Marilyn Monroe was the first Playboy centerfold to die an early death, but she certainly wasn't the last. Here are 17 more who died from unnatural causes, which is why some people claim there's a Playboy Playmate curse. These are the same people who believe in the Mothman and Bigfoot, so take it for what it's worth.
Curse or not, this is a tragic lineup.
DOROTHY STRATTEN
Miss August 1979; Playmate Of The Year 1980
Died 1980 - shot by her husband
Trivia: The film Star 80 is based on her life and death.
WILLY REY
Miss February 1971
Died 1973 - drug overdose
Trivia: Her (nude) photo appeared on the stock certificate of Playboy Enterprises at the time of its first public offering in 1971
EVE MEYER
Miss June 1955
Died 1977 - airplane crash
Trivia: Former wife of movie director Russ Meyer (Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill!)
TIFFANY SLOAN
Miss October 1992
Died 2008 - suicide by drug overdose
CAROL WILLIS
Miss July 1970
Died 1971 - auto accident
Trivia: Was part Cherokee
TONYA CREWS
Miss March 1961
Died 1966 - auto accident
Trivia: Another of Playboy's few centerfolds of Native American heritage
SUE WILLIAMS
Miss April 1965
Died 1969 - suicide
Trivia: At 4'11", was Playboy's shortest centerfold
MELODYE PRENTISS
Miss July 1968
Died 2009 - adverse reaction to pain medication
Trivia: Studied fine art and painting at both the Chicago Academy of Fine Arts and the University of Chicago
JAYNE MANSFIELD
Miss February 1955
Died 1967 - auto accident
Trivia: Actress; mother of TV actress Mariska Hargitay (Law & Order: Special Victims Unit)
ELISA BRIDGES
Miss December 1994
Died 2002 - drug overdose
Trivia: Playboy's website listed her death as being from "natural causes."
CHERYL KUBERT
Miss February 1958
Died 1989 - suicide (unconfirmed)
PAIGE YOUNG
Miss November 1968
Died 1974 - suicide by barbituate overdose
CLAUDIA JENNINGS
Miss November 1969; Playmate Of The Year 1970
Died 1979 - auto accident
Trivia: Appeared in an episode of The Brady Bunch as one of the record executives who gives Greg Brady a recording contract ("Adios, Johnny Bravo").
JENNIFER JACKSON
Miss April 1989
Died 2010 - heroin overdose
DEBBIE BOOSTROM
Miss August 1981
Died 2008 - suicide
Trivia: Killed herself after being diagnosed with terminal breast cancer
STAR STOWE
Miss February 1977
Died 1997 - murdered while prostituting
Trivia: Dated Gene Simmons
ANNA NICOLE SMITH
Miss May 1992; Playmate Of The Year 1993
Died 2007 - drug overdose
Nothing Left To Say
4 hours ago
Posts
Geez, that's an awful lot of suicides and overdoses. And yet, Hef's old balls live on.
ReplyDeleteBut, yeah, the Playboy is curse is probably as legit as the SNL curse.
The only one I remember from Playboy was Jennifer Jackson. That photo was epic.
ReplyDeleteDid Carol Willis, part Cherokee die in a Jeep, by any chance?
ReplyDeleteSome of those ladies weren't exactly young when they died. Miss Prentiss, I'm looking at you.
I think that sleeping with the Hef causes adverse reactions. It's his old balls. Wonder if he's considered Scrotox.
ReplyDeleteNow, it appears that my comment has been deleted! No big loss, though, as it was missing a comma.
ReplyDeleteI should have said "gone missing," not "deleted." But it's still odd.
ReplyDeleteMaybe there's an LOTD comment curse.
ReplyDeleteNot sure what's up with the comments. Sorry.
ReplyDeletePrentiss had knee surgery but it seems the pain meds she got didn't agree with her. Perhaps she took 50 at one time -- that's not usually a good idea.
Great, now my own comments are disappearing.
ReplyDeleteMy best friend and I made it to the finals in the "Girls of the SEC" edition that came out in 1981. We chickened out at the last minute. Looks like that might have been a life-saving move. I'm sure my kids are relieved--I'd probably have used the picture for my Christmas card for the last 29 years.
ReplyDeleteThere is an old saying that goes something like the hotter a woman is, the lower the self esteem.
ReplyDeleteThat would explain all the suicides -- and the obscenely obese women with bad complexions, bad dye jobs and bad breath at Wal-Mart wearing TIGHT shorts with exposed overlapping bellies.
Such a sad post.
ReplyDeleteAmazing how natural the centerfolds looked in the 60's and 70's. I wonder if Hugh Hefner's taste was influenced by the advent of plastic surgery, or if plastic surgeons followed Hugh Hefner's lead? The guy certainly likes plastic these days...
ReplyDelete(Psst... Anna Nicole was a playmate in the 90's.)
I don't know why I get the feeling that sooner or later we'll see the Girls Next Door on this list. Not matter what people say, I don't think being a sex toy can be healthy for a person and while I don't think there's a curse, it does seem to lead to a not very pleasant life. And that's why you won't see me gracing the centerfolds of Jugs or Balloon! very soon.
ReplyDeleteI'm all for the natural ones. At least back then you could tell them apart. Now they all look the same: bleached blonde, plastic, waxed clean, completely Stepford-interchangeable and forgettable. No wonder Playboy is in financial trouble.
ReplyDeleteCary -
DeleteYou are spot on. That's why I dumped Playboy without prejudice around 2000. Who needs their impersonal Playmate cloning machine when the internet is out there providing beautiful photos of realistic women free of charge?
SUE WILLIAMS
ReplyDeleteMiss April 1965
Died 1969 - suicide
Trivia: At 4'11", was Playboy's shortest centerfold
I know I'm going to hell for this comment but I can't help myself.
♫Short people got no reason
Short people got no reason
Short people got no reason
To live
They got little hands
Little eyes
They walk around
Tellin' great big lies
They got little noses
And tiny little teeth
They wear platform shoes
On their nasty little feet
Well, I don't want no short people
Don't want no short people
Don't want no short people
`Round here♫
Carol Willis, part Cherokee, was killed in an auto accident. Was she driving a Jeep, by any chance?
ReplyDeletePaige Young - wow that looks like a contemporary photo not 1968, timelessly beautiful. Sad list. Glad I only have that one drunken sorority photo in a raincoat and umbrella. Thank heavens that was pre-internet.
ReplyDeleteWe got internet now, and I got a scanner. I can help.
ReplyDeleteYou can add Marilyn Monroe to this list, except she wasn't a playmate...
ReplyDeleteThey did not have the term "playmate" at that time, but she was a centerfold and that is the general proper definition of "Playmate", so she is a PM even so.
DeleteThey did not have the term "playmate" at that time, but she was a centerfold and that is the general proper definition of "Playmate", so she is a PM by the actual meaning of the term.
DeleteWhat a sad list. The world got a little bit uglier with each of their deaths.
ReplyDeletePoor Debbie Boostrom. :(
What's the distinction between posing nude and being a playmate? The centerfold?
ReplyDeleteI'm ignorant to these things as I only read it for the articles.
}}} I'm ignorant to these things as I only read it for the articles.
DeleteNo doubt you fap to the interviews... LOL.
Anon - thanks, I should've mentioned her.
ReplyDeleteBev - poor Debbie Boostrom indeed. I'd probably do the same thing. Who wants to die like that?
Yes, Lefty, a Playboy Playmate is a woman who was a centerfold. (The only exception to that is Marilyn Monroe, who was the centerfold in the first issue. When it was published, Hugh Hefner hadn't come up with the term "Playmate" yet, so she was called "Sweetheart of the Month." A lot of people consider her a Playmate anyway, despite the technicality.)
ReplyDeleteThe Playmates are the only ones who fill out those famous data sheets. And typically, when a famous woman poses for the magazine, they don't make her a Playmate; they just give her a photo spread. (The Playmates are supposed to be anonymous "girls next door.")
Thanks, Eric. Sounds like you've done your research.
ReplyDeleteYou have to also add Fern Gerard and Allison Park.
ReplyDeleteYeah, there are a lot more dead than just 17 -- if you go to the website "whosaliveandwhosdead", they have a list specifically for PMs, and it includes over 50 of them.
DeleteI'd observe that people often confuse cause and effect... Being in Playboy's centerfold may not be the reason for the deaths, in those cases where it was a suicide, for example. It's much more likely the personality type that does it is more prone to suicide for various reasons (drug abuse, etc.). I'd suspect that PMs are more likely to be Party Girls, for example, and that means more likely to abuse drugs and/or "push the envelope in general" There are probably lots of other sad stories out there who either weren't pretty enough to be in Playboy or just never got inspired to try.
I'd also have to look at the mortality stats for a similar set of women of each age to see what percentage died -- it's probably not as different from the PM percentages as you'd think. You just see the deaths as notable because you're looking at a specific set -- that is, this may well be "observational bias".
I'd also call attention to "Caskets on Parade", which also has a list of dead PMs broken down by a number of different stats
ReplyDeletehttp://daggy.name/cop/bkofdead/pboypdth.htm
One of the more interesting lists:
=====================================================
7 of the 53 Playmates of the Year have died ( 13.20% )
compared to 49 of the 714 Playmates of the Month ( 6.86% )
----------------
Ranking of the Most Frequent Causes of Death amongst Playmates
DEATHS CAUSE
13 cancer
7 drug overdose
6 heart attack and/or failure
5 suicide
4 automobile accident
2 murdered
1 adverse reaction to prescription medication
1 airplane crash
1 asphyxiation
1 asthma attack
1 complications from surgery
1 intestinal blockage & kidney failure
1 lupus, scleroderma, osteoporosis
5 « unknown »