The Bunny Years (21 page)

“I've always loved to cook and bake. During the five years I worked at Tony Roma's, I started baking in earnest, selling cheesecakes to a local pastry shop. Eventually, in 1987, I opened my own bakery, ChocoRem Patisserie. Some of my cookies found their way to an editor at Harry Abrams, and I was signed to do
Cookie Time
, a book of recipes to accompany photographs of Andy Warhol's collection of vintage cookie jars.

“Today, I'm still in touch with so many of the girls from my Playboy days, but we never talk about being Bunnies anymore. It was a long time ago, and we've all been through so much else together. Some of the women have lost husbands and children. Others have had to deal with serious health problems, but we always support one another unconditionally.”

M
ARIKA
L
UKACS

I
will always remember my first day as a Bunny, November 23, 1963. As I walked down the staircase wearing my new costume, I was told that President Kennedy had been shot. Two hours later, when it had been confirmed that he was dead, the Club was closed and we were all sent home. How could I ever forget such a terrible day.

“I left Hungary with my mother in 1954, arriving on the last boat to Ellis Island. I went back to Europe in 1957 to finish my schooling, but returned two years later when my mother died tragically in California, a crime victim. That was a sad time for me, and I appreciated the laughter and fun I found working with the Bunnies at the Chicago Club.

“I loved working as the Bumper Pool Bunny, and became known as the ‘Annie Fanny' of the Club. I didn't mind at all playing the ‘Dumb Blonde' because I enjoyed being funny and making people laugh. I loved to be liked.

Marika Lukacs in her kitchen.

After a while, when you played every night, you got to know the table so well you could shoot with your eyes closed. The Keyholders played at a dollar a game, but it was free if they won. I would always give them their money's worth, but when it came down to the last ball, I would make sure to win.

“I lived in the Bunny Dorm at the Playboy Mansion with 28 other Bunnies, ranging in height from 4'11” to 5′11”, all of us between the ages of 18–23. Mr. Hefner didn't just open the doors of the dorm to any Bunny; we had the privilege of voting in new Bunnies. We all got along terribly well, and for me, the girls became my family during the three years I worked at the Club.

“Now I live next door to Patti Reynolds, a good friend from my Bunny days. We are both ‘sidewalk therapists,' and rely on each other's advice. I run a small catering company in Chicago specializing in low-fat, healthy cooking . . . but of course I can always prepare Hungarian dishes.”

O
LIVIA
R
ICHARDS

L
ondon-born Olivia Richards lived in Peru as a child, immigrated to California with her family at the age of 9 and moved to Chicago to work as a Bunny in 1964. “During the year I worked at the Club, I lived in the Bunny Dorm for $50 a month,” Olivia recalls, “and even after I married, I continued living there for another four months until my husband and I could afford a place of our own.

“The rules were strict: No men, no pets in the Bunny Dorm. On a dare, I sneaked my hairdresser into the Mansion and he spent the night in the dorm with seven Bunnies. However, I never managed to sneak my husband in.”

P
ATTI
R
EYNOLDS

I
've always been a prankster and game for anything. When I was 17, I heard that Burton Brown's Chicago Gaslight Club was hiring. I took my older sister's ID and went to audition as ‘Bonnie' Patricia Reynolds. A woman named Roxanne took one look at me and asked, ‘How old are you?'

“I was a scraggly little thing with wild hair, and looked like a troll. I said, ‘I need the job. I'm old enough.' I put on a costume, and after she stuffed the bra and did my makeup, I was introduced to a gentleman named Capt. George Murphy, the retired Chicago police force captain who had connections in everything and was running the club for Burton Brown. Capt. Murphy said, ‘I don't know, she looks so young.' Roxanne said, ‘She's different. You want someone different, don't you?' They hired me.