Beguiling Bernadette

Ever since longtime Playboy friend Alberto Vargas immortalized Bernadette Peters on canvas for her first album cover, an idea has been brewing around our offices. Not only do we appreciate Bernadette as an accomplished actress, singer and dancer but we think she epitomizes that rare quality of being able to dress up as if it were 1981 or 1891 outside, yet never seem out of place.

So we got together with top fashion designer Bob Mackie, who, besides dressing some of the world's most desirable women (Cher, Goldie Hawn, Cheryl Ladd and, of course, Bernadette), has just completed designing his own line of lingerie. To introduce it, he created some special period pieces that illustrate fashions in ladies' undergarments over the years; we asked him to adapt some of those especially for Bernadette, and he was glad to comply.

"Men like modern lingerie," said Mackie, "but there's also something really intriguing about things that have lots of hoops, corsets and lacing. Nowadays, you take off her T-shirt, undo the jeans and she's ready. In the past, it took longer to get to." (continued overleaf)

About the lady who would model his special creations: "I've always loved the way Bernadette looks. Even the gowns I've done for her have always had a lingerie feel. Bernadette has a very bedroomy quality. So to do a whole layout of lingerie just for her was fun. She's perfect for turn-of-the-century designs--she looks like she came from that era--as well as the more contemporary stuff. Bernadette slips into either with no problem."

When we asked Bernadette--she of the flawless complexion, and other unmistakable assets--if she would pose in Mackie's creations, she allowed that it would be her pleasure. "Bob is a very kind man and a close friend. Besides, I think lingerie is sexy."

Regular contributor David Rensin conducted an interview with Bernadette during the photo session. Says Rensin: "Bernadette has been in show business as long as she can remember. Right now she's on view in Tulips, with Gabe Kaplan; in the next few months, she will add three more films to her credit. Pennies from Heaven (co-starring boyfriend Steve Martin) and Heartbeeps (she and Andy Kaufman are robots in love) are due around Christmas; and Annie is slated for Easter. Throw in a singing career and it's obvious that Bernadette is an extremely hard-working woman. The many hours and late nights she put in for this project and the cover shooting (she and Steve Martin are the only couple to have his-and-hers Playboy covers) are another example.

"When we finally settled down to talk, I found her to be bright, with a subtle wit and an infectious giggle. It was also clear that Bernadette chooses her answers carefully. She said she wanted to protect a cherished private life. Still, she responded to our gentle prying with good humor and didn't seem to mind revealing her wonderful figure in Mackie's designs or her feelings in general."

Playboy: How did you like wearing this stuff?

Peters: I like lingerie. Sometimes it's not so practical, because it creates lumps under your clothes, but it's great to put on. Personally, I love Bob's designs and that stuff that comes from Paris. They use great materials and I like the most expensive stuff.

Playboy: Tell us about your Playtex bra commercial.

Peters: How did you know about that? It's not in my bio. [Thoughtful pause] I got involved in it when I was out looking for work and had to take anything that came along. I mean, it wasn't immoral, indecent or illegal ... but then, you at Playboy wouldn't think that, anyway. Besides, those commercials make you a lot of money.

Playboy: Was your face in it?

Peters: Oh, yeah. It was the one with that, uh, floating bra. In the script, I was a beauty contestant and I just couldn't make it to first place. Finally, the lady who was supposed to be my chaperone took me aside and said, "Honey, I have just the thing. It's this bra with a quarter inch extra." And the quarter inch helped. I put on the bra and I won. To tell you the truth, I never really put the bra on. I looked the same as before, only I did everything with such confidence that you thought I'd put it on. Confidence is why I won.

Playboy: If you were a beauty contestant in, say, the Miss U.S.A. pageant, what would you tell Bob Barker in the minute-long personal interview?

Peters: "Let's make a deal."

Playboy: As the dress you wore to the 1981 Academy Awards indicated, you didn't need that extra quarter inch. Did showing as much skin as you did make you at all uneasy, make you feel as if everyone were staring somewhere below your chin?

Peters: Well, the dress was heavily beaded and you couldn't tell if you were seeing something or not. But I'm not self-conscious about that stuff. I feel very comfortable in dresses like that. Very few women can really wear them and carry them off. It's almost got to be like you're wearing a bathrobe; treat it as if it were absolutely nothing. Then it works and it's incredible. When I feel good about something, then I forget it. I'm only self-conscious when I wear something schleppy. I don't have any complexes about my----

Playboy: Yes, once and for all, what do women call them?

Peters: Breasts. When I'm having fun, I may call them boobs.

Playboy: Do you have any tattoos?

Peters: No. But I wish I did. Well, maybe not a tattoo. A decal.

Playboy: Where would you put it?

Peters: Someplace nice.

Playboy: What did you want to be when you grew up?

Peters: I wanted to be a waitress, I swear. I used to live in Queens, and after my piano lessons in Manhattan, I'd go to this coffee shop and meet my sisters and friends. And there was this waitress there who was terrific. I used to watch her and think, God, what a neat job, taking the dishes and putting them in that secret well behind the counter. I didn't know what was under there. I found out later it was gray tubs. I thought it was better than that. I guess I just wanted to be busy, and now I am.

Playboy: Does being beautiful sometimes get in the way, build a fence around you?

Peters: I never considered myself beautiful. I mean, I never had that problem. Of course, the package should be nice, but it's really the person I'm getting used to, accepting myself, and I think that what I look like is, uh, strange. It's hard to be objective.

Playboy: Is Steve Martin really funny?

Peters: Yes.

Playboy: When is he funniest to you?

Peters: You mean, is he funny when he, like, trips all the time? He's not funny when he's not trying to be. He's not on all the time. Of course, when he has something to say, he is funny. He's an intelligent and funny guy and his mind thinks in intelligent and funny ways. He doesn't put lamp shades on his head or anything like that. You know, I really don't think about those things. When I'm with him, I don't say, "Look, this is Steve Martin and isn't it funny how this moment makes me laugh?"

Playboy: We've heard that Steve is an art collector. We don't want to pry, but do you have any clown paintings in your house?

Peters: Now, that's funny.

Playboy: One thing you and Steve have in common is your dietary habits, right?

Peters: Yes, we're both vegetarians.

Playboy: What's your favorite vegetable?

Peters: Spinach. I like it with butter and slivers of almonds. I also like plain Chinese pea pods.

Playboy: Are you a good cook?

Peters: I try. I need more practice. However, I do make a very good ricotta cake. That's really easy. And I like to do pasta with a pesto sauce, but you've got to be careful if the doorbell rings, because your pasta can get overcooked while you're going to answer it.

Playboy: What else do you and Steve have in common?

Peters: We like each other.

Playboy: Are you uncomfortable talking about Steve?

Peters: I'm not real comfortable talking about my private life. I'm such a public person that I need something left for myself. It's only fair.

Playboy: Since you're always on the go, what do you do to keep up? What do you read, watch on TV?

Peters: I watch 60 Minutes, though that's getting a little predictable now. I love The New York Times. I watch the news, but if the newscasters are too cute, I turn it off. Sunday Morning is a good show. I love Charles Kuralt. As for what I read, I like Lillian Hellman and Truman Capote, to start.

Playboy: You used to live in New York. Why did you move to Los Angeles?

Peters: Lots of reasons. One is that I don't like living in fear, and in New York you really have to be careful, even of what you wear when you're walking down the street. I don't think about that in L.A., but in New York, I take a jacket, if you know what I mean. I remember meeting this lady in Central Park a couple of years ago. A friend and I went to the little cafeteria in the zoo and we sat with this lady. She was young--35, 38. She was attractive. It was two in the afternoon and she said she had to go home soon because she wouldn't go out of her apartment after four o'clock. She was really afraid things were going to happen to her. I don't believe in living with those kinds of fears, and now I don't have them.

Playboy: How can you tell if someone's falling in love with you?

Peters: I can't. I'm not good at telling that. So I ask. If I realize someone's been doing something for a while, like following me around, I'll say, "Do you like me?"