February 15, 1943: The Betty Grable Pin-Up Photo

February 15, 1943: Actress Betty Grable poses for a publicity photograph. It makes her the top "pinup girl" of the World War II era.

Elizabeth Ruth Grable was born on December 18, 1916 in St. Louis. She appeared in her 1st film at age 12, shortly after the switch from silents to "talkies." She appeared in a bunch of "B-movies," usually portraying college students, until her starmaking turn in the 1940 musical Down Argentine Way. For the rest of the 1940s, she was 20th Century Fox's biggest star, mostly appearing in splashy color musicals.

February 15, 1943 was a busy day for Betty. Already known for having "Million Dollar Legs," she became one of the performers immortalized with hand- and foot-prints in front of Grauman's Chinese Theatre in Hollywood. Some performers, known for particular body parts, were asked to dunk them in cement, to get those prints. Examples included John Barrymore's profile, Jimmy Durante's nose, and Groucho Marx's cigar. On this day, a mold was made from one of Betty Grable's legs.

And she collaborated with Fox's leading studio photographer, Frank Powolny, for a regular studio photo session. During the shoot, she took several photos in a tight, one-piece white bathing suit. One particular pose showed Grable's back to the camera as she playfully smiled looking over her right shoulder.

Legend has it that the reason she was photographed from the back was that she was visibly pregnant at the time. It appears not to be true. From 1937 to 1939, she was married to Jackie Coogan, who had been a child star, and later played Uncle Fester on the TV show The Addams Family. On July 5, 1943, Betty married trumpeter and bandleader Harry James. Their daughter, Victoria, was born on March 3, 1944 -- exactly 9 months later, but well after Betty's pregnancy would have complicated the picture. They had another daughter, Jessica, in 1947. They divorced in 1965.

The picture was released as a poster, and became the most requested "pin-up" photo for American servicemen stationed overseas. It sold over 5 million copies, eventually surpassing the popularity of the Life magazine "boudoir photo" of Rita Hayworth in 1941.

She kept going, starring mostly in light musicals. As with the later examples of Elvis Presley, Star Trek films and baseball-themed movies, there was a core base of fans who would come out to see her, no matter what, so that her films were guaranteed to make a profit, so why splurge on things like a great screenplay or great songs? Just make them good.

They did, and both she and the studio made money. Throughout the 1940s, she remained a bigger star than other such blondes as Ingrid Bergman, Lana Turner and Lauren Bacall, and the dyed-redhead Hayworth (who was actually a brunette, as the daughter of a Spanish Romani).

But nothing lasts forever. In 1953, she saw the writing on the wall, and it read, "Marilyn Monroe." That year, Betty, Marilyn and Bacall starred together in How to Marry a Millionaire. Although Betty received top billing in the screen credits, Marilyn's name was listed first in all advertising, including the trailer. The actresses got along just fine: This was not a situation like the one in Marilyn's 1st big hit, All About Eve, where Anne Baxter's character schemed to succeed Bette Davis'. One source had Betty telling Marilyn, "Go and get yours, honey! I've had mine!"

In 1955, Fox produced How to Be Very, Very Popular. It was bad enough that Fox was already promoting Marilyn and Betty's successor. But, in this film, they paired Betty with Sheree North, whom they were already promoting as "the next Monroe." It never really happened for her. But it would be Betty's last film: Not even 40 years old, she decided not to renew her contract with Fox, and developed a Las Vegas singing act. People still came to see her.

At a press conference to promote

her show in London, 1969

Until her health gave out: A heavy smoker, she died of lung cancer on July 2, 1973. She was only 56 years old. Harry James died in 1983. Jackie Coogan died in 1984. Frank Powolny, who took the famous picture, lived until 1986. Betty's daughter, known in adult life as Jessica Yahner, died in 2016. As of February 15, 2022, Betty's daughter, Vicki Bivens, is still alive.

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February 15, 1943 was a Monday. Baseball and football were out of season. The NBA hadn't been founded yet. And the NHL had no games scheduled. So there were no scores on this historic day.