Vintage Pulp | Dec 6 2014 |
This National Spotlite was published today in 1971. Betty Flenders graces the cover and centerfold, the beautiful Mary Weston, aka Venecia Day, brags about her sexual prowess inside, burlesque dancers Ava Braniff, Gid-Jet, and Rita Atlanta pose for insets, and Swede Barbara Klingered tries to keep her balance on a Zündapp motorcyle in a photo that gives us a trifecta of rare images from that session. The issue concludes with a sexual horoscope from resident seer Celestia. For more from the rare National Spotlite click its keywords at bottom.
Hollywoodland | Jul 31 2013 |
Her body drives men wild. But it isn’t Raquel Welch being quoted on the cover of this National Spotlite published today in 1967, though the juxtaposition of text makes it seem so. No, the line came from a little known actress named Donna Selby, who National Spotlite scribe Hugh Wells interviewed in London. The story is rather amusing, as Wells tells readers how Selby appeared in only a bathrobe, made a pass at him, gave him an unwanted kiss and even licked his ear. He claims to have fled the room, saying to the actress, “I predict that you’ll go places—and quickly too!” But he was wrong about that—try as we might, we can’t find mention of an actress named Donna Selby anywhere.
You have to give National Spotlite credit—unlike many middle tier tabloids of the period this one managed to actually feature relevant and semi-relevant personalities. That comes as a surprise, since it was owned by the infamous Beta Publications of Spotlite Extra and Close-Up Extra fame. But as the flagship paper, National Spotlite doubtless had a higher budget. The masthead tells us it even had offices in New York City and Montreal, which is kind of impressive. Within a few more years, though, the paper regressed to the same form as Beta’s cheaper imprints and was reduced to putting out issues like this one. Like Marlon Brando in On the Waterfront, for a while National Spotlite coulda been a contenduh. It just never quite made it.
Vintage Pulp | Feb 28 2013 |