Playmates Revisited • 1961

Herewith, the eighth step in our Tenth Anniversary romp down Playmate Memory Lane, to be followed shortly by a December Readers' Choice portfolio. The phenomenal growth of Playboy was reflected in its eighth year by a torrent of mail responses to 1961 's gatefold girls. So many readers raved about Christa Speck (September) that her total has never been topped; Speck-tacular Christa (38-22-36) later appeared in the Playmate Holiday House Party feature (December 1961), which garnered additional overwhelming male reaction; shortly thereafter, Playboy's editors unanimously selected her the Playmate of the Year. Christa's bosom companion, Heidi Becker (June), a strudel-sweet Austrian, elicited enough letters to place her third in all-time Playmate popularity; our mail room also worked overtime toting billets-doux for Barbara Ann Lawford (February) and Connie Cooper (January). Sheralee Conners (July) and Lynn Karrol (December), having tasted gatefold fame, opted for cottontailing and became two of New York's most popular Bunnies; admirers may also recognize Lynn as one of Peter Sellers' charmers in his movie-lover parody (Playboy, April 1964), and Sheralee via her appearance on Steve Allen's show, when she tutored him on the techniques of Bunnying. If you've already decided on your ten favorite Playmates of the Decade, send in your choices now. Any girl who appeared between December 1953 and December 1963 is eligible for our year-end portfolio.