Playboy February 1983

COVER STORY Valentine cover girl Kim Basinger is not yet a household word, but she's at the doorstep A Georgia peach who has made her way to the fruits of semistardom, she'll be getting into Bondage as Domino in the new 007 epic Never Say Never Again. The Domino theory has it that this is the role that'll make Kim a star. If you're intrigued by our cover view (shot by Contributing Photographer Arny Freytag and produced by West Coast Photo Editor Marilyn Grabowski), turn to page 82 for much, much more. 5 PLAYBILL 11 THE WORLD OF PLAYBOY 15 DEAR PLAYBOY 31 PLAYBOY AFTER HOURS Checking In with Jessica Lange; sexual holidays. 35 MOVIES Introducing Clio Goldsmith; the latest from Altman; and a batch of British humor. 42 MUSIC Having a wonderful time in New Orleans; Crime and Punishment with Russian rockers. 45 BOOKS We turn our reviewers loose to tell you what they like to read. 46 COMING ATTRACTIONS Two roles for Cliff Robertson; Odd Couple due for a sex change. 47 DIVERSIONS Fun with a fire-eater 51 THE PLAYBOY ADVISOR 55 DEAR PLAYMATES 57 THE PLAYBOY FORUM 65 PLAYBOY INTERVIEW: GABRIEL GARCIA MARQUEZ- candid conversation The author of One Hundred Years of Solitude has left his native Colombia but has never renounced his allegiance to the Americas. Now, in a rare, world-spanning interview, the winner of the 1982 Nobel Prize for Literature discusses his friendships with Castro, Mitterrand and Torrijos, his own political independence and his talent for turning nonsense into metaphor—the last of which makes him eminently qualified to propose his vision of the world. 78 ON THE BRINK OF 1984—article E. L. DOCTOROW With his novel Nineteen Eighty-Four, George Orwell turned the title year into a symbol of government tyranny. Now, only months away from 1984, another respected novelist finds some disturbing parallels in today's reality and Orwell's prophecy. 82 BETTING ON KIM—personality BRUCE WILLIAMSON With formal testimonials from such noted girl watchers as Sean Connery, George Plimpton and Bob Fosse, Kim Basinger has to be worth more than a casual glance—Federico Fellini calls her -the prototype of a galactic New Woman.- So what are you waiting for? 92 HIGH TECH GOES HIGH COUNTRY—modern living Conspicuous consumption is not the way to go—as Kafka always said—but upwardly mobile skiers know that status comes from apparatus. Here are some high-tech highlights that will get you to the top of the mountain and never let you down. 94 THE DELTA STAR—fiction JOSEPH WAMBAUGH A calm day on the streets of L.A. happens about as often as a hurricane on the moon. Cops Cecil Higgins and The Bad Czech have spent too many years dodging bullets to the beat of ghetto blasters, and now The Bad Czech is about to consider letting the lowlifes hang loose—from a noose. A wild, chilling tale by the author of The Blue Knight and The Onion Field. 96 EXPEDITIONARY FORCE—attire DAVID PLATT It's a jungle out there in the world of fashion, but you're sure to be lionized in the rugged regalia hunted down by our sahib of style. 100 THE DECADE GAP—humor LENNY KLEINFELD To Fifties people, a Reagan is a scary weapon from the movies; to Sixties people, a California governor; to Seventies people, a Presidential candidate; and to Eighties people, a scary weapon from the movies. Which is your decade? 102 MAYS CRAZE—playboy's playmate of the month We went to the mat this month with magnificent Melinda Mays, an aerobic-dance instructor jazzy enough to bring on cardiovascular improvement with one breath-taking look (so maybe that should be anaerobic-dance instructor). 114 PLAYBOY'S PARTY JOKES—humor 116 WHY WAYNE NEWTON'S IS BIGGER THAN YOURS—article ROY BLOUNT JR. We're talking about salaries—and a system in which the vicar of Vegas is worth 972.89 nurses. While Newton may think that's worth a hearty Danke SchOn, we thought it was time to turn a Blount-edged sword on the whole issue of who earns what in America, and why. 180 HOURLY WAGES: A PENNY FOR YOUR THOUGHTS DAVID HARROP To get a graspable comparison of which walks of life let you walk home with the most money, we asked a salary expert to break down earnings into hourly wages. 119 SOME LIKE IT COLD—drink EMANUEL GREENBERG Seems sophisticated swiggers are cold-storing their spirits; the day of the freeze-dry martini is here. This month, our potables pundit serves up the best in cryogenic cocktails. 120 THE EDUCATION OF JIM CRAIG—article PETE DEXTER America's glorious goalie became a national hero, then found pro hockey a colder world than he'd expected. Today, we find him still cherishing that Olympic experience, still sweating out that accident in which a young woman was killed, still skating on thin ice. 122 PERSONAL BEST—accouterments Elegant accessories for the man who has almost everything. 124 THE WOMEN OF ASPEN—pictorial They'll be coming round the mountain when they come, and you'll want to be there for a dazzling display of the women who make snow business like no business we know. 134 20 QUESTIONS: YAKOV SMIRNOFF Not just some new Yakov from Russia, this Smirnoff's one of the driest wits on either side of the iron curtain. He comes to us fresh from a long engagement 'in the original Borscht Belt. 137 LE ROY NEIMAN SKETCHBOOK—pictorial Armand Hammer's prize horses. 138 THE YEAR IN SEX—pictorial In preparing our annual feast of the flavors of flesh, we feared that this year wo,uld be less sexy than previous ones. But it wasn't. It was, like a young Billy Joel, just a little stranger. 149 THE JUDGMENT OF DICK—ribald classic . . THE EARL OF HARRINGTON 152 PLAYBOY FUNNIES—humor 190 PLAYBOY POTPOURRI 205 PLAYBOY ON THE SCENE Point-'n'-shoot cameras; fashion rear views; games for video dropouts; Grapevine; Sex News. Alexandra Day (aka Baby Breese).