Burlesque Star Dita Von Teese

This is a partial transcript of "The Big Story With John Gibson," April 14, 2006, that has been edited for clarity.

JOHN GIBSON, HOST: She is "The Notorious Bettie Page," a 1950s pin-up queen who now has a movie coming out about her. She is an all-American girl with a bit of a twist — an image that appears to be making a comeback now in the year of 2006.

Our next guest is just the person to tell us why. She is Dita Von Teese, author of "Burlesque and the Art of the Teese." Welcome, Dita.

So why do you think there is this sudden resurgence in the look of the early 50s and the interest of Bettie Page?

DITA VON TEESE, AUTHOR, "BURLESQUE AND THE ART OF THE TEESE": Well, I think there have always been those of us who appreciated Bettie Page's look and recognized the iconic image, whether it was images we saw of her with these bondage photos from the '50s or artwork about her or comic books. Her image is such an iconic image that a lot of people maybe don't know about. But they are definitely going to know about it now with this movie and all of the media interest.

GIBSON: Well, she was — tell us about her. I mean, she was a church girl, who later in life returned to her religious roots. What do you know about her?

VON TEESE: Well, it's hard to find out a lot about the real Bettie Page because there are a lot of conflicting reports about her life, and I'm not sure — I haven't seen the film yet — so I'm not sure what story it's based on. But, you know, she is mysterious, and that's part of her appeal.

GIBSON: Now, what about your book, "Burlesque and the Art of the Teese." What are you trying to tell us in your book?

VON TEESE: Well, my book, I speak a lot about burlesque and retro-glamour and old Hollywood and my interest in it and why I'm interested in it, my life-long fascination with the era of the 30s and 40s.

GIBSON: Well, why are you interested? Why are the 50s making a comeback — and not only the 50s, the early 50s?

VON TEESE: Well, yes, I'm more interested in the 40s actually, if you really want to know. But, as a child I loved movies, all those big musical movies starring Betty Grable and Rita Hayworth and all of these big lavish spectacles, and so I had a real love for the glamour of that time and films. And so that's why I became interested in burlesque.

GIBSON: By the way, who is your husband?

VON TEESE: My husband is Marilyn Manson.

GIBSON: Oh, the famous star.

All right. Dita Von Teese, author of "Burlesque and the Art of the Teese." Oh, there is Dita with her husband. Dita, thanks a lot.

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