She is Debra Jo Fondren, Playboy's 24-year-old Playmate of the Year. He is J. Frederick Smith, 61 years old and one of the country's best-known glamor photographers. When they met at Smith's New York studio, the rapport was instant. Debra Jo had been traveling hard during the past year, being photographed by amateurs and professionals a thousand times and taking part in hundreds of Playboy promotions. "It's been an extraordinary year for me," Debra told us. "I've learned a lot and I think it's prepared me well for the future. It's been an education trying to make do in strange cities, meeting people, running for planes. I'll really hate to give up my title." We hate to see her go, too. That's why we arranged one final pictorial salute during her reign. And Smith was the logical choice to do the honors.
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He began his professional career at the age of 19 as an illustrator for such then-prestigious publications as The Saturday Evening Post, Collier's and American Magazine. Then, in 1956, he moved to Vogue magazine--as a photographer. Smith's association with Playboy started about 12 years ago and has resulted in many memorable pictorials--among them Monday's Child and Sappho. He considers himself a "picture maker rather than a photographer," and says he tries to create an environment and then lets the model act out her fantasies. "I'm a sentimentalist; I love women and I believe in mystery. You need a little mystery to have romance." The fruit of his session with Debra Jo is a fitting tribute to one of our best-loved Playmates, showing her in a light delightfully different from her previous appearances here. It just leaves us wondering why we didn't pair Debra Jo and J. Fred a lot sooner than we did.
