a crass teen … Continue reading Baby Pfeiffer, Baby Fran, and the Hollywood Knights
Queen Bettie: Farm Life
Last year we celebrated Beach Babe Bettie, so you might think a separate post about Bikini Babe Bettie is redundant. Well, you would be wrong. Ever the sex symbol, Bettie also wore bikinis when she wasn’t at the beach. For example, take these shots of her down by the farm in her classic bikini and … Continue reading Queen Bettie: Farm Life
Series A-Go-Go
Recently, I mentioned having a number of posts queued up for the next several months. Interestingly, many of them are part of different series. By my count, I have about seven series running concurrently here at the Starfire Lounge. This surprised me to learn, as it was never my intent to turn this site into … Continue reading Series A-Go-Go
Calendar Girl: Julie London for March
Calendar Girl’s track for March hits home in all the right ways. Of course there’s Julie London, whose sultry voice makes seasonal ennui sound sexier than it has any right to be. Then there’s the lyrics to “Melancholy March,” which so perfectly capture this month’s awkward middle child syndrome: Melancholy March, your gloom is showingYour … Continue reading Calendar Girl: Julie London for March
The Art of the Ad: The Playboy Club
At some point in the 1970s, probably just a couple of years before I was born, my parents and some of their friends visited the Playboy Club on East 59th Street and 5th Avenue in Manhattan. I know this because of the Playboy swizzle sticks stored in a kitchen cabinet during my childhood, which I … Continue reading The Art of the Ad: The Playboy Club