A
Playboy Bunny is a waitress at the
Playboy ClubThe Playboy Club initially was a chain of nightclubs and resorts owned and operated by Playboy Enterprises. The first club opened at 116 E. Walton Street in downtown Chicago, Illinois, United States, on February 29, 1960. Each club generally featured a Living Room, a Playmate Bar, a Dining Room...
. The Playboy Clubs were originally open from 1960 to 1988. The Club re-opened in one location in The Palms Hotel in Las Vegas in 2006. Bunnies wore a costume called a "bunny suit" inspired by the tuxedo-wearing Playboy rabbit mascot, consisting of a
corsetA corset is a garment worn to hold and shape the torso into a desired shape for aesthetic or medical purposes...
, bunny ears, a
collarIn clothing, a collar is the part of a shirt, dress, coat or blouse that fastens around or frames the neck. Among clothing construction professionals, a collar is differentiated from other necklines such as revers and lapels, by being made from a separate piece of fabric, rather than a folded or...
,
cuffA cuff is an extra layer of fabric at the lower edge of the sleeve of a garment covering the arms. In US usage the word may also refer to the end of the leg of a pair of trousers...
s and a fluffy cottontail.
Origin of name
According to
Hugh HefnerHugh Marston "Hef" Hefner is an American magazine publisher, founder and Chief Creative Officer of Playboy Enterprises.-Early life:...
, the Bunny was inspired by Bunny's Tavern in
Urbana, IllinoisUrbana is the county seat of Champaign County, Illinois, United States. As of the 2010 census, the population was 41,250. Urbana is the tenth-most populous city in Illinois outside of the Chicago metropolitan area....
.
Bunny's Tavern was named for its original owner, Bernard "Bunny" Fitzsimmons, who opened for business in 1936. Serving daily food specials for a mere thirty-five cents, as well as ten-cent draft beers, Bunny's catered to locals and University of Illinois students alike. One of those students (in the late 1940s) was Hugh Hefner.
Hefner formally acknowledged the origin of the Playboy Bunny in a letter to Bunny's Tavern, which is now framed and on public display in the bar.
The Bunny's Tavern usage of the outfit, is considered a variant of
ShowgirlA showgirl is a dancer or performer in a stage entertainment show. Showgirl is also often used as a term for a promotional model in trade fairs and car shows, etc...
.
Origin of costume
The costume itself was conceived by Playboy's director of promotions,
Victor LownesVictor Aubrey Lownes III An executive with Playboy Enterprises in various capacities, various vice-presidencies, always a close confidant of Hugh Hefner. Headed Playboy Europe and the UK Playboy Clubs from the mid-sixties until his dismissal in the early eighties...
, and subsequently refined by Hugh Hefner. Originally the ears were taller and the ensemble lacked the trademark bow tie, collar, and cuffs. First unveiled publicly in an early episode of
Playboy's PenthousePlayboy's Penthouse is an American variety / talk television show hosted by Playboy founder and then-editor/publisher Hugh Hefner. It was first broadcast on October 24, 1959 and ran in syndication for slightly more than one year with a second season starting on September 9, 1961 with Jack E...
, it made its formal debut at the opening of the first Playboy Club in Chicago on the evening of February 29, 1960.
Behavior and training
The Playboy Bunnies were waitresses who served drinks at Playboy Clubs. There were different types of Bunnies, including the Door Bunny, Cigarette Bunny, Floor Bunny, Playmate Bunny and the Jet Bunnies (specially selected Bunnies that were trained as flight attendants. They served on the Playboy "Big Bunny" Jet). To become a Bunny women were first carefully chosen and selected from auditions. Then they underwent thorough and strict training before officially becoming a Bunny. Bunnies were required to be able to identify 143 brands of liquor and know how to garnish 20 cocktail variations. Most dating or mingling with customers was forbidden. Customers were also not allowed to touch the Bunnies, and demerits were given if a Bunny's appearance was not properly organized.
A Bunny also had to master the required maneuvers to work. These included the "Bunny Stance," a posture that was required in front of patrons. The Bunny must stand with legs together, back arched and hips tucked under. When the Bunny is resting or while waiting to be of service, she must do the "Bunny Perch." She must sit on the back of a chair, sofa, or railing without sitting too close to a patron. The most famous maneuver of all, the "Bunny Dip," was invented by Kelly Collins, once renowned for being the "Perfect Bunny"; to do the "Bunny Dip" the Bunny gracefully leaned backwards while bending at the knees with the left knee lifted and tucked behind the right leg. This maneuver allowed the Bunny to serve drinks while keeping her low-cut costume in place. Strict regulations were enforced by special workers in the guise of patrons.
Criticism
The treatment of Playboy Bunnies was exposed in a piece written by
Gloria SteinemGloria Marie Steinem is an American feminist, journalist, and social and political activist who became nationally recognized as a leader of, and media spokeswoman for, the women's liberation movement in the late 1960s and 1970s...
and reprinted in her 1983 book
Outrageous Acts and Everyday Rebellions.
Clive JamesClive James, AM is an Australian author, critic, broadcaster, poet and memoirist, best known for his autobiographical series Unreliable Memoirs, for his chat shows and documentaries on British television and for his prolific journalism...
wrote of the 'callous fatuity of the selection process' and observed that, "to make it as a Bunny, a girl need[ed] more than just looks. She need[ed] idiocy, too."
Bunny costumes
The Playboy Bunny outfit was the first service uniform registered with the
United States Patent and Trademark OfficeThe United States Patent and Trademark Office is an agency in the United States Department of Commerce that issues patents to inventors and businesses for their inventions, and trademark registration for product and intellectual property identification.The USPTO is based in Alexandria, Virginia,...
(U.S.
trademarkA trademark, trade mark, or trade-mark is a distinctive sign or indicator used by an individual, business organization, or other legal entity to identify that the products or services to consumers with which the trademark appears originate from a unique source, and to distinguish its products or...
registration number 0762884). The costume was made from
rayonRayon is a manufactured regenerated cellulose fiber. Because it is produced from naturally occurring polymers, it is neither a truly synthetic fiber nor a natural fiber; it is a semi-synthetic or artificial fiber. Rayon is known by the names viscose rayon and art silk in the textile industry...
-
satinSatin is a weave that typically has a glossy surface and a dull back. It is a warp-dominated weaving technique that forms a minimum number of interlacings in a fabric. If a fabric is formed with a satin weave using filament fibres such as silk, nylon, or polyester, the corresponding fabric is...
constructed on a merry widow corset. Satin bunny ears, cotton tails, collars with bow ties, cuffs with cuff links, black pantyhose and matching high-heeled shoes completed the outfit. A name tag on a satin rosette was pinned over the right hip bone.
The uniforms were custom made for each Bunny at the club they worked in. Whenever the club was open there was a full time seamstress on duty. The costumes were stocked in two pieces, the front part being pre-sewn in different bra cup sizes such as B or C cup. The seamstress would match the Bunnies' figure to the correct fitting front and back pieces. Then the two pieces were sewn together to fit each person perfectly.
There was a woman in charge of the Bunnies in each club, called the "Bunny Mother." This was a human resources type of function and a management position. The Bunny Mother was in charge of scheduling work shifts, hiring, firing and training. The Club Manager had only two responsibilities for the Bunnies – floor service and weigh in. Before every shift the Manager would weigh each Bunny. Bunnies could not gain or lose more than one pound (exceptions being made for water retention).
Playboy EnterprisesPlayboy Enterprises, Inc. is a privately held global media and lifestyle company founded by Hugh Marston Hefner to manage the Playboy magazine empire. Its programming and content are available worldwide on television networks, Websites, mobile platforms and radio...
required all employees to turn in their costumes at the end of employment and Playboy has some costumes in storage. Occasionally costumes are offered for sale on the Playboy Auction site or
eBayeBay Inc. is an American internet consumer-to-consumer corporation that manages eBay.com, an online auction and shopping website in which people and businesses buy and sell a broad variety of goods and services worldwide...
. Some of the costumes on eBay may be
counterfeitTo counterfeit means to illegally imitate something. Counterfeit products are often produced with the intent to take advantage of the superior value of the imitated product...
or damaged in some way. Genuine Bunny costumes in good condition have sold for over $10,000. The only two on public display are in the collections of The Smithsonian and the Chicago History Museum.
International icon
The Bunny suit is also very popular in
JapanJapan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, where it has lost much of its association with Playboy. In fact it has become associated with
sexinessPhysical attractiveness refers to a person's physical traits which are perceived to be aesthetically pleasing or beautiful. The term often implies sexual attractiveness or desirability, but can also be distinct from the two; for example, humans may regard the young as attractive for various...
in general; they are referred to as
bunny girls (or
bunnygirls) and have an association with the female human/animal hybrids common in anime and manga known as kemonomimi. Bunnies should not be confused with Playboy Playmates, women who appear in the
centerfoldThe centerfold of a magazine refers to a gatefolded spread, usually a portrait such as a pin-up or a nude, inserted in the middle of the publication, or to the model featured in the portrait...
pictorials of
PlayboyPlayboy is an American men's magazine that features photographs of nude women as well as journalism and fiction. It was founded in Chicago in 1953 by Hugh Hefner and his associates, and funded in part by a $1,000 loan from Hefner's mother. The magazine has grown into Playboy Enterprises, Inc., with...
magazine, although a few bunnies went on to become Playmates (see below).
In
BrazilBrazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
, there are no Playboy Clubs, but
the magazineThe Brazilian issue of Playboy is a local franchise of Playboy magazine published in Brazil. The original edition of the magazine was created by Hugh Hefner in the 1950s in the United States.-History:...
has Bunnies who attend its events. The official Bunnies are currently three, and they were also Playmates - both separately, and together in the cover pictorial for the December 2008 edition.
Return of the Bunnies
In 2006 The Palms Hotel-Casino in
Las VegasLas Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous...
opened the first new Playboy club in over a quarter-century, located on the 52nd floor of the Fantasy Tower. Italian fashion designer
Roberto CavalliRoberto Cavalli is an Italian fashion designer from Florence.-Biography:Roberto Cavalli was born in Florence, Tuscany. His grandfather, Giuseppe Rossi, was a member of the Macchiaioli Movement, whose work is exhibited in the Uffizi Gallery. Cavalli decided to enroll at the local Art Institute,...
was chosen to re-imagine the original Bunny Suit.
Notable Bunnies
Many women who later became famous worked as Playboy Bunnies early in their careers, including:
- Alene Akins, ex-wife of Larry King
Lawrence Harvey "Larry" King is an American television and radio host whose work has been recognized with awards including two Peabodys and ten Cable ACE Awards....
- Barbara Bosson
Barbara Bosson is an American actress who has starred on television and in film.-Biography:Bosson was born in Charleroi, Pennsylvania to a tennis coach father. During her childhood, she lived in an American Craftsman Style house on Price Avenue in the borough of North Belle Vernon...
- Dale Bozzio
Dale Bozzio, born Dale Frances Consalvi in Medford, Massachusetts March 2, 1955, is an American progressive rock and new wave vocalist. She is best known as co-founder and lead singer of the 1980s pop/new wave band Missing Persons. She is also known for her work with Frank Zappa...
- Carol Cleveland
Carol Cleveland is a British actress/comedienne, most notable for her appearances as the only significant female performer on Monty Python's Flying Circus.-Early life:...
, actress, Monty Python's Flying CircusMonty Python’s Flying Circus is a BBC TV sketch comedy series. The shows were composed of surreality, risqué or innuendo-laden humour, sight gags and observational sketches without punchlines...
.
- Sara Dylan
Sara Dylan , born Shirley Marlin Noznisky and later known as Sara Lownds, was the first wife of singer-songwriter Bob Dylan and mother of singer Jakob Dylan. She was married to Bob Dylan from November 1965 until June 1977.-Early life:Little is known about Sara Dylan's early life or family...
- Sherilyn Fenn
Sherilyn Fenn is an American actress and filmmaker. She came to international attention for her performance as Audrey Horne on the 1990 cult TV series Twin Peaks...
- Janis Hansen
Janis Hansen is an American talent agent and retired television and stage actress.-Acting career:A one-time Playboy bunny, Hansen was probably best known for her recurring role as "Gloria", ex-wife of Felix Unger on The Odd Couple between 1971 and 1975...
, actress who played Gloria, wife of Felix Unger, on The Odd CoupleThe Odd Couple is a television situation comedy broadcast from September 24, 1970 to July 4, 1975 on ABC. It starred Tony Randall as Felix Unger and Jack Klugman as Oscar Madison. It was based upon the play of the same name, which was written by Neil Simon.Felix and Oscar are two divorced men....
. Her character's past as a Bunny is talked about in the episode titled "One for the Bunny", which originally aired on March 22, 1974.
- Debbie Harry
Deborah Ann "Debbie" Harry is an American singer-songwriter and actress, best known for being the lead singer of the punk rock and new wave band Blondie. She has also had success as a solo artist, and in the mid-1990s she performed and recorded as part of The Jazz Passengers...
, a musician and actress.
- Lauren Hutton
Lauren Hutton is an American model and actress. She is best-known for her starring roles in the movies American Gigolo and Lassiter, and also for her fashion modeling career.-Personal life:...
- Lynne Moody
Lynne Moody is an American actress who has made many appearances in television.Her most prominent roles include Tracy Curtis Taylor in That's My Mama from 1974–1975 and was replaced by Joan Pringle in the second season; she also played Irene Harvey in Roots, Polly Dawson in Soap, Nurse Julie...
- Polly Matzinger
Polly Celine Eveline Matzinger is an iconoclastic scientist who proposed a novel explanation of how the immune system works, called the danger model.-Early years:...
, the originator of the danger model of the immune system.
- Patricia Quinn
Patricia Quinn, Lady Stephens is a Northern Irish actress best known for her role as Magenta in the film The Rocky Horror Picture Show . Hers were the red lips that appeared in the film's opening song "Science Fiction/Double Feature"...
, Magenta in The Rocky Horror Picture ShowThe Rocky Horror Picture Show is the 1975 film adaptation of the British rock musical stageplay, The Rocky Horror Show, written by Richard O'Brien. The film is a parody of B-movie, science fiction and horror films of the late 1940s through early 1970s. Director Jim Sharman collaborated on the...
.
- Dolly Read
- Maria Richwine
Maria Richwine is an American actress.Her first movie role was as Buddy Holly's wife Maria, in the 1978 biopic movie The Buddy Holly Story. She also appeared in the television series Three's Company, Sledge Hammer!, and Freddy's Nightmares.-External links:...
- Kathryn Leigh Scott
Kathryn Leigh Scott is an American television and film actress who is best remembered for playing Maggie Evans, Josette DuPres Collins, Rachel Drummond, Lady Kitty Soames Hampshire, and Maggie Evans PT on Dark Shadows.-Early life:Scott was born Marlene Kringstad in Robbinsdale, Minnesota in 1943...
- Carol Sharkey
Carol Sharkey was a former model, the mother of rock musician Jon Bon Jovi, and one of the first Playboy Bunnies. The daughter of activist David Sharkey, she worked as a florist before enlisting in the United States Marines, where she met her future husband, fellow Marine John Francis Bongiovi, Sr...
, U.S. Marine, mother of Jon Bon JoviJon Bon Jovi is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and actor, best known as the founder, occasional rhythm guitarist, and lead singer of rock band Bon Jovi, which was named after him...
.
- Shawn Southwick, present wife of CNN
Cable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...
talk show host, Larry KingLawrence Harvey "Larry" King is an American television and radio host whose work has been recognized with awards including two Peabodys and ten Cable ACE Awards....
- Gloria Steinem
Gloria Marie Steinem is an American feminist, journalist, and social and political activist who became nationally recognized as a leader of, and media spokeswoman for, the women's liberation movement in the late 1960s and 1970s...
, became a Bunny as part of an undercover journalistic assignment.
- Eve Stratford
Eve Stratford was an English Playboy Club bunny and model, murdered in 1975. Lynne Weedon was a schoolgirl raped and beaten to death 6 months after Stratford. Their killer was never found. After Weedon's cold case was re-opened in 2004 new DNA techniques showed that she and Stratford were killed...
- Susan Sullivan
Susan Michaela Sullivan is an American actress, known for several notable roles on various television programs. Sullivan played the role of Lenore Curtin Delaney on the daytime soap opera, Another World ; waitress Lois Adams during the first season of the comedy It's a Living, Maggie Gioberti...
- Joy Tarbell, Prominent Real Estate broker, former member of Prudential Realty's President's Advisory Council, Author
- B. J. Ward, who would later become a voice actress
- Kimba Wood
Kimba Maureen Wood is a United States federal judge for the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York.-Early life and education:...
, a Federal Judge nominated for the post of U.S. Attorney GeneralThe United States Attorney General is the head of the United States Department of Justice concerned with legal affairs and is the chief law enforcement officer of the United States government. The attorney general is considered to be the chief lawyer of the U.S. government...
by Bill ClintonWilliam Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
(was only a Playboy Bunny trainee).
- Jackie Zeman
Bunnies who became Playmates
- Helena Antonaccio
- Deanna Baker
- Lannie Balcom
- Kai Brendlinger
- Jessica Burciaga
- Dianne Chandler
Dianne Chandler is an American model who served as both a Playboy Playmate of the Month and as a Playboy Bunny. She was Miss September 1966; her centerfold was photographed by Pompeo Posar.-External links:...
- Karen Christy
- Sharon Clark
Sharon Clark is an American model and actress. She was Playboys Playmate of the Month for its August 1970 issue. Her centerfold was photographed by William Figge and Ed DeLong...
- June Cochran
June Cochran was an American model and beauty queen.Cochran won the Miss Indiana USA pageant in 1960 but was unplaced at the national competition. She was later Playboy magazine's Playmate of the Month for its December 1962 issue and Playmate of the Year for 1963...
- Marilyn Cole
Marilyn Cole was Playboy magazine's January 1972 Playmate of the Month. She was the magazines's first full-frontal nude centerfold, although her pubic hair was partly covered by the shadow cast from the book in her hand, so the first clearly full-frontally nude Playmate of the Month was Bonnie...
- Candace Collins
- Karla Conway
Karla Conway was the name used by American model and artist Karla Jo Musacchia for her appearance as Playboy magazine's Playmate of the Month for its April 1966 issue....
- Debbie Ellison
- Ava Fabian
Ava Fabian is an American model and actress. She was chosen as Playboy's Playmate of the Month in August 1986 and has appeared in numerous Playboy videos. Her centerfold was photographed by Arny Freytag and Richard Fegley.Fabian played Roxy Carmichael in the movie Welcome Home, Roxy Carmichael,...
- Jennifer Jackson
Jennifer Jackson is an American model who was chosen as Playboy magazine's Playmate of the month for the March 1965 issue. She was the first Black Playmate of the Month and was photographed by Pompeo Posar....
- Avis Kimble
Avis Kimble is an American model. At age 17 she was photographed by Jon Pownall to become Playboy magazine's Playmate of the Month for its November 1962 issue....
- Terri Kimball
- Shay Knuth
Shay Knuth was Playboy magazine's Playmate of the Month for September 1969. Her centerfold was photographed by Dwight Hooker...
- China Lee
China Lee, born Margaret Lee, is an American model and actress. She was Playboy's Playmate of the Month for the August 1964 issue. Her centerfold was photographed by Pompeo Posar. She was the first Asian American Playmate...
- Janet Lupo
- Laura Lyons
Laura Lyons is an American model. She was Playboy magazine's Playmate of the Month for its February 1976 issue. Her centerfold was photographed by Dwight Hooker and Mario Casilli....
- Connie Mason
Connie Mason is an American model and actress who was Playboy magazine's Playmate of the Month for its June 1963 issue. After winning Playmate of the Month, Mason started a career in film by starring in the gore movies pioneered by Herschell Gordon Lewis, Blood Feast and Two Thousand Maniacs!...
- Avis Miller
- Laura Misch
- Dolly Read
- Patti Reynolds
Patti Reynolds is an American model and actress who was Playboy magazine's Playmate of the Month for its September 1965 issue . Her centerfold was photographed by Stan Malinowski...
- Mercy Rooney
- Janis Schmitt
- Heather Van Every
- Carol Vitale
- Delores Wells
Delores Wells is an American model and actress. She was Playboy magazine's Playmate of the Month for its June 1960 issue....
External links