Playboy's Playmate Review

Astrologers are in strong disagreement over whether or not we are yet living in the Age of Aquarius. The Playmates of 1969, along with so many of those who graced centerfolds of years past, seem to lend themselves strongly to the camp that believes we are well into Aquarius, with its incumbent freedoms of expression and life style or, in other words, a period of 20 centuries or so in which the thing to do is--your own thing. For many of last year's girls, being a Playmate has opened up fresh vistas. July's Nancy McNeil, who just turned 22 under the sign of Sagittarius (frank, honest and gregarious), was a bridesmaid when she was tagged as a most likely Playmate. Since Nancy appeared in the gatefold, she's discovered that she has a real talent for dealing with people and is now on her way toward a promising career in promotion. Nancy also found that small planes are her bag. She was up in a single-engine job for the first time recently and says, "It was the wildest experience of my life." For a look at last year's other highflying Playmates, let your radar scan the following pages.

Since she appeared as our Playmate for February, lovely Lorrie has been lured from her home in San Diego to Hollywood, with its end-of-the-rainbow promise of a career in movies and television. Twenty-one-year-old Lorrie already misses her regular visits to the famous San Diego Zoo--she's totally hooked on animals--and the surf scene she made so often around Del Mar and La Jolla. Meanwhile, until she gets a foot in the studio door, Lorrie's working for a Hollywood veterinarian. Even though Miss February's only a receptionist, the job pays a bonus in keeping her near animals--something she used to do for free.

This past year, the golden-tressed native of Milwaukee left the city that made beer famous far behind. While a Bunny at the Lake Geneva Playboy Club-Hotel, Shay took a leave of absence and drove several thousand miles to Mexico City. Enrolled at the University of the Americas, Miss September studied Spanish, philosophy, international relations, and was a one-girl goodwill mission. But, at the end of last summer's term, she hopped a jet for a quick visit home and then on to London, where she's a Bunny again. Shay and London are hitting it off famously. She has only one complaint: Mexican food is hard to find.

New Orleans, which lays claim to all sorts of attractions--the French Quarter, the birthplace of jazz, Creole cooking--has something new to brag about: Playboy's 19-year-old Miss April, who is currently brightening the scene as a Bunny in the New Orleans Club. The much-traveled Lorna started as a Bunny in Chicago and, after becoming April's Playmate, took a long vacation in Mexico before going to the Crescent City. Her Texas-born folks moved to Los Angeles (which Lorna quickly learned to love) after spending two years in Manchester, England. As for New Orleans, Lorna is emphatic: "Every day is Mardi Gras."

Debbie, our Southern California flower child, has turned into a career woman working both sides of a television camera. Soon after her Playmate bow, she broke in as an assistant in the production of television commercials. Now Debbie's in front of the cameras in a movie being readied for a world television premiere. Although production is her forte, Miss August feels the acting experience can only enhance her chances for success. Debbie escapes her new pressure-filled world in her Laurel Canyon pad high on a Hollywood hill. "In the unlikely event of a clear day," she says, "I can see all the way to Griffith Park."

From Milwaukee to Chicago to Hollywood, theater audiences have been seeing Claudia since she was ten. But her acting career took its biggest upturn after she appeared in the gatefold two months ago. Bill Cosby picked her to do a comedy record with comedian Sandy Baron and Susan St. James. Released on the Decca label, the record, what with Cosby having written the material, promised to be a smash and a big boost for Claudia. After a successful engagement as the female lead in The Tender Trap in a Little Rock theater, Claudia's back in Hollywood. With her is faithful Samoyed, Latcho. Oh, for a dog's life.

"To enjoy good health, happiness, a solid marriage and a career to keep me from stagnating." Those are the ambitions of our Miss May, who usually gets what she starts after. One of New York's better horsewomen, Sally also is a pianist, actress and guitar-strumming folk singer. An inclination to globetrot led her to spend eight months on an Israeli kibbutz. Always on guard against mental laziness, Miss Sheffield is learning additional languages, although she is already fluent in French and Hebrew. And when there's time, dark-eyed Sally is sure to be out collecting more blue ribbons for equestrian excellence.

Are people friendlier in Houston or Los Angeles? Having just moved from her Texas home town to that sprawling coastal metropolis, Jean is far from making up her mind. Her Playmate debut made the black-and-beautiful Miss Bell an instant celebrity in Houston, where The Houston Post ran an interview and her picture on the front page of its women's section. On the other hand, Hollywood has her up for a role in a movie titled Dial the Wrong Number. She's also appeared at Chicago's Black Expo trade fair in Playboy's booth and in Gary for Mayor Hatcher Night. Jean finds friendly people everywhere.

Alas, Leslie, the Bunny by the Bay, has deserted those hilltops of San Francisco--for the cool, crisp air of Denver and its panoramic scenery, where for the moment she's reveling in a familiar rustic life (she grew up on her father's turkey farm in Illinois). Among the bucolic pleasures Miss January is enjoying around Denver is fishing the many secluded trout streams in the surrounding mountains. Although the lithe miss is considering several lucrative model-agency assignments in New York--and Manhattan's lofty stone canyons may lure her away yet--it will take a lot to uproot Leslie from her pastoral pursuits.

All kinds of ideas are buzzing around in the head of this twinkle-eyed miss from New Jersey. With earnings from her Playmate stint, she bought a yellow Mustang and is planning a trip to Florida. Becoming a stewardess is a possibility, but Helena is pleased about an offer for a speaking part in a movie that will star either Steve McQueen or Marlon Brando. Meanwhile, she is a standout Bunny in the Living Room of New York's Playboy Club and at the same time is studying astrology. Miss June's trying to decide whether she's Pisces or Aries--March 21, her birth date, could go either way. Helena favors fun-seeking Pisces.

Kathy received more than 2000 letters from American Servicemen in Vietnam and Thailand after she made her way in to the pages of Playboy. As a result, the blue-eyed blonde was booked for a meet-the-troops tour of the front lines last fall with actor Tom Tully. Now living in Beverly Hills, Kathy is busy breaking into television. Miss March has already appeared in a pilot variety show titled Meet Me at Martoni's and on Playboy After Dark. In addition, Kathy, who became our Playmate while working in the Montreal Club, finds herself in growing demand for video commercials. The reasons are delightfully obvious.

Our Miss December is an activist in the politics of the New Left. "Young people," says Gloria, "aren't pushing any particular life style--just the freedom to choose. The youth revolution bridges all boundaries." She became an activist after fleeing the inactivity of being a telephone operator in Chicago and has been living her convictions ever since. Gloria first crisscrossed the U. S., visiting outposts of the hip political scene. Right after her starring role in last month's centerfold, Gloria took off for a long stay in Europe, where she plans to groove in such Old World headquarters of radical ferment as London and Amsterdam.