Here is the latest in a series of examinations into urban legends related to architecture and whether they are true or false. Click here to view an archive of the magazine urban legends featured so far.
MAGAZINE URBAN LEGEND: Playboy canceled a nude spread for Phyllis Diller because it was “too sexy”
One of the very first female stand-up comedians to become famous nation-wide, Phyllis Diller had a reliable shtick that she continually worked all the way up until her final stand-up performance, when she was 85 years old (she passed away a decade later in 2012). She would make fun of her appearance and her lifestyle (in the early days, it was about how bad of a housewife she was) and she had crazy-looking hair.
For the release of her 1967 film with Bob Hope, Eight on the Lam, she even got written up in actual newspapers about beauty parlors picketing her film over her hair…
(Of course it was a gag, but it was a good enough gag that newspapers around the country picked it up as actual news)
A famous legend has popped up regarding Diller. As the story goes, she posed nude for Playboy, but the spread was “too sexy” so it was never published. Is that true? Read on to find out (plus to see a photo from the photo shoot!)
Continue reading “Did Playboy Cancel a Nude Spread for Phyllis Diller Because it Was “Too Sexy”?”