Bunny Yeager, Iconic Pin-Up Photographer and Model, Dies at 85

Bunny Yeager, a South Florida pin-up icon, has died at 85, according to the Miami Herald. Her manager Ed Christin confirmed to the paper that she died this afternoon at Pinecrest Rehabilitation Center in North Miami of congestive heart failure. See also: Photos of the Fabulous Bunny Yeager...

By Jose D. Duran

May 25, 2014

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Bunny Yeager, a South Florida pin-up icon, has died at 85, according to the Miami Herald. Her manager Ed Christin confirmed to the paper that she died this afternoon at Pinecrest Rehabilitation Center in North Miami of congestive heart failure.

Yeager was one of the most photographed South Florida models in the late 1940s. By the early '50s, she was doing fashion shoots for Saks Fifth Avenue, Lillie Rubin, and other high-end shops on Lincoln Road. She later turned her eye to working behind the camera, photographing the the famous Bettie Page and selling the photos to Playboy magazine, which had just come out.

At 80, she had been enjoying a recent revival of interest in her work. She had a solo show at the Harold Golen Gallery in Wynwood in 2011, and more recently an April show at Gavlak Gallery in Palm Beach. She also published several books through Rizzoli, including Bunny Yeager's Darkroom (2012) and the soon-to-be-released Bettie Page: Queen of Curves.

Yeager is survived by her daughters Lisa Irwin Packard and Cherilu Irwin Duvall. According to the Herald, services will be held at Faith Lutheran Church, 293 Hialeah Dr., Hialeah, at 4 p.m. Sunday, June 1.

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Jose D. Duran is the former senior music editor of Miami New Times. His work has also appeared in publications likeVice, Billboard, and Spin. He’s earned numerous accolades including placing first for Weekly Newspaper Contest: Business Reporting from the Florida Press Association in 2020; placing third for the Writing: Light Feature from the Florida Press Club in 2019; and placing third in Weekly Newspaper Contest: Best Obituary from the Florida Press Association in 2015.

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