Playboy June 1977

COVER STORY The T-shirt worn by Playmate of the Year Patti McGuire was not custom-made for PLAYBOY; it was spotted by Patti and Staff Photographer Pompeo Posar in a small shop in Florida. Patti and Pompeo were in Miami in January, trying to shoot the cover, when, of all things, it began to snow. While waiting (unsuccessfully) for the sun to come out, they went shopping and came upon the T-shirt, bought a few and finally did the shooting—in L.A. Are you listening, California Chamber of Commerce? 3 PLAYBILL 11 DEAR PLAYBOY 23 PLAYBOY AFTER HOURS 26 BOOKS Breezy banalities from Dan Wakefield; Roger Angell bats .350; Marine-turnedcorrespondent Phil Caputo tells how it really was in Vietnam. 30 MUSIC Mid-Sixties rock 'n' roll resurrected; Stokowski hits 95; tunes swept up off Hollywood's cutting-room floors. 36 TELEVISION Out in California, somebody's sweaty palms may be picking your newscasters. 40 MOVIES Black Sunday, scores; a pair of unheralded films—Communion and Fraternity Row—prove seeworthy sleepers; the latest enigma from Robert Altman. 53 THEATER PLAYBOY writers' Illuminatus! makes it to Britain's National Theater. 55 THE PLAYBOY ADVISOR 59 PLAYBOY SEX POLL .... HOWARD SMITH and BRIAN VAN DER HORST This month's question: "What trait do you most envy in the opposite sex?" 65 THE PLAYBOY FORUM 77 PLAYBOY INTERVIEW: ROBERT BLAKE—candid conversation The star of Berretta talks about what's right (and wrong) with the show and with TV in general, dope, shrinks, his marriage, the good old days in Hollywood, the Our Gang gang and why he digs Truman Capote. 102 GOOD NIGHT, SWEET PRINZE—article PETER GREENBERG What made the 22-year-old star of Chico and the Man do it? An examination of the drives and obsessions that resulted in the comedian's suicide. 106 BONDED BARBARA—pictorial A loving look at Barbara Bach, Roger Moore's co-star in the latest of the 007 film capers, The Spy Who Loved Me. 111 SO LONG, OLD BUDDY—fiction ROBERT F. YOUNG On a visit to the old, long-abandoned homestead, Sharpe unlocks the macabre secret of a childhood relationship. 112 SUDDEN MONEY—symposium ROBERT KERWIN What would you do if you earned a lot of bread in a hurry? Telly Savalas, Johnny Miller, the creators of Pong and Pet Rocks, Neil Simon and others tell what they did (and do) with their wealth. 117 WATER SPORTS—attire DAVID. PLATT The next-best thing to bareass at the beach. 122 OLD-FASHIONED GIRL—playboy's playmate of the month Virve Reid is fascinated by both the past and the future—but with her as our centerfold, well settle for the present. 134 PLAYBOY'S PARTY JOKES—humor 136 BERNSTEIN IN MEXICO—fiction GERALD GREEN The tragicomic story of a gringo who goes bonkers in Mexico. 139 THE SINGLES BUSINESS—article LUCIAN K. TRUSCOTT IV There's plenty of profit to be made catering to the unattached. 140 PLAYBOY'S GIFTS FOR DADS AND GRADS—merchandise A contemporary treasure-trove for men of achievemeet. 146 PLAYMATE OF THE YEAR—pictorial, Patti McGuire Here she is, the lady you waited six months for. She was worth the wait. 159 FURTHER DEFINITIONS—ribald classic 160 A PROPER PICNIC—food and drink EMANUEL GREENBERG An outdoor menu that ought to make your date, and the ants, ecstatic. 163 FLAGRANTE DELICTO!—humor ALDEN ERIKSON A cartoonist's-eye view of getting caught in the act. 167 ILIE THE TERRIBLE—personality MIKE LUPICA There's a good Nastase and a bad Nasty rattling around inside the complicated young man who's one of the world's top tennis players. 169 TOUGH WHEELS—modern living BROCK YATES Utility chic has become an American passion. Vans, four-wheel drives, R.V.s, pickups and a special kind of wagon. Sedans need not apply. 174 THE MANY DR. STRANGELOVES—article THOMAS GORDON PLATE Want to get your finger on the button? All you need is a funny name (Zbig or Kisty, for starters) and/or a foreign accent. 178 CHEATING—memoir WILLIAM ROY SMITH When a happily married man feels those juices running, he indulges in a minor deception. When the wife gets a little, that's cuckoldry. 226 THINK TANK 234 PLAYBOY POTPOURRI 252 PLAYBOY ON THE SCENE TV games, exotic vehicles, a nifty pool, personalities, etc.