Jo Collins | |
---|---|
Playboy centerfold appearance | |
December 1964 | |
Preceded by | Kai Brendlinger |
Succeeded by | Sally Duberson |
Playboy Playmate of the Year | |
1965 | |
Preceded by | Donna Michelle |
Succeeded by | Allison Parks |
Personal details | |
Born | Lebanon, Oregon, United States | August 5, 1945
Height | 5 ft 4 in (1.63 m) |
Janet Canoy (born August 5, 1945 in Lebanon, Oregon), known professionally as Jo Collins, is Playboy magazine's Playmate of the Month for December 1964 and Playmate of the Year for 1965. Her original pictorial was photographed by Mario Casilli.
She was discovered by Playboy while working as a page for the Queen for a Day TV game show. She went on to work at the Playboy Club as a Bunny and later as a Bunny Mother.
Jo, who is of Norwegian and Spanish descent, was married to baseball player Bo Belinsky for five years (1970 to 1975). [1]
She was nicknamed "G.I. Jo" for her United Service Organizations tours to Vietnam to entertain the troops during the Vietnam War. She first went to Vietnam to deliver a copy of Playboy in person to a lieutenant named Jack Price of the 173rd Airborne Brigade, who, during his final months at the United States Military Academy, had availed himself to an offer to purchase a lifetime subscription to the magazine and the first issue would be personally delivered by a Playmate. After commissioning, Price was sent to Vietnam, wounded in action, and tracked down by the magazine, which sent Collins to honor the terms of the offer, which did not include geographic limitations. [2]
In December 1979, Jo posed for the "Playmates Forever!" pictorial. In 1998, Jo reunited with Jack Price for an online interview with Playboy fans.
Playboy is an American men's lifestyle and entertainment magazine, formerly in print and currently online. It was founded in Chicago in 1953 by Hugh Hefner and his associates, funded in part by a $1,000 loan from Hefner's mother.
A Playmate is a female model featured in the centerfold/gatefold of Playboy magazine as Playmate of the Month (PMOTM). The PMOTM's pictorial includes nude photographs and a centerfold poster, along with a pictorial biography and the "Playmate Data Sheet", which lists her birthdate, measurements, turn-ons, and turn-offs. At the end of the year, one of the 12 Playmates of the Month is named Playmate of the Year (PMOTY). Every Playmate of the Month is awarded a prize of US$25,000 and each Playmate of the Year receives an additional prize of US$100,000 plus a car and other discretionary gifts. In addition, Anniversary Playmates are usually chosen to celebrate a milestone year of the magazine. The use of the word "Playmate" in a sexual sense did not originate with Playboy, and was seen at least as early as 1950 in Vue magazine.
Christa Speck was a German model and actress. She was chosen as Playboy magazine's Playmate of the Month for the September 1961 issue, and as the 1962 Playmate of the Year. Her original pictorial was photographed by Sam Wu.