From time to time I come across an oddity that I never knew existed. While attending a local antique flea market, one of the vendors was offering a stack of fanzines titled Betty Grable's Hollywood. Further inspection provided me with the answers to the questions rummaging through my head. The club originated from the United Kingdom and for an annual subscription, four times a year, this 32 to 36 page fanzine would be mailed to the subscriber. Everything related to Betty Grable movies can be found within the pages: book reviews, biographical articles, excerpts from movie studio press books, notices of the latest VHS releases, even exclusive interviews with the actress not available elsewhere.
I do not know many of these were printed over the years. The latest issue I have is number 33, Winter 1996/1997. The first issue was dated September 1988. Over the years there was a Betty Grable tee-shirt for sale, retrospectives on Lauren Bacall, Marilyn Monroe and Carmen Miranda (all of whom worked with Grable), reprints of publicity photos with their press release, and it turns out there was also a Betty Grable convention.
Reprinted below are assorted pages from the 33 issues I have. Some of these are fascinating to read (such as a convention review). Enjoy!
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| Cover of the first issue of Betty Grable's Hollywood. |
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| After half a dozen issues, the covers went to color. |
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| Reprint of vintage advertising of Betty Grable movies. |
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| Reprints of newspaper articles about Betty Grable. |
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| Fan letters were reprinted in the issues. |
