Helping Their Fellow Centerfold

Vital Stats: So where do all the Playboy Playmates go after their month of bare-skinned glory? Well, many of them gathered on the rooftop of the Le Parc Hotel on Wednesday night for the first anniversary reception and dinner of the Centerfold Alumni Assn., a nonprofit organization of former Playmates formed to support the more than 500 models who have graced Playboy’s centerfold pages since the magazine began in 1955.

And why do Playmates need support? “Because we’re special people,” Nancy Harwood (Miss February 1968 and association president) explained. “A lot of us have experienced a lot of life, we’ve experienced a lot of relationships. So I think that we have a lot to share, especially with the younger Playmates who often have no idea of what happens when one becomes a Playmate. And they have no idea what to expect when they go out there in the real world. Look what happened with Dorothy Stratton.”

The group, which exists independently of Playboy Enterprises, provides personal and career counseling as well as insurance access to former Playmates. It also offers financial assistance to such groups as Mothers Against Sexual Abuse and the National Labor Assn.

This evening was a benefit in honor of Sharry Konopski (August 1987), who lost the use of her legs after she crashed her car trying to avoid hitting a group of deer.

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Who Was There: In addition to Harwood and Konopski, there were 150 to 200 other guests, some recent, some, er, “vintage” Playmates as well as a few celebrities, including ex-Monkee Mickey Dolenz, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and ex-”21 Jump Street” actor Dustin Nguyen.

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Diversions: The rooftop was a sea of pink balloons and matching tablecloths. Musical entertainment was provided by a deejay as well as a reggae band and, briefly, a flamenco guitarist. In addition, there was a silent auction of various donated items, including signed Laker jerseys, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle animation cels, various artworks and a very much ignored “Highlander” boxed video set.

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Awards: There was no shortage of awards at this fete. Konopski received a large crystal Woman of Courage award in a short ceremony. Karin Taylor (June 1996) received the You Made a Difference award, and Harwood was presented with the Woman of the Year award, the next best thing to being voted Playmate of the Year.

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Chow: No one went hungry. There were sushi, smoked salmon and caviar appetizers and a buffet of pasta, seafood, salad and potato dumplings as well as an open bar. In short supply, however, were forks, resulting in an eating situation one guest described as “primeval.”

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Turnoffs: “At this point, the judicial system is not at the top of my list,” said Konopski, who’s involved in a custody battle with her ex-husband in rural Washington, where both her history posing for Playboy and her disability were held against her, she said. The proceeds from this benefit will go toward paying her legal fees.

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But Do You Read the Articles? “I study a lot of anthropology, a lot of biology, a lot of zoology, and men looking at attractive naked women is a very biological thing,” said Dolenz, apparently indulging in a second career as a social biologist. “The male--and not just human beings, but all animals--is assigned genetically to [be attracted to] child-bearing females. To analyze the Vargas physique, big breasts and big hips, what does that mean? It doesn’t mean you’re a better lover, a better sexual partner, it means you can bear more offspring and nurse them. Only that. It has nothing to do with sex. It has to do with the ability to bear offspring.”

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Money Matters: Tickets ranged from $50 to $500. The proceeds from the dinner and auction totaled about $25,000.