Playboy December 1976

COVER STORY The neon Rabbit head behind March Playmate Ann Pennington (standing) and July Playmate Deborah Borkman is the longest continuous piece of neon ever constructed by Gabor Kadar, who specializes in oddball neon structures. It's so long, in fact, that Kadar passed out while blowing the air into the tubing during the cover shooting. He's fine now, thank you, if somewhat out of breath. 3 PLAYBILL 13 DEAR PLAYBOY 21 PLAYBOY AFTER HOURS 24 MUSIC Adrift in teeny-bopper paradise, a Bay City Rollers concert; the latest ,frc-- Country Joe, Dion, Earthquake and Asleep at the Wheel reviewed. 34 MOVIES The television industry takes its lumps in The Front and Network. 47 BOOKS Truman Capote talks about Truman Capote; gay history is recorded. 56 GOODBYE, JOEY ERNST EDGAR SMITH The author, an ex—death row convict, recalls the last days of the second-to-las- man to be executed in New Jersey. 57 TO TELL THE TRUTH THOMAS PLATE Presidential press secretaries get paid peanuts to lie for their bosses; so wh. do they do it? 61 THE PLAYBOY ADVISOR 65 THE PLAYBOY FORUM 77 PLAYBOY INTERVIEW: O. J. SIMPSON—candid conversation Simpson tells his side of the Buffalo brouhaha, what it was like growing up the ghetto and how he feels about becoming a movie star. 104 GAY—fiction JOYCE CAROL OATES A sardonic yarn about the misadventures of an eccentric, homosexual professor 108 MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM THE COLONEL—memoir DICK GREGORY with JAMES R. MC GRAW In an excerpt from his forthcoming book Up from Nigger, the noted blac• comedian tells how, with the aid of Drew Pearson, Sammy Davis Jr. and others he got tons of holiday turkeys to Mississippi poor folks. 111 PORTFOLIO: POMPEO POSAR—pictorial The second in this series in which PLAYBOY photographers display some c-their favorite shots. 121 TRIAL OF THE WARLOCK—fiction NORMAN MAILER A scarifying screenplay, based on J. K. Huysmans' notorious 19th Century novel La-Bas, that makes The Exorcist look like Bambi. 127 CASANOVA—pictorial A sneak preview of some of the steamier scenes and foxier women in Fellini's new film featuring Donald Sutherland as the classical sexual athlete. 134 ARE YOU SEXUALLY LIBERATED ENOUGH?—quiz BARBARA NELLIS and JAMES R. PETERSEN So your ladyfriend wants to invite her ladyfriend over so the three of you can, uh, get to know one another better? Can you handle it? 139 WORKING OUT—article BRUCE JAY FRIEDMAN Putting in 6000 hours in a gym is no bed of roses—in more ways than one. 140 PLAYBOY'S CHRISTMAS CARDS—verse JUDITH WAX Our yuletide versifier concocts a batch of satirical missives. 142 MAKING TRACKS—playboy's playmate of the month Afraid of flying, Karen Hafter took a train from New York to California. She was discovered waitressing on Sunset Boulevard. Does that sound familiar? 154 PLAYBOY'S PARTY JOKES—humor 156 ALL THE PRESIDENTS' WOMEN—article J.F.K. wasn t the first one to play around. A lively catalog of the ladies who have been our Chief Executives' privileges in bed. 159 PLAYBOY'S CHRISTMAS GIFT GUIDE—gifts Gear and gadgets for the man you just thought had everything. 165 WHAT IS LIFE?—fiction ROBERT SHECKLEY A humorous tale about what appears on the surface to be a mystical experience. 166 HONEY—article HONEY BRUCE with DANA BENENSON In this segment from her new autobiography, Honey Bruce talks about her sex life, her career as a stripper and her tumultuous marriage to Lenny. 170 PARTY FAVORITES!—attire/food and drink DAVID PLATT and EMANUEL GREENBERG How to prepare the compleat holiday bash: what to wear, what to serve as hors d'oeuvres and how to make some spirit-raising libations. 177 SEXUAL CONGRESS—article PETER ROSS RANGE Willing women are the most highly valued commodity in Washington. Our author hangs out with Liz Ray and investigates the well-established channels through which women are procured. 178 STANDING UP FOR LAS VEGAS—article MARIO PUZO An inveterate gambler in his own right, the author of The Godfather reminisces about his adventures in America's gambling mecca. 180 SEX STARS OF 1976—article ARTHUR KNIGHT It's getting harder to make it into Hollywood's big league, but there are some hot prospects to go with the familiar names. 192 THE VARGAS GIRL—pictorial ALBERTO VARGAS 194 THE 1977 PLAYBOY MUSIC POLL—music It's your turn to play critic—vote for your favorites in jazz, pop/rock, country-and-western and rhythm-and-blues. 198 YES, VIRGINIA, THERE IS A SANTA CLAUS—humor The sexual proclivities of one Kriss Kringle as seen by our crew of cartoonists. 201 WHEN RAGTOPS WERE IN FLOWER—article BROCK YATES Come with us back to those glorious days of the Thirties and those lavish larger-than-life roadsters. 206 THE INDISCREET JEWELS—ribald classic DENIS DIDEROT 209 LITTLE ANNIE FANNY—satire HARVEY KURTZMAN and WILL ELDER 223 WORD PLAY—satire ROBERT CAROLA 268 PLAYBOY POTPOURRI 294 PLAYBOY ON THE SCENE