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Format Dynamics :: CleanPrint :: http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID 20111. Page 1 of 7NBC's 'Playboy Club'stirs controversy,but Detroit bunniesfondly recall theirtime in the spotlightBY PATRICIA MONTEMURRIDETROIT FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER10:13 PM, Sep. 10, 2011 At the end of a good night working Detroit'sold Playboy Club, the former Union Lakeschoolgirl known as Bunny Jill would unzipher corseted costume and clouds of moneywould fall from the satiny bosom."We used to put all of our tips in the top ofthe costume and we'd unzip our costumeand there'd be money everywhere," recallsJoy Percival, a.k.a. Bunny Jill. "We'd all sitthere and count our money and have a cupof coffee. It was a wild kind of padding."hot spots are being resurrected in "ThePlayboy Club," a show set to debut thismonth on NBC. And the Playboy bunny -whether you consider her the seductiveclarion of the sexual liberation era or ascorned symbol of women as sex objects-- will get mainstream attention, both goodand bad."This NBC show seems to signal that we'rereverting to a vision of women that worksagainst all the gains of the last half-centuryor so," says Meenakshi Gigi Durham, theauthor of the "The Lolita Effect" (OverlookPress, 24.95) and professor of mediaand gender studies at the University ofIowa."The show, and its celebration of thePlayboy bunny, falls in line with every otherobjectified, one-dimensional, ludicrouslyhypersexual representation of women outthere," Durham says. "It certainly sends apowerful message to young girls: thatparading around in stupid costumes to turnmen on is a worthwhile occupation; thatbeing viewed as a subservient sex object isAdvertisementPercival, who now lives in North Carolina,was hired when she was 18. She worked atthe Detroit club from 1963 to 1971,eventually becoming a "Bunny Mother" whotrained others in bunny protocol, andearned enough money to buy her ownlakeside house in Oakland County in 1970.Her first car was a Corvette.Nearly five decades after their heyday, theatmosphere and allure of the 1960s-erahttp://www.freep.com/fdcp/?unique 13157450082389/11/2011
Format Dynamics :: CleanPrint :: http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID 20111. Page 2 of 7the route to success; that 'hotness,' asdefined by the media, matters more thananything."But the women who worked at Detroit'sPlayboy Clubs -- there was one on EastJefferson at the edge of downtown and onein northwest Detroit -- say they wereempowered by their jobs, not exploited.The Detroit Playboy Bunny of 1970 stillcalls it a highlight of her 62 years.No amount of feminist reasoning orargument will convince Renee Burton ofFarmington Hills that she was exploited orobjectified.She was 19, just a year removed fromgraduating third in her class of 680 atDetroit's Cody High, when she was hired atthe Detroit Playboy Club in 1968."It was fabulous. It was a great experiencefor a young person. It was very glamorous.We were the stars. We were theattractions," says Burton, who now owns acleaning service. "It was like we were onstage. Everybody looked up to us. It wasour 15 minutes of fame."immediately," Burton recalls.Burton worked at the downtown club from1968 to 1972 and she said she wastreated "like royalty" -- albeit one who had to know how to mix more than 100 drinks,work for tips and serve boozy men. Burtondoes not think she was a victim of sexism.But age-ism, she says, was another story."They liked (women) 18 to 22. It wasn't apublished thing. But I trained them. I knewthe hiring practices," says Burton, who alsoworked for a time at a Playboy Club inJamaica. "I was 24 when the club wasalmost closing down. And they were tellingme I was getting old."The NBC show, set in a Chicago PlayboyClub, is already being decried by feministGloria Steinem, who famously wrote a 1963magazine article about her undercover stintas a Playboy bunny. Groups such asMorality in Media and the Parents'Television Council also stepped in to saythat the show will further glorify HughHefner's creation of male sexual fantasies.AdvertisementThe stage was the restaurant/bar. Thewomen performed in 3-inch heels and acorseted costume, a ladylike tease, former bunnies say. There were strict rules againstfraternizing with the customers, althoughthe uniform accentuated every body curveand amplified the sexual tension. Bunniescouldn't divulge their last names andcustomers couldn't touch them. "I saw a girlgive her number out, and she was firedhttp://www.freep.com/fdcp/?unique 13157450082389/11/2011
Format Dynamics :: CleanPrint :: http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID 20111. Page 3 of 7Ingrid Rigney donned the bunny ears to puther husband through the University ofMichigan-Dearborn where he was pursuinga bachelor's degree in electricalengineering. She shaved a couple years offher age, thinking it would help her get thejob. She was 26, but said she was 24. Shesaid she had just emigrated from Germanyand was working as a dental assistant."I was not able to meet the bills, so I sawan ad in the paper," says Rigney, whoapplied without telling her husband. Unlikeother bunnies who remember making bigmoney, Rigney remembers the many hoursshe had to put in to win large tips."It was not an easy job if you wanted tomake money," she says. She took two orthree buses from Dearborn to get to theclub. She'd work lunch and dinner, from 11a.m. to 2 a.m., in the showroom to up hertake. She remembers that diners could eatsteak and salad for 1.50 and addanother buck-and-a-half for a drink -- nota big base from which to glean a tip.But she says she enjoyed every minute. Shedidn't feel like a sex object, more like a"glorified waitress."olds and you're almost 30, you do feelold."There were some 30 Playboy Clubs aroundthe U.S. from the 1960s through the '80s,with the clientele paying a membership feefor a symbolic bunny key and entry. Now,only three clubs remain in the world. ThePlayboy brand still includes the flagshipmagazine, pornographic movies and acable-TV reality show -- "The Girls NextDoor" -- that features octogenarian Hefnercavorting with live-in bleached blondgirlfriends.While the new show will juice up the dramaby featuring a bunny's high heel as aweapon used to deter a sexual predator,the real life of the bunnies was a bit morestructured.The work of a Playboy bunny was grueling.Bunnies got one week of vacation after oneyear of employment. They got free copiesof Playboy magazines -- available in theBunny Mother's office two weeks beforegeneral availability. There were BunnyAdvertisement"I was never ashamed of telling people thatI was a Playboy bunny," she says. "Hefnerdid a great job of creating an image."Four years into the job, she was fired."I was a Playboy bunny until I got too old.They found out I was almost 30 andterminated me," says Rigney, 73, ofOrchard Lake. "When they hire 18-year-http://www.freep.com/fdcp/?unique 13157450082389/11/2011
Format Dynamics :: CleanPrint :: http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID 20111. Page 4 of 7Finder Fees for girls who hired talent.Bunnies were not permitted to chew gum oreat while on duty, or drink alcoholicbeverages. They could partake oflemonade and pop, but not in the view ofguests.They could earn extra cash by earningmerit points for daily good service, orselling the most Playboy mugs tocustomers. They could earn demerit points-- and possible dismissal -- forunpolished fingernails, improperly centeredbunny ears or an "unkept tail," asmisspelled in a 1960s-era "Bunny Manual."A room in Mandy Callahan's Livonia homepays tribute to her years as Bunny Mandy.There's a photo of her, with Hefner, just afew years out of Robichaud High School inDearborn Heights. Her given name wasDeborah, but she liked her bunny monikerso much that she had her name legallychanged to Amanda. Her bunny tail isframed, and her bunny cuffs and collar areon display."It was all in a box, and then when I wentthrough a divorce, part of my re-creationwas pulling all of this out and celebratingit," says Callahan, who works as a Realtorand manages an investment sales office.She remembers competing with hundredsof other young women for the job.club, and then helped open the northwestDetroit club, then left after she wasmarried and three months pregnant. Shesays she took the job, in part, because shehoped it would be a stepping stone to anacting career in New York or Los Angeles."I went to Playboy for the theater of it,"Callahan says. "It would just feel like it wasshowtime. We walked into that room andwe owned it."Those who criticize the job, and thebunnies, are missing the point of it all,Callahan says."It implies that we're dumb and we weretaken advantage of," Callahan says. "Noone was conscripted into that job."We had power. Gloria Steinem was sowrong. We all had lots of fun. We workedreal hard -- and we smiled and lookedgood doing it."Advertisement"I knew it was about being the girl nextdoor," she says. She wore a high-neckedjumpsuit to her audition.Callahan worked at the downtown Detroithttp://www.freep.com/fdcp/?unique 13157450082389/11/2011
Format Dynamics :: CleanPrint :: http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID 20111. Page 5 of 7Purchase Image ZoomMandy Callahan, 61, of Livonia, a.k.a. Bunny Mandy,left, says, "Gloria Steinem was so wrong. We all hadlots of fun." / KATHLEEN GALLIGAN/Detroit Free p/?unique 13157450082389/11/2011
Format Dynamics :: CleanPrint :: http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID 20111. Page 6 of 7AdChoicesAds by Pulse 360Free Credit Score From All 3 BureausView your latest Credit Scores from All 3 Bureaus in 60seconds for 0FreeScoreOnline.comEagle: 53 yr Old Mom Looks 30 5 Wrinkle Cream EVERYBODY Is Using. Find OutWhy Millions Look 25!www.consumerlifestyledeals.comEagle: Dermatologists Hate HerZoomLocal Mom Exposes an Anti-Aging Miracle. Her 5 TrickERASES Wrinkles!ConsumerProductsDigest.comJoy Percival, now of North Carolina, worked as BunnyJill from 1963 to '71. She earned enough money to buyher own lakeside house in Oakland County in 1970.Related LinksPlayboy Clubs in ique 13157450082389/11/2011
Playboy Club," a show set to debut this month on NBC. And the Playboy bunny -- whether you consider her the seductive clarion of the sexual liberation era or a scorned symbol of women as sex objects -- will get mainstream attention, both good and bad. "This NBC show seems to signal that we're reverting to a vision of women that works
