Diamond Days

On February 29, 1960 the first Playboy Club opened its doors, and into pop culture bounded the Bunny. With her satin ears, sheer stockings, boned corset and white tail (the cuffs and collars came later), she has resided in our collective imagination ever since. Like the indelible Playboy Rabbit Head, the Bunny symbolizes the ideal of sophisticated pleasure. But unlike the inanimate logo, the Bunnies had the hard work of actually bringing that ideal to life.

It was a good job—if you could get it. Hundreds of Bunny hopefuls typically applied at each new club, some company-owned and others franchise-operated. Bunnies could be found working in 25 states and seven countries and, after Playboy’s private DC-9 airplane took off in the early 1970s, in the sky as well. From Jamaica to New Jersey, London to Lansing and Omaha to Osaka, the Playboy hotels, casinos and resorts offered endless amenities and activities—horseback riding, scuba diving, skeet shooting, skiing, roulette. The bushy-tailed Bunny was the ever-present standard bearer (and still is: Visit our Playboy Club in London).

Bunny training was rigorous, and standards were high. The so-called Bunny Mothers were managers who enforced rules laid out in the intimidatingly thick Bunny Manual, but for the Bunnies, tips and other perks including tuition assistance and appearance fees made the difficult job worthwhile. In the early 1980s, for example, Bunnies hired to appear at events approved by Playboy earned $17.50 an hour—more than five times the minimum wage.

The clubs were showplaces for comedians, jazz musicians and other performers, but it was the Bunnies, with their practiced-to-perfection perch, stance and dip, who were the steady draw. For a short while in the mid-1980s, Rabbits—male servers who were Bunny counterparts—had their time in the New York hutch; more than 1,500 men applied for 25 positions.

It would be a mistake to look at the Bunny and see only a waitress; she was so much more. When the Bunny first arrived on the scene 60 years ago, the world was still adjusting to the idea of women who unapologetically owned their attractiveness or leveraged it as part of their job. Criticism came from various corners, including undercover Bunny Gloria Steinem’s two-part 1963 story in Show magazine. But where some saw sexism, most Bunnies saw opportunity. (As one told The New York Times in 1976, “We’re exploiting men; they’re not exploiting us. After all, those poor slobs just want to come in here and see us.”) Many former Bunnies credit their time working at the clubs as formative to the women they became.

“I really owe my Ph.D.—my first one—to Hugh Hefner and Playboy,” says Elisabeth Clark, a psychologist and psychoanalyst who was known in the original New York club as Bunny Dana. “Playboy paid for two college courses every semester. My graduate-level classes at New York University were in the daytime, and I could still work at night. It was perfect.”

Then as now, it took guts and grit to be a Bunny.

On the occasion of the Bunny’s diamond anniversary, we reached out to 17 former Bunnies and one Rabbit—among their ranks a doctor, two rock singers, a film editor, an attorney and a social worker—and asked them about their time wearing the ears. Read on for their memories.

BUILDING CHARACTER—AND BANK ACCOUNTS

Offering excellent pay, flexible hours and tuition aid, working as a Bunny was often seen as the best gig in town

Gloria Hendry, New York club, 1965–1972 (actor, singer, model, legal secretary): I became a Bunny because of the money. Sometimes I made up to $2,000 a week. I was dabbling in acting, and I could never have afforded classes if I hadn’t been a Bunny. Thanks to the hours, I was able to go out on auditions, and I got my first Screen Actors Guild movie role, in For Love of Ivy, with Sidney Poitier and Abbey Lincoln.

Sabrina Scharf Schiller, New York and Bahamas clubs, 1962–1963 (attorney): I thought if I worked very hard and saved diligently, it would give me the serious start I needed for my education. And that’s exactly what happened. I worked the first 60 days for the club without a day off, in three-inch heels, often doing double shifts. With tips, I was taking home the unheard-of amount of $100 per day. Mid-level career men weren’t earning that much then, let alone young women.

Marilyn Cole, London club, 1971–1974 (journalist, 1973 Playmate of the Year): Playboy made us financially independent, a rare thing for 21-year-old girls. We could travel, buy our own cocktails and the latest fashions—even have mortgages and build our own lives. That was powerful.

Kathryn Leigh Scott, New York club, 1963–1966 (actor, author—we’re partial to her 1998 book, The Bunny Years): I was a scholarship student at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, working at Bloomingdale’s part time, when I saw the ad: “Girls, step into the spotlight, become a Playboy Bunny!” It sounded like fun, glamor, good pay and perfect hours for my class schedule. Lauren Hutton and I met in the long line to audition, and Keith Hefner hired both of us.

Debbie Harry, New York club, 1968 (lead singer and songwriter for Blondie): It’s not a job or career choice for everyone; however, it was a good education for me, and the Playboy clubs always had a high regard for the women who worked there. Being a Bunny was the right decision for me, as I have always liked the naughty and nice sides of a story.

AT THE VANGUARD

As the sexual revolution got under way in the 1960s, influenced in no small part by PLAYBOY, other social changes were transforming the cultural landscape

Sabrina Scharf Schiller: Women’s lives were changing drastically. The advent of the pill brought about more control over our bodies and our choices. There was a total shift in social mores, and Bunnies were on the front lines of that change. We were the innocent representation of the concept that sex is fun. Only the appearance was naughty.

Angelyn Chester, Chicago club, 1972–1984 (journalist, 1974 International Bunny of the Year): The very first woman who won International Bunny of the Year, Gina Byrams, was a woman of color. You have to remember the times; race relations were strained. In 1974 I won my local Bunny competition, and some people said, “Just go to L.A. and have a good time. They’re not going to pick a woman of color after another woman of color.” I didn’t believe that. I thought I had just as good a chance as anybody. And I went on to win.

Jennifer Jackson, Chicago club, 1964 (social worker, March 1965 Playmate): The 1960s were an amazing period, you know? The Black Movement, Vietnam, the hippies, the Beatles, Motown. There hasn’t been a more exciting time since.

Francesca Emerson, New York and Los Angeles clubs, 1963–1968 (film editor): The Playboy Club was known for hiring minorities even in the early 1960s, when some places were still segregated. I was a black unmarried mother living in New York City, and Playboy gave me confidence, independence, financial security, adventure and opportunities that would never have come to me had I still been working the counters at Bloomingdale’s or serving coffee and donuts in some uptown takeout joint.

Gloria Hendry: The club was wonderful. If somebody grabbed my tail or said something derogatory to me, like “I don’t want that black Bunny waiting on me,” the room director would walk over and say, “May I have your Playboy key, please? Now get out and never come back.” What can I say? They protected us, they took care of us, and that’s my experience.

GETTING THE GIG

Every Bunny—or Rabbit—forged their own path to the Playboy Club

Gwen Wong Wayne, Los Angeles club and Big Bunny airplane, 1965–1975 (interior designer, April 1967 Playmate): My aunt was a Bunny in Miami and New York, and she had some great stories to tell; I think she was the catalyst for my career with Playboy. I showed some pictures to Keith Hefner, and he immediately asked if I could work at the Miami club. I couldn’t leave my two children, but Keith promised that when the L.A. club opened I would be one of the first to get a Bunny suit. When the club was interviewing hundreds of girls, I thought Keith had probably forgotten me. He had not. He was a man of his word, and I was in—yeah! Later I became a Jet Bunny on Playboy’s plane.

Connie Mason Kasten, Miami and Chicago clubs, 1961–1962 (actor, June 1963 Playmate): It was a much coveted job, like being chosen to be in the Miss America pageant. Tony Roma had suggested to my dad that I apply since the Bunnies made such good tips. During my Bunnyhopping years I gained tremendous self-confidence, and I was able to support my two little ones as a single mother.

Jeff Rector, New York Empire Club, 1985–1986 (actor, writer): When word went out that Playboy was looking for waiters, every Chippendale thought he would get the job. But Playboy didn’t want a bunch of beefcakes who just strolled around looking pretty. You had to do your job and do it well. It’s the only job I’ve ever had where I couldn’t wait to go to work.

Dale Bozzio, Boston club, 1973–1976 (musician, lead singer for Missing Persons): I was 18 years old when I became a Playboy Bunny in Boston. Out of 250 girls, they hired four, and I was one of them. Training lasted weeks. I learned how to use my beauty in a kind, precious manner. I became the best Bunny I possibly could.

BARRACUDAS AND TOUGH MOTHERS

The Bunny gig came with some exacting standards (sometimes too exacting) and demanding tasks

Angelyn Chester: It was not a hairnet type of job. We had weeks of grueling training. You had to learn how to high-carry a tray with two heavy telephone books and how to carry the tray at your waist. You had to be strong to high-carry, to walk in those heels, to serve. And you had to be fast. Once I got my tray, it was like a badge of honor. You got your tray, your flashlight and your name tag. It was like a flight attendant getting her wings.

Pat Lacey, Los Angeles and Jamaica clubs and Big Bunny, 1965–1978 (Playboy Promotions specialist, writer): We did a weigh-in every month; you had to stay within five pounds of your original weight. Being a Bunny was a workout: You developed strong arms from all the lifting and Bunny-dipping. The night manager called us experienced Bunnies barracudas because you had to be tough to make it. When I was a Bunny Mother and we needed five girls, we’d get 10 to start. Not all of them would make it. Girls would get demerits for lateness, for shoes that weren’t polished. But they were smart and knew how to get by my inspections.

Sabrina Scharf Schiller: I did not like the weekly weigh-in to ensure a trim Bunny figure was kept under control. Those costumes were tight, and we knew when we’d had one dessert too many.

IN THE WARREN

Myriad positions were available at the clubs: Door Bunnies, Floor Bunnies, Pool Bunnies, Cabaret Bunnies and more

Sharron Long, Kansas City and Jamaica clubs, 1966–1968 (businesswoman): I took over the pool table shortly after starting. It was perfect for me. I loved it, and it taught me a lot about being an entrepreneur, though I wasn’t aware of it at the time. I learned how to take chances, how to trust my judgment and, most important, how to step out of the mold that had been created for women at that time.

Joyce Nizzari, Chicago, Miami and New Orleans clubs, 1960 (Playboy Mansion executive assistant, December 1958 Playmate): I worked at the original Chicago club during the first week it opened as a Door Bunny, checking key numbers. I wore the Bunny costume with no collar or cuffs because they hadn’t been added to the uniform yet. The lines to get in were so long that the doors were almost never fully closed; I remember getting snow on my costume.

Gloria Hendry: I wound up starting as a Cigarette Bunny, saying, “Cigars, cigarettes, Tiparillos, Playboy lighters? One dollar and five cents.” I’ll never forget those lines. And men used to come by and give me a $100 or $50 tip.

Pat Lacey: After six weeks of training in Indiana in an enormous hangar, and in Florida for water-evacuation training, and in Wisconsin at the Lake Geneva club, where the Playboy chef taught us how to prepare gourmet meals, I became a Jet Bunny. Normally a flight would have just one preflight FAA inspector. But on the Big Bunny there were always multiple inspectors—they wanted to see Hef’s plane and the Jet Bunnies!

Carol Cleveland, London club, 1966 (comedian, writer and Monty Python cast member): I started off in the Cabaret Room. Once I took people’s orders and the show started, I could watch the cabaret. Dave Allen was a well-known comedian here in England, and he was the star when I first started. I was a great fan and happy as could be watching him perform every night.

LIFE LESSONS FROM THE DRESSING ROOM

Co-workers became friends who became family within the special society of Bunnydom

Marilyn Cole: The Bunny room was the most liberating place—there was swearing, nudity, camaraderie and pluralism. I learned about politics, social justice and religious diversity. A Bunny roommate had been born in Aden as a Zoroastrian; she called it the oldest religion in the world. She would burn incense and pray every night, even wear a religious garment around her waist underneath her Bunny costume.

Kathryn Leigh Scott: I was a farm kid from the Midwest mixing with 110 other young women in every size and shape, from every religious, ethnic, cultural, economic and racial background, from all over the world. The Bunny dressing room circa 1963 was more diverse than a college campus even 20 years later. A single mother from a Harlem project donned the same jewel-colored costume as an heiress, an East German refugee who’d escaped the Berlin Wall, the daughter of a Chinese diplomat, a gap-toothed tomboy who became a supermodel; I interviewed them all for The Bunny Years.

Candace Collins Jordan, St. Louis and Chicago clubs, 1973–1977 (columnist, December 1979 Playmate): The Bunnies were the sisters I never had. It was a unique sorority and a joy for me.

Francesca Emerson: We bonded like glue. Playboy was like a gigantic family of different people of different backgrounds and different cultures, all working hard to improve themselves. When we weren’t working, we’d meet at each other’s houses and have lunches and dinners together, participate in each other’s kids’ birthday parties, even take vacations together. Half a century later, I still have close friendships from the New York and L.A. clubs.

MISCONCEPTIONS

Donning the ears could come with some baggage

Marilyn Cole: I am shocked that I still sometimes have to defend myself for having been a Bunny and a Playmate. It was a woman who interviewed me. It was a woman who trained me. It was a woman who did PR at the club. PLAYBOY magazine’s photo editor was a woman. The first woman gaming inspector in the U.K. casino industry had been a Playboy Croupier Bunny. I wish people knew that. Who would have thought we would have such an impact on social history? The Bunnies were pioneers. We stood for freedom.

Candace Collins Jordan: I wish people understood what a wonderful opportunity this was for women like me instead of thinking we were exploited. It was our choice to be Bunnies. We made great money and great friends and had wonderful opportunities that are now lasting memories. It was a priceless and life-changing experience for me and made me who I am today.

Jennifer Jackson: In the 1960s and 1970s, no one thought black people were pretty. And then people saw me as a black woman, and that black is beautiful, in all different shades. That was one of the things that we promoted.

Kathryn Leigh Scott: Former Bunnies include entrepreneurs, lawyers, judges, CEOs, professors, architects, restaurateurs, scientists and a few actors and writers—none of us turning in our satin ears to collect Social Security!

Angelyn Chester: Hefner sent a memo to corporate explaining that if it were not for the women, the Playmates and the Bunnies in particular, that the company would not exist, so they are to be respected and not harassed. He was ahead of his time when it came to policies like that.

GOOD TIMES, GREAT MEMORIES

From celebrity customers to softball stardom, the Bunnies and Rabbits led unforgettable lives

Pat Lacey: In Jamaica they had goat racing on the beach for guests to watch. Guys would climb the trees and grab fresh coconuts right off the palms. During the day, before six P.M., we wore a two-piece bikini, ears and tail, with flip-flops, and in the evenings the standard Bunny costume. I overstayed my visa and got booted from the country!

Elisabeth Clark, New York and Montreal clubs, 1965–1975 (psychologist and psychoanalyst): I was working the Playmate Bar one night, and this guy was at my station all by himself, wearing a hat and a raincoat. I took his order, scotch and water or something, and I served it to him. The bartender said, “Do you know who you’re waiting on?” I said, “No, why?” And he says, “That’s Paul Newman.” I said, “Who’s Paul Newman?”

Jeff Rector: Wherever we went, people were like, “Oh my God, it’s the Bunnies and Rabbits from the Playboy Club.” We could get into any club, anytime. We could get reservations at any restaurant. We really were treated like celebrities.

Francesca Emerson: Playing on the Bunny softball team is one of my favorite memories. It started as a charity event in the Chicago club and was so successful it spread throughout the clubs. The New York club’s team was so competitive. Every Thursday at noon, the Dream Team, as we were known, played in Central Park; we wore black tights and orange sweaters with the Bunny logo on the front.

THE TAIL END

A parting thought from a beloved Bunny

Dale Bozzio: I’m the proudest Bunny. Everything I learned as a Playboy Bunny brought me to today. I’m 64 years old; I go on stage every month, maybe four times a month. I learned to be courageous and to be a proud woman and to know how beautiful I am. I learned to love myself. And that’s where I’m coming from; that’s how I write all my music. That’s how I live my life, and that’s how I’ve raised my sons.

Reporting by Tori Lynn Adams, Cat Auer, Andie Eisen and Michele Sleighel.

Our Strong Suit

Recognized the world over, the Bunny costume may be the most famous uniform ever created

Like many aspects of Playboy history, the Bunny suit owes much of its success to women—and not just those who wear it.

Founder Hugh Hefner originally wanted silky negligees as the club uniform but was talked out of the impractical idea by Victor Lownes, the promotions manager who was instrumental in the development of the clubs. Instead Lownes brought Hef a better idea—one Lownes got from his girlfriend, actress Ilsa Taurins (whose name is spelled variously as Ilze and Ilse). As former Bunny Kathryn Leigh Scott reports in The Bunny Years, Taurins suggested the costume be rabbit-based, a play on the magazine’s emblem. Although Hefner had already considered and spurned the idea as too masculine, Taurins created a one-piece design with an attached tail and separate ears, according to Scott. Taurins’s seamstress mother then assembled the prototype, which Lownes showed to Hef. The costume wasn’t quite daring enough for Hefner’s vision, but with minor alterations it formed the basis for the world-famous outfit that debuted at the Chicago Playboy Club in 1960.

Quality of craftsmanship in addition to the risk-taking fashion surely also helped the costume’s legacy. According to New York University director of costume studies Nancy Deihl, the clubs commissioned talented women to custom-build the suits, including Zelda Wynn Valdes, who fabricated them for the New York club that opened in December 1962.

“The Bunny costume has withstood the test of time because of its simplicity,” says Kristi Beck, a Playboy senior manager and part of a group responsible for overseeing Bunny selection and training.

Small changes to the hare-raising getup have been made over the decades: the addition of the tuxedo collar and cuffs and a name-tag rosette, a tweak to the high-cut leg, a slight redesign of the ears, more accommodating cup sizes—but the Bunny remains as recognizable as ever.

By the time the suit turned 20, various versions were in use alongside the solid-color satin classic: suits with psychedelic patterns inspired by Emilio Pucci, a VIP suit in velvet, a lacy (and short-lived) cabaret version and a fur-trimmed green or red Christmas look. And not all Bunnies wore the famous suit; season, location and responsibility also dictated their attire, with non-corset-based outfits for Ski Bunnies, Croupier Bunnies, Beach Bunnies and others.

Today Playboy Club servers wear suits that were updated in 2005 with accessories by designer Roberto Cavalli. In 2018 Bunnies at the Coachella music fest wore a new green-leaf-patterned suit, but the original 1960 silhouette remains intact.

Since its appearance six decades ago, the Bunny suit has woven its way into the fabric of American culture, donned by everyone from Dolly Parton to Flip Wilson to Kate Moss. It was the first service uniform ever registered with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, and a complete Bunny costume can be found in the collection of the Smithsonian. Like other cultural mainstays, how it’s seen often depends on who’s looking at it, including the Bunnies themselves.

“Bunnies like wearing it for different reasons,” says Beck, who sometimes fits new Bunnies into their suits. “Some see it as playful and nostalgic; others see it as badass empowerment. We don’t need to define it for them.”