I wrote this story about awhile back and thought I’d mention it. Monica Staggs is the self-proclaimed “death doll,” a North Little Rock beauty queen who went west and made good (and bad?) with Quentin Tarantino and other amusing characters. She was a blast to hang out with, and I ended up liking her a lot. Unfortunately, once her story ran, the feeling was no longer mutual. But I’m getting used to that.
You can hear more about Monica, from Monica, at her Tales from the South appearance.
Peter Gowland gave us all-American girl-next-door glamor. The New York Times dubbed him the “America’s#1 Pinup Photographer” in 1954. Hollywood progeny himself, Gowland spent his life mythologizing the sun, surf and starlets of Southern California. In 1931 at age 15, he began began snapping secret shots of celebrities, gaining access to movie sets via his actor parents. His work would eventually become more contrived, when he began posing the next generation of scantily clad starlets in his family pool, rigging faux waterfalls behind them.
