Playmate News

Fight Night

The Evander Holyfield--Lennox Lewis battle for the heavyweight title ended in a controversial draw, but Hef's postfight Boogie Nights party at Playboy Mansion West was an undisputed winner. The scene: discoclad Playmates whooping it up with hundreds of TV, movie and sports stars, including Kevin Costner, Jeff Goldblum, Drew Carey, Claire Danes, Oscar De La Hoya, Andy Dick, Dan Aykroyd, Judd Nelson, Jonathan Silverman, Talk Soup's John Henson, Tori Spelling and Jon Lovitz. "It's amazing how many cool people have shown up at the Mansion lately," reports Miss May 1998 Deanna Brooks. "You never know which stars to expect." As for her funky pink boa and space-cowboy hat (pictured below left), Deanna explains with a laugh: "I went all out in full disco gear. A friend of mine designed my silver cowboy hat. It says F*** Off, and Hef thought it was hilarious."

Bunny Hunt

Gloria Steinem, watch out: Playboy Bunnies are back in a big way. Miss August 1986 Ava Fabian (below) traveled to London, Amsterdam, Stockholm and Munich to recruit 20 women to staff the new Playboy Casino at Hotel des Roses on the Greek isle of Rhodes. More than 300 women auditioned with hopes of joining the new generation of Playboy Bunnies. After the cottontail-worthy were chosen, they were whisked away to Bunny School for four weeks of intensive training (mastering the Bunny Dip is still a must) from Bunny Mother Judi Bradford.

Shall we Dance?

"On February 12 and 13 I participated in my first dance competition, the California Open Dance Sport Championships. I danced the tango, merengue, mambo, rumba and cha-cha and ended up with 14 first places, four second places and two third places. I've been training for only four months and am excited about a future in professional dance and working in various shows, commercials, movies, TV and more. In this picture, I'm doing the cha-cha with my dance instructor, Jorge Geronimo."

--Barbara, Moore

All the Rage

This year more fans than ever expressed support by casting their votes for Playmate of the Year through the magazine, Playboy TV and the Internet. In addition to PMOY Heather Kozar, reader favorites included Laura Cover, Lisa Dergan, Tiffany Taylor, Vanessa Gleason, Angela Little, Julia Schultz and the Dahm triplets.

Quote Unquote

Four months into Playmate life, Miss March 1999 Alexandria Karlsen wants you to know one thing: She's having a blast. We checked in with the Arizona native over the phone.

Q: Have you used your Playmate status to do anything cool?

A: [Laughs] I try to. It's nice to be allowed into exclusive clubs. Truth is, I don't go out very often.

Q: Your Centerfold appeared in the March 1999 issue, which featured Kiss on the cover. Have you ever fantasized about being a rock star?

A: I have always wanted to be a singer. Unfortunately, I'm tone-deaf.

Q: What are some of the jobs you had before you became a Playmate?

A: Nothing crazy--I was a receptionist at a car dealership and I worked at a brokerage firm. I've been modeling on and off since I was 15.

Q: What are your vices?

A: I don't drink or smoke, but you wouldn't believe how much candy and junk food I eat.

Q: What do women want from men?

A: I can't speak for all women, but I like a guy with a great sense of humor, who is well read and able to speak intelligently about current events.

Q: Are you a good kisser?

A: Let's just say I haven't had any complaints.

Q: Do you tan topless on vacation?

A: No, but I'm willing to try.

Q: What's the most bizarre place that you've made love?

A: [Laughs] It was just the other day, in the car in an airport parking garage.

We Knew them when

Mickey Winters:

"As for being a Bunny, I loved it. We were like celebrities then."

25 Years ago this Month

Our summer celebration included Glug, Blub, Snap!--a rousing feature on underwater cameras; Wish You Were Here, a humorous look at naughty postcards; and The American Nightmare: Part XII of Playboy's History of Organized Crime. But the issue's luminary was Miss July 1974 Carol Vitale, a sunny Bunny turned Playmate from Miami. Although Carol was set to trade in her Bunny ears for a career with a major airline, she ultimately decided she would miss working with Playboy too much. "I've got lots to do, and I'm happy all the time," she said in her Playmate profile. We can't imagine the summer of '74 without her.

I think all the Playmates are beautiful and individual. My favorite, though, is Miss September 1997 Nikki Schieler--otherwise known as Nikki Schieler Ziering. I'm not just saying that because she's a personal friend and the wife of my Beverly Hills 90210 co-star Ian Ziering. She's beautiful and one of the sweetest people I have ever met. There's nothing fake or pretentious about Nikki. And she's funny, which is something a lot of people probably don't know.

Playmate Birthdays

July 3: Miss August 1977, Julia Lyndon

July 4: Miss July 1966, Tish Howard

July 9: Miss May 1975, Bridgett Rollins

July 22: Miss March 1980, Henriette Allais

July 31: Miss March 1992, Tylyn John

Playmate Gossip

Julia Schultz is the new spokeswoman for Poway Road of Cars, a chain of six auto dealerships near her hometown of San Diego. In addition to appearing in a new locally televised commercial every month for the next two years, Julia scored a 1999 red Mustang convertible. ... Want a free autographed copy of the Tenison twins calendar that's pictured at right? Click on teni sontwins.com and become a platinum member; the calendar is a bonus. To see Reneé Tenison in action, look for her in episodes of Mortal Kombat and Pamela Anderson's TV show, V.I.P. ... Did you catch Victoria Silvstedt's appearance as nurse Ingrid in the series finale of Melrose Place? For more news on the beautiful PMOY 1997, check out www.offi cialvictoria.com. ... Angel Boris has two new movies under her belt: the independent science fiction movie Interceptors and Warlock: The End of Innocence ... Wondering what's shaking in Carmen Berg's life? Drop her a line at P.O. Box 3157, Beverly Hills, California, 90212. ... Lisa Dergan and Kelly Monaco blew into the Windy City for a radio chat show gig and to host a Year of the Rabbit party at Rednofive. When they arrived in classic Bunny costumes, the crowd went wild.