Playmates Revisited • 1959

Herewith, another retrospective look at a delectable dozen Playmates of the past. These 12 authentic American beauties were picked for their original playboy appearances from every part of the nation: Virginia Gordon was born and raised in West Virginia and Audrey Daston in Boise, Idaho--though both were living in Hollywood when we first spotted them; Clayre Peters and Nancy Crawford grew up in the East and were submitted by New York photographers. Boston-born Cindy Fuller was discovered in a Miami water pageant; she graced both the May gatefold and Playboy's House Party, a picture story in the same issue. Waukegan, Illinois, birthplace of Jack Benny, came up with a second, fairer claim to fame in 1959, with February Playmate Eleanor Bradley; Marilyn Hanold was working in a Las Vegas show with comedian George Gobel when she made her June Playboy debut and Marilyn obviously has an appreciation for the comic, and vice versa: This past season she was a featured regular on the Sid Caesar TV show. Chicago's own Marianne Gaba was Miss Illinois in a Miss Universe contest and made a scrumptious Miss September. October's Elaine Reynolds, a professional swimmer, and December's Ellen Stratton, a legal secretary, came from opposite coasts, but wound up the year as two of the most popular Playmates and later became a pair of The Playboy Club's most beautiful Bunnies. Readers are invited to submit their own ten favorites from among all the Playmates of our first ten years--from Miss December 1953 to Miss December 1963. Send us the names of your ten favorites, then enjoy the results in a December pictorial, Readers' Choice.