Jo Collins, Playmate of the Year, 1965

Unable to decide which of three similarly striking 1964 Playmates--Jo Collins (Miss December), China Lee (Miss August) and Astrid Schulz (Miss September)--should reign as the current Playmate of the Year, we appealed to Playboy readers last April to help us solve our dilemma by casting their votes for the candidate of their choice. In a down-to-the-wire race for centerfolddom's highest honor, the final tally revealed that 20-year-old Jo Collins had garnered the lioness' share of your ballots, which would seem to indicate that December is truly the "fairest" month of all--weather notwithstanding--since Jo is the third consecutive yuletide Playmate to be so honored. We were even more convinced of the pervasive power of the holiday season when Jo informed us that her initial appearance in these pages had helped her get a shapely leg in the door at American International Pictures, where she recently made (text concluded on page 156) In addition to her new United Artists movie role and other Playmate of the Year prizes pictured at left, Jo's munificent cache also includes a 10-speed Schwinn bike, four-piece Ventura luggage, Armac bumper-pool table, Smith-Corona portable electric typewriter, swimsuit wardrobe by Jantzen, Thompson water skis and aquatic accessories, lamé stretch pants and shirt by Levi-Strauss, sweaters and knit pants by Catalina and a Honda motorcycle--all in Playmate Pink; plus a white mink cape by Alper Furs (Chicago), Lady Hamilton gold wrist watch, Argus "Super 8" movie camera and projector, 12 bottles of Sea and Ski suntan lotion, LP libraries from Capitol, Mercury and Chess Records, Celui perfume and parfum de toilette by Jean Dessés, platinum-blonde wig by Fashion Tress, case of Almaden pink champagne, gallon bottle of Kahlua, pair of Sony Tapemates, 14-carat-gold Rabbit Pin by Maria Vogt (New York), Lady Norelco professional hair drier and beauty sachet kit, complete set of art-studio materials by Grumbacher (New York), and a day at a Garrison-Ramon Beauty Salon. In all, a queen's ransom befitting any Playmate who can claim so many loyal subjects. Playmate of the Year(continued from page 71) her cinematic debut in a trio of teenage titles--Ski Party, How to Stuff a Wild Bikini and Sergeant Deadhead. Jo's acting ambitions will soon be more substantially enhanced, however, when she receives a United Artists contract to play a part in Blake Edwards' forthcoming film What Did You Do in the War, Daddy?, as part of her Playmate of the Year booty.

As this year's titleholder, and the second beneficiary of a newly instituted Playboy program of additional largess designed to suitably honor its annual Playmate favorite, Jo will be awarded over $10,000 in prizes (see page 72 for a partial listing of this year's Playmate of the Year awards), many of them in Playboy's sophisticated new color shade--Playmate Pink. We are also pleased to announce that future Playmates of the Month will receive a total of $5000 in modeling and promotional fees for their centerfold appearances in the magazine, which represents almost a 50-percent increase in tribute to the glamor of our gatefold girls.

When told that our readers had really put her in the Playmate Pink of things, Jo was so excited that it took several long-distance telephonic minutes' worth of feminine squeals and sobs before she calmed down enough to tell us: "The other two girls looked so great in their April photos that I never dreamed I'd win. I'm so happy I feel like running out and giving everyone who voted for me a hug and a kiss. Honestly, I feel like I've just been crowned Queen for a Year." And so she has.

In addition to her new United Artists movie role and other Playmate of the Year prizes pictured at left, Jo's munificent cache also includes a 10-speed Schwinn bike, four-piece Ventura luggage, Armac bumper-pool table, Smith-Corona portable electric typewriter, swimsuit wardrobe by Jantzen, Thompson water skis and aquatic accessories, lamé stretch pants and shirt by Levi-Strauss, sweaters and knit pants by Catalina and a Honda motorcycle-all in Playmate Pink; plus a white mink cape by Alper Furs (Chicago), Lady Hamilton gold wrist watch, Argus "Super 8" movie camera and projector, 12 bottles of Sea and Ski suntan lotion, LP libraries from Capitol, Mercury and Chess Records, Celui perfume and parfum de toilette by Jean Dessés, platinum-blonde wig by Fashion Tress, case of Almaden pink champagne, gallon bottle of Kahlua, pair of Sony Tape-mates, 14 carat gold Rabbit Pin by Maria Vogt (New York), Lady Norelco professional hair drier and beauty sachet kit, complete set of art-studio materials by Grumbacher (New York), and a day at a Garrison-Ramon Beauty Salon. In all, a queen's ransom befitting any Playmate who can claim so many loyal subjects.