Suzy Parker (born Cecilia Ann Renee Parker; October 28, 1932-May 3, 2003) was an American model and actress active from 1947 into the early 1960s. Her modeling career reached its zenith during the 1950s, when she appeared on the covers of dozens of magazines and in advertisements and movie and television roles.

She appeared in advertisements for Revlon and many other cosmetic companies, including Solo Products, the largest hair care product company in the country at the time. In 1956, at the height of her modelling career, she became the first model to earn $100,000 per year. A song that The Beatles wrote for her, though not released on record, appeared in their 1970 documentary film Let It Be, which won the Academy Award for Best Original Score.

I love this set of vintage photos featuring the lovely Marilyn Monroe doing some fly fishing, circa 1946. These three images were shot on color safety by Andre de Dienes (1913-85), and capture Marilyn before she had fully transformed into the blonde bombshell that captivated America in the ’50s and ’60s. In fact, she had barely transitioned away from her given name of Norma Jeane Mortenson at the time of this photo session.

The Marilyn we see here is not a star, but just a really pretty young woman full of life. That’s how I like to remember her.

(Click for the full-size version of each picture.)

If my Tumblr feed is any indication, Bettie Page is one of the most loved and photographed women in history. And so it’s only natural that she’d show up on album covers as well. Here’s a cheesecake-filled selection.

This is a shot from the famous 1954 “Jungle Bettie” session with photographer Bunny Yeager.

Never one for subtlety, David Lee Roth‘s 1998 solo album pretty much summed up what he thought was best about America. This also appears to be from the same Yeager photo session as the first cover.

Here’s another lovely 1957 gem from Halo Records. I’m not enough of a Pageophile to know the lineage of this boudoir shot. This same photo of Bettie in her black lingerie was used for a 1955 release of Bizet’s Carmen by the London Concert Orchestra, but with most of the lingerie (not to mention the bit of nipple on her right) cropped out.

Here’s another classic Bettie photo from the ’50s by Bunny Yeager. This one cranks up the humor element by putting Page in a slinky devil’s costume. I’m not totally certain of the year but I think it’s from 1954.

The April 5, 1943 issue of Life featured a brief story on the problem of sleeping in a relaxed state. It was basically an ad for a new book called You Must Relax: Practical Methods for Reducing the Tensions of Modern Living, written by Dr. Edmund Jacobson, which has been reprinted numerous times over the ensuing decades.

The article wasn’t very helpful or detailed, but the accompanying pictures were neat. Here are the original photographs from 1943, shot by Gjon Mili. They feature some cool stroboscopic effects of a model demonstrating sleep positions both tense and relaxed.

 

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Compounding the tragedy of an accidental death, Yahoo! adds the crime of English manglage in the 2nd degree.