The Official June Wilkinson

Fan Club
 

 

The June Wilkinson Fan Club:
Contact: Scott Hughes, President
Address: 7901 Iroquois Court Woodridge, IL 60517-3332
More glamorous than ever is world-renowned pin-up model, stage actress, and film star June Wilkinson. For $10.00 ($18.00 foreign) initial dues receive an autographed 8x10 photo and two fanzines telling the latest and best from and about June Wilkinson.  To print a Fan Club Application CLICK HERE and then select FILE PRINT.

         
         
 

 
 

Come on In (#22)

In The Palms (#E)

On The Beach (#D)

 
         
  HER SWINGIN' '60s CREDENTIALS: One of the world's most-photographed women in the late-'50s/early-'60s, curvaceous June was a star on Playboy pages and movie screens.  
     
  BIRTH: June was born March 27th in 1940, making her nineteen when the '60s started. Her exotic birthplace: Essex, England.  
     
  IMPACT ON THE '60s: Her greatest claim to fame came in the pages of Playboy. Though she wasn't ever an official Playmate of the Month, she was featured in the magazine on seven separate occasions and was one of the magazine's most popular photo subjects. In '99 when Playboy published its list of the "100 Sexiest Stars of the Century," June came in at #30, sandwiched between two other Swingin' Chicks of the '60s, Mamie Van Doren at #29 and Elke Sommer at #31. By the way, two-dozen Swingin' Chicks of the '60s made that Playboy list, including Sophia Loren at #6, Ursula Andress at #19, and Angie Dickinson at #42.  
     
  CAREER OUTSIDE THE '60s: Raised in the U.K., June took dance lessons as a child in hopes of one day becoming a ballerina. She performed as a lead dancer on the London stage as a fifteen-year old, and at seventeen (1957) she went to America and performed on "The Today Show." In the late-'50s she appeared in a couple of minor movies in uncredited parts, among them an early effort by Russ Meyer called The Immoral Mr. Teas in '59, with June playing a topless character named Torso. Aware of the growing prestige and power of Playboy, she said in an interview that she called the magazine herself and Hef picked up the phone. He'd seen her on TV and knew she was right for his pages. Her first appearance was in the magazine's September '58 issue, in a feature called "The Bosom." Readers agreed with Hef's assessment, and so she was brought back for another feature, this one called "The Bosom in Hollywood" in August '59. During this time she put in a week as a bunny at the Chicago Playboy Club and guested on Hef's TV show, "Playboy's Penthouse." Her career was on its way. After the '60s, as her stage skills and comedic timing sharpened with Spike Jones's tour, she began performing in legitimate theatre, including a starring role in Baby Doll and a tour of Pajama Tops that made it to Broadway in the mid-'70s. She was in some feeble '70s films, among them Hollywood Blue in '70 (co-stars were Adam West, Mickey Rooney and Phil Silvers) and an uncredited part in Richard Pryor's The Mack in '73. Keyed into the burgeoning fitness craze (as was Jane Fonda, late in the '70s June started the June Wilkinson Aerobic Workout Studios in Canada, opening fitness centers in cities like Toronto, Ottawa, and Montreal (in Canada she's probably more well-known for her fitness centers than for her Playboy or movie careers). In the '80s June did a few more movies that played in theatres for about ten minutes (Frankenstein's Great Aunt Tillie with Zsa Zsa Gabor in '84, Talking Walls with Sybil Danning in '87). Currently she hosts "The Directors," a cable show in which she interviews filmmakers. She's also putting together a show about the history of fashion called "Glamour's First 5000 Years."  
 

 
 

Lets Rock  (#M)

I Could Use a Dip (#J)

Lets Have a Picnic (#31)

 
  TALENT: Famous for her figure, June is probably more talented than most people realize, since they're usually overwhelmed by her looks. A dancer, a singer, an actress adept at drama and comedy, June has maintained a long career outside of men's magazines. She's also got a knack for business, as her savvy fitness operation proved.  
         
  LIFESTYLE: June dated Elvis twice while he was filming King Creole in '60. She was married to Dan Pastorini, NFL quarterback for the Houston Oilers and L.A. Rams, from '72 to '82. They were in one little-seen movie together, The Florida Connection in '74 (it was later retitled Weed). She has a daughter, Brahna.  
         
  EXTRAS: June's two nicknames: The Body and The Bosom (the latter supposedly given to her by Hef himself) ... profiled in Steve Sullivan's book about '40s and '50s pinups, Va Va Voom, June wrote the forward to another of Sullivan's books, Bombshell ... wrote Steve Sullivan about June in Va Va Voom : "No one more fully embodies the spirit of 'Glamour Girl' than June Wilkinson. It's not merely that her beauty, figure, robust sex appeal and ardent popular following place her among the half-dozen leading glamour girls of the postwar era; rather, and even more impressive, it is the fact that -- unlike 99 percent of the women who first rose to fame as nude or pin-up models -- she carved out a show business career of great longevity."  
         
  HER '60s LOOK: Standing 5' 6" tall, June had what Playboy called a "staggering configuration," with "the first Bosom worthy of a capital B." Her measurements: 43--22--36. She was still in her teens at the time (the magazine loved alliterations, calling her a "tempting teenage treat" with "dramatic dimensions" and "magnificent measurements"). A brunette when she first appeared in Playboy, she was blonde by 1960. Forty years later she still boasted a remarkable figure. Here are June's ten best beauty recommendations, as detailed in Journal of Longevity in '99:

 

 
  1. Work with what you have: "Everyone has some good qualities about their body. Accentuate those qualities."  
         
  2. Do the little things: "Shower, comb your hair, brush your teeth -- look as good as you possibly can."  
 

 
         
  3. Give yourself time: "That quiet time of preparation."  
         
  4. Moderation is the key: "Even good things can hurt you if you do them to the point of neglecting famly, friends, or other interests."  
         
  5. Go out on dates: "Whether you're married or single, it's a great idea to get out there, to 'show off' a bit."  
         
  6. Change and remain flexible: "We need to change -- it keeps you in tune with the outside world and helps you to feel a part of it."  
         
  7. Manage your weight gradually: "The key to weight loss is not going crazy. The body is smart -- if you lose twenty pounds a week, your body will think you're starving and begin to shut down. Instead, try to lose one pound a week. All it takes is adjusting your eating habits, exercising each day, and sticking with it."  
         
  8. Keep abreast of new health advances: "If it's healthy, I'll try anything once. There have been such improvements in the last few years, and there's a lot of stuff out there that has been proven to work. Take vitamins and supplements. Take ownership of your health."  
         
  9. Drink plenty of water: "Eight full glasses a day can help flush out all of those toxins, and it keeps your skin moisturized and looking great."  
         
  10. Don't forget the sex: "Sex doesn't have to stop when you reach sixty. If you're worried about performance, remember: Doing it one time well is a lot better than doing it fourteen times badly."

She added, "the best exercise is the exercise that you will do on a regular basis. And it doesn't matter what it is, if it's walking, swimming, playing tennis, or lifting weights. Whatever you enjoy doing and can get yourself to do on a regular basis is the right exercise. ... The main thing is to feel good, because if you feel good, you look good and live longer. ... Life is so fabulous. A little effort is all it takes."

 
         
   

CREDITS

   
 

MOST PHOTOGRAPHED PLAYBOY'S PLAYMATE  VOTED 7TH, ALL TIME GLAMOUR GIRLS SURVEY IN 1997

 
         
  THEATER: Pajama Tops, Fanny, Any Wednesday, Come Blow Your Horn, Marriage Go Round, A Bedful Of Foreigners, Wally's Cafe, Tea For Two, Murder At the Howard Johnsons, The Owl And The Pussycat, Norman Is That You, Ninety Day Mistress, What The Butler Saw.  
         
  TV: The Today Show, The Phil Donahue Show, The Regis Philbin Show, The June Wilkinson Special, The London Palladium Show, Hellzapoppin', Batman, The Joey Bishop Show, Alcoa Theater, 77 Sunset Strip, The Gary Moore Show, Spike Jone's Show.   
         
  MOVIES: Keaton Cops, Vasectomy, Sno-Line, Frankentein's Great Aunt Tillie, Private Lives of Adam And Eve, Playmate For The Candidate, Macumba Love, Twist All Night.  
         
  VIDEO: Playmate for the Bellboy... Directed by Francis Ford Coppola.   
         
         
 

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