News

Bettie Page Suffers Heart Attack

Bettie Page, the quintessential 1950s pinup girl who captivated men and women alike with her dark, glossy hair, naughty fetish photos and incredible knockout figure, is in a coma after suffering a heart attack. Page, 85, had the heart attack on Friday and has since been in intensive care, according to agent Mark Roesler. Roesler also stated that Page is critically ill.

Page had been in the hospital for three weeks prior to the heart attack battling a case of pneumonia. She was scheduled for release but was sidelined by the heart attack. She was then transferred to another hospital in Los Angeles. Page family friend Todd Mueller told the press that the former pinup is in a coma.

Page, who battled mental illness and became a Born Again Christian after her modeling career, has been reclusive for several years. Page rarely grants interviews and refuses to have her photo taken, having said that she prefers fans to remember her as she looked when she was a young woman.

In an unrelated yet equally sad story, 39-year-old Scott Ruffalo, the brother of actor Mark Ruffalo, was found early last week in Beverly Hills with a gunshot wound to the head. Scott is fighting for his life, according to a statement issued by Jessica Kolstad, Mark's publicist. A Beverly Hills police spokesman would only say that "suspicious" activity had taken place at the time and place of the shooting. Mark has released no other statement on the matter.

—The ARTISTdirect Staff
12.08.08