Lillian Müller, Playmate of the Year, 1976

Admittedly, we are sometimes inclined to overstatement. When Lillian Müller appeared as our August 1975 gatefold girl, we called her the most striking Playmate ever. Ever? Well, if not ever, then certainly within recent memory. It should be obvious to all that we are dealing with a remarkably attractive woman. After a year of observation and appreciation of the 12 beautiful ladies who graced our gatefolds in 1975, our readers felt that it was inevitable and proper that Lillian should receive Playmate of the Year honors. The editors concurred, if for no other reason than her eyes. Yes, her eyes. A correspondent for the German magazine Neue Revue met our August Playmate and wrote: "With such a figure, it's amazing that one would first be drawn to her face. Deep-blue, astonished eyes look at you, always a little reproachful, always a little surprised, as if immediately guessing your thoughts." Amazing, indeed, but Europeans have always been subtle. Bruno Bernard, a famous Hollywood glamor photographer (and, incidentally, father of December 1966 Playmate Sue Bernard), met Lillian at Playboy Mansion West. He saw in her a rare and unforgettable combination of eroticism and innocence. "Nobody escapes her eyes," he says. A few months later, he showed the Playmate feature to a friend, Rolf Thiele, a West German director who (text concluded on page 198)Playmate of the Year(continued from page 133) was looking for a young woman to play a major part in his latest film, Frauenstation (the tentative English title is Doctor's Dilemma). Some 300 candidates had been tested without producing the right girl. Bernard called Lillian: She flew into Munich and performed in three of the crucial scenes from the movie. Thiele didn't even bother to develop the film but signed Lillian immediately. He told a reporter (roughly translated), "She will become at once very great with her wild talent."

Obviously, there is something about Lillian that defies translation. She radiates warmth, humor, intelligence and grace. As a Playmate, she charmed readers across the country. As a fledgling actress in her first film, she charmed an entirely different audience. Her performance as the wife of a doctor (played by Horst Buchholz) drew raves from her fellow actors. Stephen Boyd, who co-stars in Frauenstation, was unrestrained in his praise of Lillian. "I have had the pleasure of working with the top women in the motion-picture profession. Brigitte Bardot, Gina Lollobrigida, Sophia Loren, Elke Sommer, Raquel Welch. And I have the feeling that here is someone who can do what all of them did. She is Brigitte. She is Gina. She is Sophia. She is Elke. She is Raquel. She has the ability to hit heights that none of the others ever dreamed of. She's only 21, but she's right there. She's really exciting to watch."

Lillian is fast becoming the darling of the Continent since her debut in Playboy. She has appeared on the covers of many of Europe's leading magazines. Her life has been rather hectic lately, as she commutes between film assignments in Europe and Playmate promotion appearances in the U. S. (Become a gatefold girl and see the world.) For someone who only two years ago was living in the tiny village of Kristiansand, Norway, Lillian seems remarkably at ease with the sudden attention. "As a Playmate, I had learned what it was like to stand before a camera. But acting is so much more challenging than modeling. It uses more of you. My first film gave me courage and confidence," she admits. "Everyone was so helpful, from the little people to the biggest stars. Smiling, friendly. The offer for the first film had come, how do you say, out of the sky? I had no real training. Before I flew to Europe to start filming, I had time for only two acting lessons at Lee Strasberg's Theater Institute in Hollywood. Strasberg says that relaxation is 80 percent of acting. Well, for the first two weeks on the set, I was very nervous. But I would come up to do a scene and everyone on the set would look so quiet and so patient. Nobody shouting. Just talking nice and saying, 'Come on, now, let's do it.' Some of the scenes were quite difficult. In one, I had to cry--naturally, without the onion, you know. Everything went all right. The four weeks I spent working on the film were the most fantastic weeks in my life. It was like discovering a new me. Now I'm hooked on movies. I want to be in as many pictures as possible. And not just beautiful or erotic faces. I would like to take off my make-up and show what I look like when I get up in the morning."

Even before she had finished filming Frauenstation, Lillian had signed a contract for a second film with director Thiele. In Rosemary's Daughter, the sequel to Rosemary, one of the most famous postwar German films (Luggi Waldleitner, who was Rosemary's producer, is also producing the sequel), Lillian plays the illegitimate offspring of the woman who had been mysteriously murdered. Lillian sets out to find the killer and uncovers a Profumo-type scandal in the government. It's her first leading role and resulted from her Playmate appearance. "I love the role. Rosemary's daughter is sexy, worldly, curious. In short, very much like me. Also, I get to sing and dance in the movie, which should be fun."

Lillian is a frequent guest at Mansion West, where she has been meeting the luminaries of the film industry. "Being Playmate, and now Playmate of the Year, has been a catalyst in my life. I've been exposed to so many fine people; Hef shows two or three films a week and half of Hollywood attends the screenings. I can find out how the movies were made. I can also arrange private showings, which are a big help. I guess I'm a lot like everyone else; the first time I see a film I watch the action, the second time, the acting."

After she finishes her second German film, Lillian wants to do an American movie. Several offers are under consideration, but Lillian is being careful about choosing the right role. "I am afraid of being typecast as a sex kitten by American directors. I have been blessed with a beautiful body, but that's not enough. In Europe, an actress is valued for her ability to express a wide range of emotions. My favorite actresses--Sophia Loren, Liv Ullmann--are beautiful, not because they are pretty but because they are human. Some directors tend to use actresses as set decoration. I don't object to taking my clothes off in front of a camera, but it seems to me a waste of film if that's all I am allowed to do. If they want me to be sexy, there are better ways to be sexy."

Lillian has a good reason for wanting to work in an American movie: The drive from Mansion West to a Hollywood studio would be a lot shorter than the over-the-Pole flight to Europe. When that Hollywood role happens, Lillian will be able to take the drive in style. Among the many prizes she received for being Playmate of the Year was a luxurious BMW 530i automobile. But if she wants, she can leave the car at home and ride her new bike, a ten-speed AMF Roadmaster. Of course, then she'll have to find room for such items as her Panasonic hi-fi rig, her Sony color TV and her Crisloid deluxe backgammon set. But that's her problem.

Obviously, this is a lady to watch. Some women would be content with all the honors and recognition that go with the title Playmate of the Year, but for Lillian, it is just the beginning. She is carving out a career, and we are, to say the least, proud of her. Keep your eyes open, and in a few years, you may be able to say, "I knew her when. ..."