Life At The N.Y.C. PLAYBOY Club 1970s
by Bill Knell
I was always a fan of the Ian Fleming created character ‘James Bond Agent 007’. I read all the books and saw all the movies. In one film I noticed that Bond had a Playboy Club key card in his wallet. I wondered what I was missing and wanted to find out. In the late 1970s I was back in New York City attending the Fashion Institute Of Technology. I also worked with my sister Ingrid in her fashion house business. That had me associating with Barbizon Models and our own as more gig opportunities opened up in New York.
One of the things models love to do is dance. On my initial visit to the NYC Playboy Club on 59th Street and Fifth Avenue (right across from the famous Copacabana) I was pleasantly surprised. As soon as I came through the door it was magic and different from anything I had seen before. I was greeted by a couple of the 120 bunnies that worked there. They were friendly, helpful and made you feel welcome. I saw that there was an amazing mushroom-shaped dance area on the disco floor level and a high tech sound system that rocked the house. Everyone was dancing and having a great time.
Many of their customers were high end business people and wealthy individuals of all ages living in or visiting New York City. For that reason and others, there was a strict “no drugs” policy. The other NYC clubs had sleezy celebrities, drugs, pushers and gangsters everywhere. In those days pretty young girls became models to get away from bad home situations which included having parents or siblings with severe drug addictions. The last thing they needed or wanted was to be surrounded by the drug culture again.
After losing top models like Edie Sedgwick (Andy Warhol's favorite model) to a drug overdose in 1971 and Andrea Whips to suicide brought on by drug addiction in 1972, New York fashion houses and modeling agencies created a strict No Drugs policy. If a model got caught doing drugs they were banned for life. I felt it was partly my responsibility to help our models have a good time in a safe and drug free environment. That made the NYC Playboy Club perfect for dance outtings with the models.
There was always something to do at the six floor facility. The bottom floor featured the Playmate Bar. Next was the huge disco level. After that there was the VIP Room where world class dinners were served. The other floors above were nightclubs and cabarets. One was called Lainie's Room and was a duplicate of a private club in the Century City Playboy Club in California. Popular performer Lainie Kazan appeared at both clubs. You had to have some juice to get in because the entertainment was supplied by performers like Tony Bennett and Liza Minnelli. Popular comedians like Steve Martin also made appearances. Our models were my ticket in and I often went there with two or three of them
On one occasion Elton John came in with some friends while we were there. On another singer Tom Jones brought in a group and sat right behind us. Debbie Harry of Blondie was a Bunny who got her start there.. Most interesting of all, Hugh Hefner visited occasionally. We got to know him and he was always kind enough to spend time talking with us. In reality, I think he was sizing up the models for possible future Playboy gigs. Despite nasty rumours started by women libbers, the club was a really classy place because Hefner wouldn't have it any other way. Bunnies were never allowed to date customers. If they tried they would be out. A Bunny Mother in each club kept a close eye on her adopted offspring.
One of the nice things that the Bunnies did was spend time talking to the guests. Not really long conversations, just comfortable talks that made you feel welcome. As long as you were chill, they were cool. The main thing was to avoid cheap Bunny jokes and keep your hands to yourself. They didn't mind you looking because that was what they were there for and they were all beautiful. After a while we were having so much fun that it was hard to call it a night and leave. Anyway, it was an experience to remember.
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