Now available from Playboy Home Video.
What if your favorite calendar came to life?
You wouldn't get to write on it.
You wouldn't get to hang it on the wall.
But you would get this.
12 of the hottest, the sexiest, the wildest playmates you've ever seen.
They're torrid, they're tempting, and they're absolutely tantalizing.
And you can take them all home with Playboy's 1992 Playmate Video Calendar.
All right, we know it's not a real calendar.
But with 12 beautiful playmates together on one video, we didn't think you'd notice.
You and your lover are about to immerse yourselves in an almost mystical world of sensual possibilities.
A place where eroticism and pleasure have emerged as an art form that has been practiced for over 2,000 years.
Playboy Home Video invites you to experience each other in ways you've never imagined
as you discover the sensual pleasures of Oriental massage.
Once veiled in secrecy and mystery, you'll learn the erotic techniques of Eastern massage
that have for centuries fueled passion and sexual desire.
Now, these secrets are no longer just legends, but a seductive, romantic, and stimulating journey
for lovers to experience right at home.
Sensual pleasures of Oriental massage.
Show them together and savor the pleasures that men and women have shared for thousands of years.
These are the girls that dreams are made of.
The perfect balance of flesh and fantasy.
The image of beauty and sensuality that's been upheld by over 450 of the world's most desirable women.
I remember you.
You're the one who made my dreams come true.
A few kisses ago.
I remember you.
You're the one who said I love you too.
Yes, I do.
Didn't you know?
Playboy's Playmates.
These were the original Girls Next Door, and their centerfold layouts captured a freshness and charm
that redefined pinup photography.
We knew their names, their hometowns, even some of their hopes and dreams.
And each and every month, they played an undeniable role in a world of fantasy and romance.
Playboy's Playmates.
They've been a part of the rites of passage for three generations of American men.
Even today, their names and photographs are etched into the memories of millions of Playboy readers.
And their ability to take us back to our own early years is absolutely remarkable.
Then I will tell them I remember.
Tell them I remember.
Tell them I remember you.
Join us now for a long and loving look at the legendary ladies who graced the centerfolds from the very beginning of Playboy magazine.
A very special celebration of the most beautiful women of their day.
Playboy's Playmates.
The early years.
The year was 1979, and a seemingly endless line of cars and limousines converged on the Playboy Mansion high in the hills above Los Angeles.
The guests of honor were nearly 150 former Playmates who had come from across the nation for the grand 25th anniversary Playmate reunion.
It was an unprecedented extravaganza, even by Playboy's standards.
We are family.
I've got all my sisters with me.
We are family.
Get up everybody and sing.
Playmates from the 50s, 60s and 70s were brought together for the first time, each anxious to share their experience as Playmates and how their lives have changed when they became part of the Playboy family.
I'm a modeler.
I really just have never been exposed to anything except Oklahoma.
And being able to handle different social situations and gaining so much confidence by doing all kinds of newspaper interviews, TV shows, just really cool.
All over people around us they sing.
It was a time to rekindle old friendships, to relive the excitement, and to revel in the festive atmosphere of the most exclusive family reunion of all time.
We are family.
I've got all my sisters with me.
We are family.
Get up everybody and sing.
We are family.
These were the girls that had been part of the creation of an American publishing phenomenon.
Each Playmate, in her own special way, had helped perpetuate a fantasy that became a national obsession each and every month.
Living life is fun and we've just begun to get our share of you.
Oh just get real high.
I hope we hang.
I'm going to be really wild.
My heart's beating.
You literally are.
This is your life.
You're going to be roller skating later?
Yes, we're going to roller skate.
I love roller skating.
I have bad knees because I've been falling.
Then we're going to swim, then we're going to eat, then we're going to disco.
Okay, well I'll be here.
We are family.
I can hear you guys.
Get up everybody and sing.
We are family.
To the outside world, the celebration on this scale was exactly what was expected from the man whose business accomplishments and lifestyle could only be described as phenomenal.
Hi, I'm Christine Hanson.
And I'm Hugh Hefner.
And we're at the Playboy Mansion. You're throwing a party.
I certainly am.
Your 25 year anniversary reunion for all of the girls.
How do you feel?
Like a very proud papa.
If you're going to have a family reunion, this is really the way to do it.
We are family.
I've got all my sisters with me.
The 25th anniversary reunion was indeed an impressive milestone.
And even Hugh Hefner had to feel a bit overwhelmed by the event that was unfolding before him.
Well, think about it this way. Here in one place on one day, we've got three decades of American male fantasy all together.
You're all in your house.
How it started, the rivalry and which part?
Well, she was Ty's girlfriend before me.
And then I came along and then she came back along and then I tried to get her not to come along anymore.
Were you both playmates then?
Yeah, same year.
Yay, good year.
Even the playmates couldn't resist snapping a few shots of some of the girls who preceded them.
Just let me stay for the record.
We're giving love in the family door.
We are family.
I've got all my sisters with me.
We are family.
Get up everybody and sing.
We are family.
As the reunion progressed, the realization of just how remarkable an event this was hit home in a way Hugh Hefner never anticipated.
Well, welcome.
As most of you probably know, we have for the last several months been doing a series of special events related to Playboy's 25th anniversary.
But without question for me, the event that will stay with me for probably as long as I live, I'm sure, is today.
And while I had been looking forward to this with a lot of anticipation, I was not prepared for the very real nostalgia rush that I have gotten.
I have seen friends here in the last day that I have not seen for in some instances 15 or 20 years.
I know the same thing is true for many of you.
But when one considers the very real impact that Playboy has had on our society over the last three decades,
and how much society has changed in that period, and how much the Playmates have meant in the dreams and fantasies of American males over all the years,
to think of all of that congregated here in one place at one time,
we really are sharing an experience here that will, the likes of which will probably not come again.
It's remarkable and I just hope everybody is having as much fun with it as I am.
Most of you are probably aware that a very special lady in the beginning, very beginning years of Playboy, who was really the first girl next door Playmate, is here today.
And it is the first time that I've seen her.
She literally worked for the magazine in 1955 in the very beginning years as our subscription manager, and became a Playmate while she was a subscription manager.
She is the only woman who has ever appeared in the magazine as a Playmate three times, and I haven't seen her in 15 years, and it's a real joy to have her here, and that's Janet Pilgrim.
I'd also like to mention that Leroy Nieman is here, who I'm sure is known to you.
Leroy and I go back literally before the magazine.
He and I were buddies back when I was working as a copywriter for $40 a week at Carson Perry Scott's ad department, and it's a ball to have you here.
And sitting next to him is one more of my very dear friends who has drawn cartoons for Playboy over the years and went from there to a number of very successful and award-winning songs, and from there into a number of bestselling children's books, and that's Shel Silverstein.
It's awfully nice when you can work it out so that your own particular dreams and fantasies become a successful operation and other people can relate to it and make it work out like this. It's very nice.
As Playboy's publisher looked out at all these familiar faces, many looked back to the time just before they took the chance that would change their lives forever.
I was a Sunday school teacher when I left home.
I was a college student, and I think as a lot of college students feel like I want to be in show business someday.
I was working at a pharmaceutical house at the time as a secretary.
It's way too soon my way to school at the University of Florida.
Music
I kind of look at playmates as kind of up on a pedestal, sex guys. I never thought that I would be a playmate.
I did not really plan to become a playmate because as I told you before, I didn't really think that I might have a chance to become a playmate.
Because you know when you see all these beautiful centerfolds and all those surrounding pictures, they are so perfect. And you think, well, I couldn't look like that.
Lillian Mueller proved she could look like that as the August 1975 playmate and later as the 1976 playmate of the year.
Music
You've got to be in show business. You've got to get some national recognition. Let's send some pictures to Playboy. So I did.
I'd always wanted to be an actress or a model, and I thought this was my way to get in.
I wanted to do some acting, and I got into acting and commercials, and that really helped my career. And they called. I still don't believe it.
So then it was time to make a decision.
I had to weigh this very heavily. It was such a risque thing to do and as you say, almost shocking.
I'm a Victorian person. I must say I'm approved even though I've been there with this.
I don't think I'm more modest than anyone else, but quite modest.
Best of all, Playboy said, if you're worried about how you're going to be portrayed in the magazine, you choose the theme of the pictures and you write the article. And that's what I did.
And the first thing I knew, I was Miss July, 1950.
You way panties, baby.
More than a woman to me.
More than a woman.
More than a woman to me.
Oh say will you, my baby, we can make it shine. We can take the river just to make it out of town.
More than a woman.
More than a woman to me.
There are stories old and true, people so in love like you and me. And I can see myself, let history repeat itself.
Letting know how I feel for you. Thinking about those people, and I know that in a thousand years I'll fall in love with you again.
This is the only way that we should fly. This is the only way to go. And if I lose your love I know I would die.
Oh say will you, my baby, we can make it shine. We can take the river just to make it out of town.
More than a woman.
More than a woman to me.
More than a woman.
I think that the Playboy pictures are really beautiful pictures. It's really beautiful photography.
And I was really very proud of having a chance to become a Playmate and be seen in the magazine.
I'm very proud of that picture. I just love it. It brings back very wonderful memories.
It's wonderful. It's really wonderful. I loved it. It was a lot of stroking. Who doesn't want to be stroked?
The recognition was nice, you know, a lot of coverage, a lot of exposure, radio and television. I think that in the long run really helped.
It's a nice chance for you to get something started because you get a bit of exposure and you can do Playboy promotion if you want to.
And you get a chance to travel and meet a lot of people and if you use it right it can really get you somewhere.
That somewhere was likely to include the Playboy Mansion.
Part of what ultimately makes each Playmate special is the enthusiasm, energy and composure that is essential in becoming a Playboy Playmate.
In the spring of 1977, Sandra Theodore was just one of thousands of women across the country looking to make their Playmate dreams come true.
Sandra hoped that she might have what it took to make it all the way.
An assistant or a photographer takes three or four...
Playboy took its cameras behind the scenes and followed Sandra Theodore through the rigors of the Playmate selection process.
Viewers got a chance to eavesdrop on an actual Playmate centerfold shoot.
We're not going to publish these pictures just to see what you look like.
Playboys Playmates were very much the girls next door and most had little or no professional modeling experience.
Helping to make the prospective Playmate comfortable with the camera and with the photographer was the critical first step.
It's a test which involves about two or three hours of real shooting and at that test you shoot different angles to see how their bodies look best and how their face looks best.
First of all I have to gain her trust that I'm going to make her look very beautiful, that I'm not going to infringe on her privacy or because she's naked she feels very vulnerable.
So you have to become her friend and show her that you're not going to shoot gross pictures of her so she feels relaxed.
Sandra inspired a new Playmate feature, the Playmate Data Sheet, which gave readers a bit more insight to the personal side of the Playmates.
I'd like to begin the Data Sheet page in the Playmate feature with the July issue.
We'll communicate that to Chicago.
And I think that in addition to the data material itself if we can include some early photographs of the girl, what we're trying to do is personalize the girl even more and make her more of a human being.
Sandra had indeed conveyed that special quality which ultimately led to her centerfold shoot.
Okay.
Put your right foot up on the side of the tub.
Move it in parallel.
And put your right hand, lean it over like that.
Up there.
Okay, let's see.
Now your head up just a bit more.
Okay, turn.
Looks pretty good, let's try it.
It became obvious that there was a great deal more to getting that winning shot than just kicking back in the tub and looking gorgeous.
It was more work than anyone ever imagined.
Sandra Theodore became the July 1977 Playmate of the Month.
She typified the fresh and enticing look of the Playmates of the 70s, updating the fantasy of the girl next door, a fantasy that Hugh Hefner had guided and protected since the very beginning of Playboy Magazine.
It started as One Man's Vision, a magazine that would capture the imagination of a new breed of American men.
From a small apartment in Chicago, the vision evolved into a global empire as Playboy Magazine became an undeniable part of Americana.
And throughout Playboy's phenomenal rise to the top, Hugh Hefner remained true to another vision, the belief in the universal appeal of the fresh and wholesome look of the girl next door.
All it took was $600 and a commitment to eat, breathe and sleep Playboy Magazine until the dream became a reality.
This is the cover of issue number one with Marilyn Monroe here on the cover. She was also our very first Playmate of the Month inside the magazine.
In the 50s, Marilyn Monroe personified the American dream girl, and for $500, Hefner bought the rights to her classic pinup from the Baumgarth calendar company.
Marilyn was a national heartthrob, and the term sex symbol seemed to have been created just for her. Hefner knew that Monroe and the image she portrayed would be an immediate hit with Playboy's readers.
For the first year, most of the Playmates were calendar pictures from Baumgarth.
The Baumgarth girls were an ideal transition to Hefner's real objective, to create a new type of fantasy pinup girl.
However, the transformation would be gradual. The 50s sex symbol still had undeniable appeal.
One of the magazine's early Playmates was Arlene Hunter. Her centerfold was modeled after the Marilyn Monroe calendar shots, which certainly didn't downplay her resemblance to Miss Monroe.
Apparently others saw the same resemblance, as can be seen in this early adult film, whose producers were, at the very least, guilty of some misleading advertising.
In February 1955, Playboy introduced to its readers a rising young starlet of stunning proportions.
At the time, she appeared unnamed in the magazine, but seemingly overnight, Jane Mansfield became a household name, rocketing to international fame on Broadway, on the silver screen, and on the covers of countless magazines.
She was positively breathtaking, a veritable goddess with a spectacular form that defied description.
It was only in Playboy that Jane would agree to appear nude, and she was featured a total of six times.
In June 1963, the magazine ran a series of torrid stills from her soon-to-be-released movie, Promises, Promises.
The scorching photos showed that Jane was definitely in a class all her own, and the Playboy pictorial created a national uproar.
The revealing shots would only be topped when Promises, Promises hit the big screen.
And while a picture's worth a thousand words, there was certainly something to be said for film.
For Playboy, the June edition blew away the record for a single-issue sales, and the Chicago police blew a fuse.
When the obscenity case went to trial, the charges against Hefner and the magazine were dropped, a victory for Playboy readers and the First Amendment.
Mansfield's playmate pictorial was a fitting tribute.
It was the last of the classic 50s sex symbols to be a playmate.
Hefner had already begun to create his new image of America's dream girl.
Janet Pilgrim was the embodiment of Hefner's new concept for Playboy's playmates.
She literally was the girl next door, working in Playboy's circulation department in the Chicago office.
I was the circulation department.
She was our circulation or subscription manager, and the department was really her.
The idea that then evolved was to use, when we talk about girl next door, in other words, to use an office girl or somebody going to college or an airline stewardess or someone working as a clerk in a shop.
And what we didn't know when we did it was that it was going to cause such a sensation.
That's right. The response was so fantastic from the first issue, this girl next door.
Look, look around. Here's what we found in our office.
Look around your office and see what you have.
And it just took hold.
Janet went on a whirlwind publicity tour as the first ambassador for Hefner's new girl next door concept.
She confirmed Hefner's belief that a girl from the office, the local department store, or even the neighborhood could become every man's fantasy.
Janet Pilgrim was the only woman to appear as a playmate three times, twice in 1955 and again in 1956.
In its first six years, Hugh Hefner had taken Playboy's circulation past the one million mark.
His brash and daring magazine had attracted precisely the audience he believed it would.
And now it was time to take the fantasy to a whole new place.
In 1959, Playboy came home in a way it never had before with Playboy's Penthouse, Playboy's first syndicated series.
The show brought together an eclectic mix of top performers, literary giants, satirists, jazz greats, and headliners from the country's hottest shows.
And of course, plenty of what everyone wanted to see.
These lovely, lovely ladies with the ears are our money girls.
The concept was simple, a nationally televised party celebrating the leisure activities that were the mainstay of the Playboy lifestyle.
The show also gave the playmates a new personalized dimension.
These two young ladies are a couple of our most popular playmates.
Brunette beauty Joyce Nizari was discovered in Miami and became the December 1958 playmate.
The statuesque Eleanor Bradley, February 1959's playmate, hailed from Waukegan, Illinois.
Whether from small towns in the heartland or the heart of the bustling city, the girls next door all shared a combination of striking good looks and radiant charm.
The very lovely young lady on my right is Miss Mary Ann Gaber.
When they first approached me about posing for Playboy, I said uh-uh.
I was really shy. In fact, it took me three times to do the actual shooting, which at that time was very modest to today's standards.
I'm happy I did it and I don't think I'd ever do another layout, but it opened a lot of doors and I got called for several different TV shows and it was a lot of fun.
Mary Ann's home life includes a husband, a son, and her daughter and companion Wendy.
My mom is the greatest person in the world and we're like best friends.
She's not a very good roller skater, but she really tries. She goes out there and she does her best.
I love being with my daughter Wendy. She makes me feel like I'm 20 or 25 and I feel very fortunate because it's like I've had it all.
Stella and our readers will know it soon, is our January playmate and has a lead in Little Abner. You play...
A passion not a playmate.
America meets January 1960 playmate Stella Stevens.
In Little Abner, she bowled over the male population of Dogpatch USA and later rose to major stardom in television and motion pictures.
What do you think about our Miss October, Frank?
Well, let me say this, you're just too marvelous.
She was marvelous and her name was Kathy Douglas, Miss October 1960.
And this is the very lovely Susan Scott, one of our playmates from the magazine.
The stunning Susan Scott, a 21-year-old native of the Windy City, Miss February 1960.
We stop for a while, I give her a smile, snuggle her cheek to my chest.
Hefner first met Joni Mattis at the Chicago office and asked her to appear on Playboy's Penthouse.
My first coming in contact with Playboy was appearing on a TV show that Hefner was doing in Chicago called Playboy's Penthouse.
Hef eventually convinced Joni to become the November 1960 Playmate of the Month.
My playmate shot was very, very demure. I didn't show anything. I was the most unpopular playmate ever.
Joni's assessment of her popularity notwithstanding, Hefner offered her a full-time job in 1964.
Today, Joni Mattis is still hard at work for Playboy as Hugh Hefner's assistant in Los Angeles.
I guess that we could dead you again. Walking, baby, I don't mean maybe.
Walking my baby back, H-O-M-E.
While Playboy was enjoying an unprecedented period of growth, the girl next door was growing up.
And just how grown up was vividly apparent in the centerfold layouts of the Playmates of the 60s.
The moment I saw her smile, I knew she was just my style.
My only regret is we have never met, for I dream of her all the while.
How can I ignore the girl next door? I love her more than I can say.
Doesn't try to please me, doesn't even tease me, and she never sees me glance her way.
And though I'm heart-sore, the girl next door, affection for me won't display.
I just adore her, so I can't ignore her.
The girl next door.
The magazine from the very beginning touched a nerve, and the most rapid growth, the most dramatic growth,
by millions of copies, came in the 60s.
Certainly in the early years, throughout the 50s and into the early 60s, the Puritan part of me was workaholic.
But something else rather dramatic happened in late 1959 and 1960.
After having spent most of the 50s behind the desk creating the fantasy, I really started living out the fantasy.
And that was the Mr. Playboy period. I bought the mansion, started the first bunny club.
From that point on, the party became real.
Yes, the party had become real, and it was offered up to a public who embraced it and made it part of their own fantasies.
The Playboy clubs were a roaring success.
By the mid-60s, there were 15 clubs stretching from Los Angeles to New York.
And for those in pursuit of the good life, the clubs offered a dining and entertainment experience that was unrivaled anywhere.
And to the surprise of no one, the club's star attraction was the poised, fresh-faced and charming Girl Next Door, even if next door was London.
Good evening. Welcome to the London Playboy Club. May I see your invitation, please?
I was indeed the first British playmate. I liked that.
There were six girls that were asked to come to Chicago and learn how to become bunnies and then go back and open the club in London, and that's what we did.
Pretty good, because I always wanted to come to America.
Well, I wanted to see America, and it was very glamorous. I thought it was very glamorous.
We lived at the famous Heffner Mansion. It was wonderful.
Within six months, we had to learn everything there was to know about being a bunny. It's really, really difficult.
This is what she is doing, what we call a bunny dip.
Let's give it a try. Go along this way, okay? Way we go. Low carry at the moment. Low carry. Okay. Faster. Very good. Around the table.
Faster, faster, faster. Hi, Carrie. Reverse. Oh, here we go. Fast, fast. Way we go, way we go. Faster.
I became a playmate during the bunny training in Chicago. It was wonderful.
So anyway, we came to California. I came to California and got lucky, married Tricky Dick Martin.
And actually, we got married twice. This picture is the first time because I look better.
When we got married, it was put in the movie magazines, you know, those gossip magazines.
They saw her naked, but he doesn't care. He didn't care whatsoever. In fact, he knew.
I lost a couple of boyfriends because of that, I must say. But he knew before I went out with him that I was a playmate.
So what he saw is what he got. He did get it, too.
As the empire expanded, Playboy's second syndicated series helped bring the party another step closer to the folks at home.
Playboy After Dark treated viewers to an array of star-studded entertainment.
The show featured big-name stars, up-and-coming artists, and celebrities from all walks of life.
And what Playboy party would be complete without the playmates?
Good evening. I'm your host, Hugh Hefner. This is Allison Parks.
They asked me to do the Playboy After Dark series, so I worked on that for several months.
I did all the shows, and that was a lot of fun because I got to be always introduced as Hefner's hostess for the night, so that was fun.
Your turn?
Okay, yeah.
It was just a special time.
Oh, you rehearsed.
The alluring Allison Parks portrayed herself as a free-spirited girl with a passion for airplanes, fast cars, and the great outdoors.
But that was all part of Allison's playmate fantasy, because Allison Parks had a hidden past.
Well, you know, I had gotten married very young, and the photographer who took our pictures approached me later and said,
How would you like to be a playmate?
And we just made up this whole story about me to make me seem real interesting because we didn't think that Playboy would accept me if they knew I was a mother of two children.
Allison lived her playmate fantasy and even became playmate of the year in 1966.
This is my family. This is Mark. This is Damon. Kim. Jeff.
Shelly. Shelly.
Kelly.
And my husband, Michael.
Thanks, Mom.
With such a large family spread across the country, it's next to impossible to get us all together.
But when we do, there's always joy, tears, laughter, and a lot of memories.
So thanks, Jeff, for bringing us all together. This is real special.
Hey, that's great. All right.
Playboy After Dark brought us Janice Pennington.
Hi there.
Miss May for 1971 had been a top New York model and then moved to television as a regular on Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In and The Price is Right.
Janice had a younger sister, Anne, who later appeared as the March 1976 playmate.
The Penningtons were the second pair of sisters to become playmates.
Hugh, do you think you could possibly tell me the name of that fine-looking young lady over there?
Sure, that's Connie Kresge.
Connie. Connie Kresge.
Connie Kresge was one of the most popular playmates of the 60s and became playmate of the year for 1969.
This is Cynthia Myers, our December Playmate of the Month.
Cynthia had a premonition that she would become a playmate, which prompted her to contact the magazine.
She was told to call again after her 18th birthday.
When she did, her playmate fantasy came true, as did the fantasies of millions of readers of the December 1968 issue.
For that, I'll ask you to get the big prize. The big prize of the year. Claudia Jennings, our Playmate of the Year for 1970. Oh, marvelous.
Not long after her Playmate of the Year appearance, Claudia Jennings' film career took off.
She landed roles in almost 30 films, which earned her the nickname, the Queen of the Bees.
Okay, everybody put a hand somewhere on Chris.
Playboy After Dark introduced dozens of playmates to the magazine's growing TV audience, adding further to the appeal of the girls next door.
Many found themselves among the magazine's most popular, with legions of fans who dreamed about maybe someday meeting the girl of their dreams.
Country Joe, I wonder if we could get you and the fish to do a couple of numbers for us.
And while Playboy After Dark was definitely a party, the guests often included controversial artists who weren't shy about reminding us of a place half a world away.
Vietnam had opened a wound in the nation's heart that would ultimately take decades to heal.
In 1965, Playboy found itself in Vietnam in a way no one could have imagined, drawn to a place called Ben Hoa by a letter from a wounded Army Lieutenant named Jack Price.
Dear Mr. Hefner, this is written from the depths and the hearts of 180 officers and men of Company B, Second Battalion, 503rd Infantry, 173rd Airborne Brigade, separate.
The loneliness here is a terrible thing, and we long to see a real, living, breathing American girl.
Therefore, we have enclosed with this letter a money order for a lifetime subscription to Playboy Magazine for B Company.
We have unanimously decided that we would prefer the 1965 Playmate of the Year, Miss Jo Collins.
Jo Collins was about as all-American as a girl could be.
Playboy decided to honor Jack Price's request by sending her to deliver the 173rd Airborne's first issue.
The experience they shared could never have been anticipated.
They were super. They just treated me like a queen, really. I have never felt so appreciated in my life, never at that time.
Jo's visit to a MASH unit was to leave a lasting impression on her and the wounded GIs for whom her visit meant so very much.
I don't think there's any way in the world that Jo had any understanding of what war was.
But by the time you walk through a MASH hospital in a situation like that, you don't get very far down one of the wards until you come to the tremendous reality of what war really is.
And people were dying. Not everybody that was in that MASH hospital was going to survive.
I think probably the saddest for me, one of the nurses came to the tent and she said, Jo, would you please come with me?
She said, we just brought a man in. He was on a stretcher. They had just flown him off the field. He had been really blown up, literally.
I mean, he was just charred. But she said, he wants to see you. He's asked for you.
So I rushed to the stretcher and he said, sweetheart, I've been waiting to see you. Died, just like that.
I'll never forget it.
Neither would the men of the 173rd.
Twenty years later, they made Jo Collins the guest of honor at their reunion in Washington, D.C.
Jack, how are you? Fine, how are you? Wonderful.
Every twenty years we have to do this. I know, that's a deal.
At the reunion, a special kiss from twenty years before was relived once again.
To be able to talk to a female was just an unbelievable experience.
It was as though this angel had transcended to Earth for a brief while.
The only thing that really scared me is when I got off the plane and five thousand GIs were standing there around. I was terrified.
And all the TV cameras, and they said, why are you here, Miss Collins? And I said, I'm here to deliver a lifetime prescription.
They said, honey, we know you're with the doctor ordered, now why are you here?
Playboy reflected the changes that the 60s had brought to the face of the nation and pioneered many of them as well.
Playboy had captured the momentum of an extraordinary decade and now Hugh Hefner was staged for a quantum leap into the 70s.
Just how dramatic a leap was made clear on February 17th, 1970, when a jet black DC-9,
Chris and the Big Bunny made its maiden voyage to Los Angeles from Chicago.
I've been living a semi-reclusive life in the Chicago mansion, working on the philosophy.
Society had changed so dramatically in the last couple of years.
I thought it was time to get out and see what was going on, see what I'd wrought. That's when I ordered the plane.
It was quite possibly the single most outrageous corporate purchase in the history of any empire.
And it was a gleaming symbol of the very product Playboy had been marketing for 20 years, the Good Life.
The Big Bunny was a lavishly appointed flying version of the Playboy Mansion,
a definitive statement to the public that Hefner's envy of a life was more than a dream, it was real.
And varying was its brilliance. The Big Bunny was an ongoing media event.
These of course are our jet bunnies and I don't know whether you've met all the kids,
but let's see if I can remember everybody in uniform, Marsha, Britt, Sean, Rosemary and Avis.
It was on Playboy After Dark that America got its first look at Avis Miller,
an exquisite blonde who became the November 1970 Playmate of the Month.
Avis, discovered at the San Francisco Playboy Club, went through her training and then boarded the Big Bunny,
signing on for its mission of globe-hopping Hugh Hefner and his guests through the friendliest skies imaginable.
Several high-flying jet bunnies were to land in the centerfold of Playboy Magazine, among them, Liko English.
Born in Okinawa, Liko was an early member of the Big Bunny's crew.
Her engaging demeanor and striking beauty made it inevitable that she would become a Playmate.
She made her debut as Miss June 1971.
Like Liko, the jet bunnies were trained flight attendants.
They were hand-picked not only for a combination of skill, beauty and graciousness, but also for their girl-next-door qualities,
criteria that Hefner believed should apply to the jet bunnies as well as the Playmates.
Not surprising then was the selection of Janice Raymond,
the tantalizing and towering jet bunny who graced the centerfold of Playboy's December 1974 issue.
At 5 feet 10 inches tall, Janice was a breathtaking example of the Playmate tradition, updated for the Jet Age,
yet still part of the girl-next-door fantasy that continued to enthrall millions of Playboy readers around the world.
The Big Bunny was a brilliant public relations tool that showed the world that for Playboy, not even the sky was the limit.
The move west to the new Playboy Mansion in the exclusive Home Bee Hills section of Los Angeles soon followed,
but new jets and mansions were not the only changes being made.
The 70s brought a bold new look to Playboy Magazine and a more revealing, more sensual look to the girl-next-door.
the east west north and the south of you
I'd love to gain complete control of you
and handle even the heart and soul of you
So love at least a small percent of me do For I love all of you
I'd love to gain complete control of you And handle even the heart and soul of you
So love at least a small percent of me do Baby, for I love all of you
I'd love to gain complete control of you
From St. Louis, Missouri, our Jimmy Carter cover girl, Miss Patty McGuire. Patty, come on up.
Can I ask anything I want to?
Anything you want.
Hi, Mom. Hi, Dad.
Really, I'd like to take this opportunity to thank the editors and all the faithful readers of Playboy Magazine for voting me the new Playmate of the Year.
And on behalf of all the Playmates ever and myself, I'd like to thank Mr. Hugh Hefner for creating the Playmate of the Month.
Me too.
Patty's charms proved irresistible, and not long after her Playmate of the Year pictorial, she aced the heart of Jimmy Connors and married one of the tennis world's brightest stars.
The Playmate fantasy was not just a dream for Playboy readers, it was a dream come true for the Playmates themselves.
Life at the mansion was the closest thing imaginable to a Disneyland for grownups.
Hugh Hefner had created a veritable paradise for the pursuit of pleasure, and the Playmates were part of the fantasy.
The standing invitation to the Playboy Mansion has always been one of the great rewards of being a Playmate. It's a tradition that stems back to the early days at the Playboy Mansion in Chicago.
Custom designed to Hef's exacting standards, the Chicago mansion was paradise found, the perfect playground for a lifestyle where work and play were often inseparable.
Hefner was perpetually extolling the virtues of the great indoors, and just one visit to the mansion could explain why.
It's not that he disliked the outdoors, it's just that in Chicago the good life was at times a bit warmer inside.
The move to Los Angeles gave the great indoors a new twist by taking the fun outside, a move that the Playmates enthusiastically embraced.
Both the Chicago and the LA mansions were extensions of the fantasy, and neither would have been complete without a bevy of sultry Playmates enjoying the fringe benefits of the good life.
After all, with countless appearances, promotional tours, photo sessions, and even video centerfolds, these lovely ladies deserved a little pampering now and then.
Yet as demanding as the Playmate selection process was, it was about to go beyond what anyone had ever experienced before.
The search for the January 1979 Playmate became a national media event, a quest for the 25th anniversary Playmate.
I was in school at the time, all this happened, and I have a year to get my degree, but when they went on the search and they came to the town where I was living, it just made it so convenient that I had to go see what they had to say. I'm sure I'm glad I did.
The hunt was on. Playboy photographers were relentless in their pursuit of the one woman in America that could somehow embody all the qualities and characteristics of the 25-year heritage of the girl next door.
Literally thousands of Playmate hopefuls flocked to photo sessions that were staged in 28 cities across the country.
The stakes were high, a $25,000 modeling fee, and a year of travel, publicity, and promotional appearances that would make the lucky girl an instant celebrity.
Everyone was determined to get in on the excitement, and everyone had an opinion.
However, this opinion was the one that mattered.
It's Candace. Her real first name is Candace. She goes by the name Candy.
Candace spelled like Candace was originally spelled, or spelled this way?
Spelled like that.
So it spells like Candace.
It's spelled like Candace. She's blamed her mother forever.
How does she look in clothes?
Beautiful.
Does she? In other words, there's no problem, she wears clothes well.
Oh, yes.
Because obviously, a body as formidable as this could be a problem dressed.
No, she has style.
What kind of education does she have?
She's a senior year. She has one more year to go in college.
Oh.
In attending Oklahoma University, my major is public relations, kind of a broad background in all areas of journalism, which was what interested me.
I also was very interested in writing. I think I relax the most when I'm around my family.
I guess that's why I like to be with them so much, is I can really be myself.
The 25th anniversary playmate had to be very special when Candy Loving from Ponca City, Oklahoma arrived.
We were sure we had found our playmate about halfway through the shooting, because she kept getting fresher and more exciting to photograph and more responsive to the event in her life.
We went through three sessions because it was an important shooting, but by the time we were through with the second session, we knew that she was going to be our girl.
That her name happened to be Candy Loving and that she's from Ponca City, Oklahoma seems almost like bad writing, but that's the truth.
Loosen it up a little tiny bit.
Now turn your head that way a little bit. Beautiful.
Candy, it looks fabulous.
Just like that. Lift your head up a little bit.
Very warm, very lush.
Chin up. Very loving.
Come on, right at the lens.
That's it. No face muscles. Don't do any expression on your face at all.
Right through here. Right there. Fabulous. Right at the lens.
Warm. Open your mouth a little tiny bit. Like that. Fantastic.
Candy Loving's story was picture perfect.
She had a look that made her absolutely irresistible.
The camera loved her and so did we.
I'm a woman's man. No time to talk. Music loud. Women warm. I've been kicked around. It's just I was born.
Never turn around. That's okay. You may look the other way. We can't cry. We understand. New York Times are back on man.
Whether you're a brother or a wife, or you're a mother, you're staying alive. Staying alive.
Feel the city breaking and everybody shaking. We're staying alive. Staying alive.
Staying alive.
The Playmate reunion provided a fantastic opportunity to once again savor the changes that had redefined the girl next door.
At the Winkle Piper. I'm a dancer man. I just can't lose. It's all right. It's okay. I live to see another day. We can't cry. We're one less man. New York Times are back on man. Whether you're a brother or a wife, or you're a mother, you're staying alive. Staying alive. Feel the city breaking and everybody shaking. We're staying alive.
The mesmerizing beauty of Playboy's Playmates was brought to life, captured in the spellbinding live-action footage of the most exclusive disco roller rink in Los Angeles.
I'm going nowhere. Somebody help me. Somebody help me, yeah.
I'm going nowhere. Somebody help me, yeah.
You can't tell by the way I use my walk. I'm a woman's man. No time to talk. Using love, feeling warm, I mean, kicked around since I was born. Now it's all right. It's okay. You can't love the other way. We can try to understand. New York Times are back on man.
Whether you're a brother or a wife, or you're a mother, you're staying alive. Staying alive. Feel the city breaking and everybody shaking. We're staying alive. Staying alive.
Staying alive. Staying alive. Staying alive.
I'm going nowhere. Somebody help me. Somebody help me, yeah.
I'm going nowhere. Somebody help me, yeah.
I'm staying alive. I'm going nowhere. Somebody help me. Somebody help me, yeah.
I'm going nowhere. Somebody help me, yeah.
In its early years, Playboy had certainly established a tradition of showcasing some of the world's most beautiful women, employing a sense of style that was imitated but never equaled. And to the delight of millions of Playboy's loyal fans, the 80s were only going to take a good thing and make it better.
My life has been a fairy tale, and it all starts out with dreams and imagining you want to go, like, to an island.
I've been studying real estate. There's real estate in Hawaii. Why can't I go over and get my license? Be able to have business and pleasure on an island.
It became just a wonderful life. Got involved in the ocean, sailing and windsurfing. It was real healthy. It was a dream come true. And then all of a sudden, Playboy comes into my life. And it's another dream come true.
Great. See anything you want to change? Let's do it. Okay, hold the tie.
Three-fourths of your attention has to go into the camera and feeling. You need reassuring constantly, because you're in this one position trying to think of different seductive moods and faces and body angles for the camera.
You need somebody to, you know, to bring that out of you. That's when the photographer comes in. He is the director.
Give me a better hand on the collar. Good. Let's bring that hand to the hip. Or, yeah.
Try to read your mind.
My mother always said that she thought I was a little bit of an exhibitionist when I was younger. And then when I told her I was doing a playmate centerfold, she went, well, see, I told you.
My father says, I don't believe what you're doing is right. I said, well, Dad, everyone thought the Mona Lisa was beautiful. It was a piece of art. It was presented beautifully. And there's no reason why my centerfold cannot be presented in the same manner.
You first start thinking about Playboy as a woman when you open the magazine and you see how men are really attracted to it. And men kind of put these women on a very high class level to be a playmate centerfold.
And so naturally women would like to see themselves as one of those women. And you got to want something real, you know, you got to want something bad enough. And it'll, it'll come true, or has for me.
Excellent.
The playmate phenomena is that all these women, the 12 women a year, the last 25 years, we've all participated, we've all done the same thing.
It's a feeling boy that I wish every woman could have a chance to feel that only a chosen few are. And that's what makes it even more special.
As the 70s came to an end, the Playboy empire was in full swing.
The
The 70s gave Playboy and its readers some very special gifts. One of the most special was Dorothy Stratton, Playmate of the Year for 1980.
She came from Vancouver, Canada, and became the August Playmate for 1979.
Her innocence, her sweet and unassuming style, and her almost unbelievable natural beauty made her an instant favorite within the Playboy family, and most certainly among the readership.
Dorothy to me embodied everything that Playboy feels a playmate should be.
The combination of naivete and sophistication. She was beautiful beyond belief and had a wonderful freshness about her. If there was such a thing as the girl next door that could be beyond belief, she incorporated both of those.
Okay, the leg goes up on the bar now. Yeah, right leg up. Good. Reach for the ankle. Good. And then just gradually slide back. Slide back.
Okay, point the toe.
Posing for Playboy's cameras, Dorothy conveyed a compelling, sensual quality that was almost hypnotic.
Good. Good. Now just lean back. Lean, lean. Okay, a little more arch. Just put your head into the mirror. Just arching your head back.
Okay, pick your right knee up. Good. That's it.
Mario is not what I expected. I don't know what I expected from a Playboy photographer, but I don't know what I would have done if I would have had a different photographer who might have been loud or anything for me Mario wanted to do to make me feel better.
That's it. Yeah, a little smile that doesn't hurt a thing. Just keep looking.
Good. Relax. We brought her to Hollywood. You know, we take a lot of things for granted here. And although Vancouver is an exciting place, I think this was all new to Dorothy.
Her shyness was a bit confusing. We never knew whether we could break her out of it or not. And she got in front of the camera. She was a total butterfly.
He noticed when I when I first was there how shy I wasn't how little I talked. And by the end of the shooting he said, I can't shut you up.
It was fun. When I first told Dorothy that she was going to be the playmate of the year.
Her reaction was
just this crazy mixture of enthusiasm and being frightened and apprehensive, but going for it was just wonderful.
I think all the girls love Mario and the more we work together, the more I opened up to him. And I'm so glad that I was chosen to work with him.
Well, Dorothy has been a lot of fun to work with. I guess she is a true woman child because I never know what to expect. One moment she is a child and the next she is a complete woman.
I love working with the camera. I enjoy working in stills or in motion picture. I feel very natural with a camera. I treat it as another person and probably because it's Mario. I have so much fun also.
Dorothy's life ended tragically, cut short just as she was beginning to emerge as the extraordinary person everyone at Playboy knew her to be.
It was suggested in the media that it was Life in the Fast Lane or Hollywood or Playboy that were in some way responsible for her death. The thing that killed her and the person that killed her was Paul Snyder and what Dorothy meant to him.
So in a real sense, this really occurred because the woman involved attempted to grow beyond a relationship that was holding her back from becoming the person she wanted to be.
I think Dorothy identified a great deal with Marilyn Monroe. A great many other people, particularly after her death, compared her with Monroe because of the combination of sexiness and vulnerability that came across on the screen.
The real irony is that she wound up finally in the same graveyard with Marilyn Monroe.
Dorothy Stratton touched Hugh Hefner and all those associated with Playboy in a way that no other playmate ever had. And like Marilyn, Dorothy will forever hold a place in our hearts.
It has been said that beauty like fame is a fleeting thing. But where Playboy's playmates are concerned, nothing could be further from the truth.
To prove the point, a few favorites from the early years agreed to step back in front of the camera, years after their playmate pictorials.
Playmates forever. These are the girls next door that blossomed into the women next door. Here's another look at their timeless beauty.
Birds andcones
The
the
You're beautiful, you're beautiful
You're my love, you're beautiful
You're beautiful, you're beautiful
This has been one of the most special days for me
and this really comes from the heart
One of the most special days for me
since Playboy began 25 years ago
I believe in you
I don't want to get corny about it
but we have at various times in the past
we've talked about a Playboy family
and it is that kind of feeling that I have today
I have seen so many beloved people from the past
that I've not seen in such a long time
and the whole day has just been
one sheer delight
and I hope that all of you will carry it away
in the same way that I will
as a very special memory
The 25th anniversary Playmate reunion
was truly a landmark event in the life of Playboy magazine
and in the lives of all those who were recreated
who were reunited for this very special celebration
For Hugh Hefner it was a confirmation of his vision for the magazine
and for those Playmates from the 50s, 60s and 70s who attended
it was a chance to relish once more
a taste of the fantasy that each had played a part in helping to create
the playmate tradition transcended the 80s
and now moves boldly into the 90s
Vibrant and sexy
the new generation of Playmates proudly upholds the image of the girl next door
They are still the perfect balance of flesh and fantasy
They still come from small towns and big cities
They even come from overseas
and of course they still come from neighborhoods just like yours
You see them at the local store
You see them around campus
You even see them at work
It's just that now they probably have the office right next to yours
These really are the girls that dreams are made of
and as everyone knows dreams can come true
For Kimberly Conrad and Hugh Marston Hefner the ultimate dream did come true
The 1989 Playmate of the Year became Playmate for a lifetime
when she married America's most renowned advocate of the good life
the man who created the girl next door
you