Playboy Bunnies from 1960s have shared their experiences working for and writing about the iconic magazine. They also share memories of Hugh Hefner as well the grooming guidelines they had to adhere to.
Kathryn Leigh Scott, Jaki Nett and Playmate Jeannie bell have shared their stories in a podcast that reveals what life was like for the Playboy brand’s early years.
The Power: Hugh Hefner, explores how Janet Pilgrim, whose real name was Charlaine Edith Karalus, helped the Playboy founder create an empire worth millions – despite only being paid around $200.
Despite strict grooming rules and models pouring club soda inside their three-inch heels to numb the pain during eight-hour shifts, one of the models interviewed described working for the private members club as ‘nirvana’.
Meanwhile Bell, one of the first black women to appear in Playboy Magazine, said despite Hefner showing off his spinning, vibrating bed during a tour of the mansion, he was a ‘nice, great guy’.
Hugh Hefner’s The Power explores the ways Janet Pilgrim (real name Charlaine Edith Karlus) helped build a Playboy empire, even though she was only paid $200. Pictured, Pilgrim on the cover of Playboy in the 60s
Hugh Hefner, pictured with 50 Playboy Bunnies from 1966 as they prepare to start their new London club at Park Lane.
At 22, Charlaine Karalus became the First centrefold model and non-professional to be Playmate of the Month after meeting Hefner while working at Playboy’s corporate office as a subscriptions manager.
Charlaine’s daughter Linda said that Hef and Shef were good friends.
He said that they were hanging out together and that he was looking over at her to say, “Why don’t we have you in the photograph?” She is the reason this magazine has become what it is today, I believe.
Linda explained that Charlene would need some convincing. She said: “This could takeoff or this could turn out to be very bad. You never could have imagined what this would turn out to be. He had to persuade her numerous times’.
A new podcast has been created by 1960s Playboy Bunny Kathryn Leigh Scott and Playmate Jeannie bell to share their stories.
Hugh Hefner arrives at London Airport from Chicago with an entourage of Playboy Bunnies in June 1966 for the opening of the London Playboy Club on Park Lane
Rebranding as Janet Pilgrim, Charlaine became Playboy’s original ‘girl next door’ when photographs of her in Marilyn-style hair and make-up sitting at a typewriter were published in 1955.
Hef is there as a moral support and he can be seen in the background, leaning against one of the doors. Linda said that it clearly showed her cleavage.
Chicago made her very popular and people all over the city knew about her. Her name was called constantly by men and it seemed she enjoyed all the attention.
Charlaine became more popular, as did Playboy magazine subscriptions. Hefner stated in an interview eight years later that Playboy was worth $20,000,000.
The Playmate was paid ‘$50 for the first and then $75 and then $125’ – however Linda insisted that she never begrudged Hefner, leaving the spotlight to become a nurse and start a family.
Linda said that she wanted Linda to become a mother and not be in the limelight, but was determined to just be normal.
Soon Hefner was wealthy enough to buy the Playboy Mansion in Los Angeles and open his first private members club in Chicago, quickly followed by clubs in Los Angeles, Miami and New York.
Jaki Nett arrived in California from Mississippi in 1962 straight after graduating from high school, dreaming of becoming an actress and studying theatre at university.
After graduating, she needed a job. She sought advice from a friend to apply to the Los Angeles Bunny club to get a Bunny position. But she was denied.
The woman who hired her noticed that the model was on a motorcycle as she left and offered her another job.
Nett is one of the first Playboy women to get hired. However, Nett says she was a “flower child” before joining the club. But, Nett would soon be required to follow strict guidelines.
“When I got hired I was innocent,” she stated. “It wasn’t that I knew what it was I was getting myself into. I just walked in to the bunny area and looked at these beautiful girls.
“We were hired to look good, and not because we had any brains.” Playboy was an illusion. It was a club with an atmosphere and lighting that gave the illusion of sexuality.
Although she struggled to get to the door due to her dyslexia, and found it hard to remember the table orders, the model rose to the top to become a “bunny mom” – training bunnies in LA.
‘When they got to get to know me, they would say, “You were so hard, I was afraid,”’ she said. I loved it this way.
Hugh Hefner giving a speech upon arriving at Heathrow Airport in his private plane the “Big Bunny” with the “Jet Bunnies”, who were later met by the British Bunnies at the airport in 1970
Playboy Bunnies awaiting the arrival of Hugh Hefner at Heathrow in 1966 ahead of the opening of the London Playboy Club on Park Lane
Hugh Hefner is pictured with a group of Playboy Bunnies at the grand opening of the Playboy Hotel-Casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey in 1981
One of my favorite things to tell ladies (and I refer them to all women) is that you’re hired for your appearance. Don’t let your hair down. You can quickly become unattractive if your service is poor.
You had to be capable of walking for 8 hours wearing a corset with three-inch heels. Don’t take off your shoes. If your feet swell, you won’t be able to put your shoes on again.
So you get a can of club soda and put it in your shoes. Now you’re ready to walk with your sticky feet.
Kathryn Leigh Scott arrived in New York from Minnesota at the age of 19, with dreams to become an actress. While she had been awarded a scholarship to the theatre school, she needed a job that would pay rent.
In response to an advertisement in The New York Times, she responded that young women could’step into spotlight’ and become a Playboy Bunny.
Hugh Hefner arrives on Heathrow Airport in his private plane the “Big Bunny” with the “Jet Bunnies”, who were first met by British Bunnies at Heathrow Airport in 1970. Hefner (right) is photographed with Barbi Benton, his girlfriend.
Kathryn Leigh Scott, pictured here in 1969, was only 19 when she came from Minnesota to New York with the dream of being an actress. Although she was awarded a scholarship for a school of theatre, she ‘needed to work a regular job to cover the rent’.
She said, “You could work as a waitress, a shopgirl, or as a secretary at an office.” However, the minimum wage was $1.35.
“At Playboy, I was able to earn $150 while working part-time. It would have allowed me to attend classes and to get Broadway tickets. That was the best thing I could do.
Claiming to have met both The Beatles and Jack Nicholson, Kathryn said that she’s ‘lost count’ of all the A-listers she encountered, and how many celebrities she ‘turned down’.
She recalled, “When I put the schoolgirl side of me in the locker, and put on the costume, it also gave me that glamour persona.” “I felt like a showgirl and it was great fun.
Holly Madison’s memoir, The Playboy Mansion: Holly Madison reveals the truth about the life of the 1990s
Holly Madison, a famous author, revealed her love for the editor of the magazine in Down the Rabbit Hole (2015).
The book reveals how Hefner encouraged teenage women to get drugs, and encourage them to have regular orgies in exchange for rent at Hefner’s luxury mansion.
Playboy Bunny Sheila Levell and Hugh Hefner, Playboy founder Hugh Hefner. Playboy Bunny Holly Madison.
Madison, who was just 21 years old when he moved to Hefner’s mansion in 2001 at the age of 75, was Hefner’s longest-serving partner.
She was a star of Girls Next Door during that time, which revolved around Hefner and Bridget Marquardt’s two other live-in friends, Kendra Wilkinson and Kendra Wilkinson.
Madison was his main girlfriend and she openly declared her desire to marry him and start a family.
After she was free from her self-described “Stockholm Syndrome”, the couple ended their relationship in 2008.
Madison, who was hiding behind the scenes at the mansion said that Madison was experiencing a living hell’ during which time she considered suicide.
She recounts her first encounter with him in Hooters 2000. After a night of clubbing and chatting with his girlfriends, she realized that she had to share a bed with him.
Hefner offered her a Quaalude, she claimed.
She claims that Hefner informed her that although she doesn’t normally approve of drugs, the 1970s saw them call these tablets ”thigh openings ”,’.
She was brought home by Hefner on her first night at the club. There, she wrote in her memoir how Hefner masturbated while the bunnies surrounding him played lesbian scenes and hardcore pornography was shown on two television screens.
Hefner encouraged her to be a ‘new girl’, while other women were high about the Quaaludes.
Hefner was also very critical of her appearance. He refused to allow her to see a therapist, even though she had begun having serious mental health issues. This led her almost to suicide.
Hugh, his younger brother Keith wrote a strict rulebook for Playboy Bunnies who worked at these clubs.
One excerpt from the book says: Bunnies have to look perfect in their hair, nail polish, and costumes. No Bunny can work without these requirements. This is a case where carelessness may result in demerits.
Good grooming includes a good daily shower and a decent deodorant. A regular bath with bath lotion is advisable to keep the skin soft and beautiful. If there’s no physical contact between bunnies and patrons, they may be allowed to dance together.
But actress Kathryn enjoyed her time at the club, insisting: ‘It taught me how to send the right signals as to how I wanted to be treated in the workplace.’
Gloria Steinem, feminist campaigner and activist for women exposed many of these harsh rules in her month-long investigation into the club.
Her investigation found that bunnies would have to pay for their costumes and make-up including mandatory fake eyelashes, were docked pay for messy hair, were investigated by undercover detectives in the club and required an internal examination for STIs.
Many of the Bunnies that were asked to participate in the podcast’s initial episodes dismissed the idea of being exploited.
Those who say they worked in the club at the same time as Steinem view their time there in a very different way.
Kathryn said that she saw a completely different world from what Kathryn was seeing. Kathryn said that they were both there simultaneously and experienced many of the same experiences. You can be sure that it was a very different way of looking at things.
Jeannie, a black Playboy Playmate, was featured on the magazine’s cover in October 1969. Jennifer Jackson made the debut in March 1965. Jeannie became the cover girl for the magazine later in her life.
After becoming the Miss Texas Pageant’s first black participant, she was recruited to the Miss Universe contest by a photographer.
I said that Playboy had never had a black female in their ranks, so they won’t pick me ”,’, she replied.
“They want your to be in this magazine,” he said. I wasn’t convinced. I replied, “I’ll believe when I see it”.
“I told all my Texas friends, “I’m going in Playboy magazine”, and they wouldn’t believe me. They’d never seen a black woman in Playboy.”
Jeannie remembered visiting Playboy in LA following her shoot. Hefner was gracious enough to give her a private tour. “Why was he wearing a gown?” Jeannie said.She recalled.
He showed me his bedroom. I thought it was very interesting. Then he explained that he used a round mattress. He would use buttons to rotate the bed by pushing on the headboard.
The bed would sometimes vibrate, and when I stated that, he replied, “This was a unique bed” and I started to walk out of the room. It wasn’t my place.
She said that she didn’t know if he was trying to have sex. He was great, very friendly.
Jeanie had a successful career as an actress, model and actor. She posed nude for Playboy again in December 1979’s pictorial Playmates Forever.