by David Laurell

Few images are as recognizable to baby boomers and beyond as that of a pointy-ear-tuxedoed rabbit. Not only does that iconic image immediately say “Playboy,” it also conjures up the controversy, sexuality, naughtiness and sophisticated glamour that has been associated with the magazine and company since 1953, when a then-27-year-old “Esquire” magazine copywriter named Hugh Hefner, disgruntled over being denied a $5 raise, borrowed a little over $8,000 and published the first issue of his own men’s magazine.

With a photo of a nude Marilyn Monroe gracing the cover, Hefner purposely left a date off the first issue of “Playboy,” simply because he didn’t know if he would ever sell any magazines or publish a second one. That concern proved to be unfounded as over 50,000 copies were sold, setting Playboy Enterprises Inc. off to become one of the most popular adult entertainment companies in the world.

In 1960, inspired by a chain of successful nightclubs called The Gaslight Clubs, Hefner decided to open a club of his own. The first Playboy Club opened in Chicago in 1960 and featured themed-rooms in which key-holding members enjoyed big-name entertainment while being served food and drinks by the club’s biggest draw – the hostesses and waitresses known as Playboy Bunnies.

Bunnies wore a costume that consisted of different-colored corsets accessorized with a collar, bow tie, cuffs, bunny ears and a fluffy cottontail. A demand was made that their costumes, known as Bunny Suits, were to be worn to standardized perfection and demerits were given if a Bunny didn’t live up to the standard.

Becoming a Bunny was no easy task. Prospects were put through auditions that attracted thousands of hopefuls and, even after making the cut, they were put through intensive training that required them to be able to identify over 140 brands of liquor and know how to properly garnish 20 cocktails. Once a Bunny earned her ears, she was forbidden to date or mingle with members, who, in turn, were not allowed to touch her. Bunnies also had to master various maneuvers such as “The Bunny Stance,” which required her to stand with legs together, back arched and hips tucked under; “The Bunny Perch,” where she could sit only on the back of a chair, sofa, or railing so as not to get too close to a member; and “The Bunny Dip,” a drink-serving stance in which she leaned backwards with her left knee lifted and tucked behind her right leg.

With the success of that first club, Playboy Clubs reproduced as rapidly as, well – rabbits - opening in almost every major American city as well as numerous international locations. Playboy Club membership, with its bunny-embossed gold key, became as much of a status symbol for college-aged males from little towns as it was with jet-setting celebrities and businessmen. Offering these prestigious memberships for $25 a year, Playboy established a huge revenue stream that was instrumental in the empire’s development, although, according to Playboy, only 21 percent of all key holders ever actually set foot inside a club. For those who did take that step, they will always harbor memories of being served a drink or having their cigarette lit by one of the most iconic servers in the history of American popular culture.

One of those servers was Marcia Ann DiGiacomo Kufek, better known as “Bunny Marcie.”

Born in Philadelphia to a renowned attorney and a psychiatric nurse, Marcie had studied with the Pennsylvania Ballet Company and attended John Robert Powers Modeling School. In the late 1970s, after participating in the Miss World Beauty Pageant and making an unsuccessful attempt at becoming a TWA stewardess, Marcie decided to see what the world of modeling and entertainment might have to offer her. She and her sister, Carolyn, thought nothing of packing up their little car and driving across country to see what doors might open for them in Hollywood.

“We were in our early 20s and just got in the car and went back and forth from Philadelphia to Los Angeles on numerous occasions like it was no big deal,” Marcie recalls with a laugh. “We were very adventurous and had the trip down to five days,” she adds. “I attribute our adventurous spirit to my father and something he taught us during a family vacation to California when we were kids. We had taken a tour of the NBC Studios. This was during the days of “Rowan and Martin’s Laugh-In.” We loved that show and watched it religiously. So we were being led around the halls of NBC, with our peacock tour badges on, going where the tour guide wanted us to go, and my dad saw this sign on a door that said ‘employees only.’ Typical of my dad, he asked the tour guide what was behind that door and was told that area was dressing rooms for the stars and that the tour groups were not permitted there.”

Being told he was not permitted to do something never sat well with Marcie’s father, who proceeded to instruct his young daughters to go into the bathroom, take their tour badges off, and then come back out when the tour group had moved along: “We did, and my dad took us right through that door,” she recalls with a laugh. “As soon as we walked in, Goldie Hawn came walking towards us with a big smile and her big eyes,” Marcie continues with animated excitement. “Jo Anne Worley said hello to us and we met Henry Gibson and Ruth Buzzi. They were all just everything I thought they would be.”

Ultimately caught by a studio security guard who asked who they were, the trio played dumb. “We just did the old innocent act,” she giggles. “You know – ‘Where’s our tour group? We don’t know where they went.’ He didn’t buy it and kicked us out, but that experience changed my life. I started thinking that there are people who just go along with the crowd and others who look around and ask: ‘What’s over there? That looks like it’s more fun.’ My sister and I decided right then that we never wanted to be a part of the crowd that did what they were told. So it’s understandable that my dad was not surprised when we took off for L.A. and when I told him I wanted to become a Playboy Bunny.”

In L.A., having secured a job in the catering department of the legendary Chasen’s restaurant, Marcie used her mornings to go on auditions and meet with modeling agencies before finally getting her coveted meeting with Pat Lacey, Playboy’s director of Playmate and Bunny promotions. “Pat told me she really liked me but wanted me to lose five pounds,” Marcie recalls. “Well that was no problem. I lost the weight, went back, and they told me they were opening a new club and casino in Atlantic City. I went through another audition with about 2,000 girls who were applying for 200 jobs. It went a lot better than with TWA – Playboy offered me the job right away.”

Marcie says she has great memories of her days as a Bunny. “I was the only Playboy Bunny who knew sign language,” she says proudly. “I had studied signing for two years at the Pennsylvania School for the Deaf with my mother, so if someone came in the club who was deaf, they would call me.”

Among the greatest memories of her Bunny days were the times she spent at the Playboy Mansion in Holmby Hills. “The first time I went, I was scared to death,” she laughs. “It was surreal. Hefner was exactly what I expected him to be. He came down the stairs in his smoking jacket with his pipe. He was very cool and showed us where the food was and asked us if we wanted to see a movie. We watched ‘Poltergeist’ and I don’t remember anything about the movie because I just kept staring at him. Then after the movie, we played video games in his game room. Going to the mansion was always a wonderful and memorable experience.”

By the early 1980s, the Playboy Clubs began experiencing a decline in business. “By that time, Hef had stepped down from the day-to-day operations and his daughter, Christie, stepped up and made the decision that the club’s weren’t making the kind of money they once did,” Marcie explains. “They decided to close many of the clubs, including the one where I was working.”

With her Bunny day behind her, 1983 saw Marcie meet and marry a successful businessman named Ivan Kufek. The couple had three sons: Christopher, who is currently the executive chef at Saddle Peak Lodge in Malibu and was recently named one of Malibu’s most eligible bachelors; Davor, who lives in San Diego and does interior design on executive aircraft; and Philip, who is studying psychology at UCSD.

Now working for an aerospace manufacturing company, Marcie, who is proudly able to still easily slip into her old Bunny Suit, says she keeps in shape by hiking the mountainous trails near her Los Angeles home and adhering to a strict exercise routine. “Richard Simmons once told me that being healthy has to be a habit – like brushing your teeth and taking a shower. That clicked with me, and from then on I made exercising a part of my daily routine.”

When asked if, as a former Bunny, she feels more pressure than other women her age to keep up her appearance, she shrugs. “When you’re in your 20s and 30s, there is so much emphasis put on your physical appearance,” she reasons. “Today, while I’m still conscious of how I look, I find I now concentrate more on what I have, and what I am grateful for, rather than the physical side. But I feel for my age – I’ll be 55 this year – I’m doing well and hanging in there. To accomplish that, I work hard and do what I’m supposed to do. I do yoga and meditation and tai chi every morning. I also do ballet, aerobics and kickboxing. I swim, go rollerblading, biking and skiing. I’m not a good skier, but I do it,” she adds with a laugh.

As for her diet, Marcie says that as an Italian, there are just some things she refuses to live without. “I won’t give up butter, bread, pastries or pasta,” she asserts. “But remember: I do exercise every day and I don’t go crazy with what I eat.”

Asked if she misses the glamour days inside Hef’s hutch, Marcie says she is very happy and content with her life as it is. “Life is always changing,” she says. “I collect Playboy memorabilia because I love the nostalgia of it. Those things bring back wonderful memories for me. But I don’t live in the past. That was then and this is now. I’m thinking about getting back into modeling or doing commercials or something. I look at ads in magazines and on television and see more and more older woman. I think there are more opportunities for an older woman to do things like that today. I also feel more confident than I did when I was 20. I’m established, so I’m not so hungry. I am just so filled with gratitude. I’m grateful for what I have had the opportunity to do in my life, and for the life I have today.”