Cynthia Lynn Wood, Miss February, 1973

Can you sing? Can you dance? Can you hot-cha-cha?" asks the Hollywood producer in a vintage comedy routine. We can't vouch for the hot-cha-cha, but when it comes to song and dance, February Playmate Cyndi Wood certainly has her act together. It's not surprising; her mother was an actress, her father a recording-company executive and, as a Hollywood native to boot, Cyndi naturally gravitated to the entertainment world. "My parents' friends were actors, producers and directors; my friends were their sons and daughters. And for as long as I can remember, my life was nothing but lessons." Cyndi admits that there were times she felt pressured. "Whenever there was a school play, I'd try out for it. Whenever the chorus auditioned, I was there. Between those activities and my dance and music instruction, I had little time to think about what I wanted to do." But she's far from bitter about the experience. "I've always liked being in the spotlight," says Cyndi. "When my parents stopped prodding me, I picked up where they left off," She got her first break as a professional--while still attending high school in Los Angeles--when she was asked to sing backup for a local rock group at a recording session. For three years thereafter, she sang what she calls "a lot of doo-wah stuff" for other local artists. That led to the formation of Collage, a studio group that recorded for Mercury Records. "With Collage," Cyndi recalls, "I was given the opportunity to sing lead. But except for a couple of weeks when we played the Dunes in Las Vegas, we performed only for the microphones. After two years of that, I knew I wanted something else." For a while, our Playmate tried her hand at fashion designing ("just for myself"), song-writing and even sound engineering ("I do some great mixing and can work off any 16-track"). But, in time, Cyndi decided those pursuits were only hobbies and resolved that the best way to further her musical ambitions would be to continue her education. In 1969, she enrolled as a music major at Los Angeles City College, transferred to Los Angeles Valley College in Van Nuys and began augmenting her composition courses with dramatic studies. Says Cyndi, "It seems to be a pattern with me that when I finally get committed to something, another interest comes along and I'm torn between the two. In high school, I was hung up between medicine and music. When I finally abandoned the thought of becoming a doctor, I discovered I liked acting better than music." Soon Cyndi found her theater-arts courses taking up more time than her music classes. "I couldn't find a direction," she says, "so I concluded that rather than spend years with a lot of required subjects for a diploma, I'd simply learn about what I wanted to learn about." By late 1971, she had dropped out of college, though she continued to do occasional recording dates. Along the way, she was even offered a film contract; but she turned it down. "I didn't feel confident about acting, because I hadn't enough experience." Just when her life seemed to be "settling into a state of terminal disorder," Cyndi thought of modeling. "It seemed the perfect answer. I thought I'd just have to see an agent and all kinds of offers would come my way." It didn't work out that simply. "Most agents are a waste of time," she says. "It's only common sense that you're always going to work harder for yourself than an agent will." So, after initial setbacks, she sought--and won--her own modeling assignments for TV commercials, fashion shows and industrial conventions as a free-lancer. "I love being in front of people," Cyndi says. "I suppose it appeals to the actress in me. In fact, much of my work in commercials or trade shows calls for acting. Sometimes I even get a chance to sing and dance, too, and that's great." Obviously, Cyndi believes such assignments provide her with wonderful opportunities to polish her performing talents. And with a recording contract as a possibility and a film script already in the offing, Cyndi may have all the more reason to sing her favorite song, It's Gonna Be All Right.