Playboy May 1974

Playboy

May 1974 

May, 1974.........and number one on the Top 40 singles chart of May 18, is Ray Stevens with 'The Streak,' a humorous examination of the streaking phenomenon then sweeping America. An instrumental, 'The Entertainer,' by Marvin Hamlisch, is enjoying success due to the hit movie The Sting. Old School R & B and Soul are well accounted for, at the hands of the Jackson 5 and the Stylistics.
 

The May issue of Playboy is out on the stands, and well worth the $1 cover price. As is the case with these 1970s issues, the magazine is thick with content and advertising.

In keeping with the spirit of the pop culture at the time, there is a portfolio, titled 'The Devil and the Flesh,' on the occult. The portfolio's introduction, presumably penned by photographers Alexas Urba and Marilyn Grabowski, references Rosemary's Baby, The Devil in Miss Jones, and The Exorcist. Of course - !

These photos are ultimate 70s Cheese, but it is important to remember that in the decades before Photoshop and digital composition, capturing and modifying these images was a time-consuming and laborious undertaking.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Needless to say, any middle-aged man reading this issue of Playboy could make the conclusion that getting into the 'occult' landscape is a valid way to enjoy the favors of nubile young women.......... 

 

Elsewhere in the magazine, we have three personalities 'On the Scene,' all of them comedians. Meet Steve Martin, Martin Mull, and Freddie Prinze. Martin and Mull would go on to achieve considerable success in the remaining years of the decade, and well into the 1980s and 1990s. Tragically, Prinze would commit suicide in 1977, ending what could have been a career path as promising as that of Martin and Mull.

 

This May issue sees the first appearance of the amazing, petite Marilyn Lange (b. 1952), a Hawaii resident who would go on to appear in Playboy multiple times (in 1975 she was Playmate of the Year). Her boyfriend is a musician named 'Kip'...........the portfolio borrows heavily from the style used by Bob Guccione in Penthouse, and I must say, copying styles can be rewarding: Marilyn looks very good here.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The portfolio on 'Sheer Delights,' devoted to lingerie, stands out as yet another calculated evocation of the Penthouse sensibility. Lots of soft focus, Warm Tones, gauzy fabrics and bed linens, as well as models displaying 'private' behaviors...........very 'Guccione-esque.'

 

 

 

 

 

 

And so we end our trip back to 1974, 51 (!) years ago, when that 70s Style was front and center.............