Penthouse magazine vanessa williams

By Nellie Andreeva.

Because my mind is in the past the mid-eighties and in the gutter the porn biz for reasons that will become clear, I've spent a lot of time thinking about the September issue of Penthouse. How to convey the magnitude of the frenzy? Maybe this does it. Peter Bloch, Penthouse 's then-executive editor: "It was the best-selling issue of Penthouse of all time. Hands down. A complete sellout in, like, two days. You couldn't get a copy.

Penthouse magazine vanessa williams

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I'd met his wife and kids. Only, not so fast: Hefner started Playboy by doing just what Guccione had done.

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I t might have been the lowest point in her life, as she told People in , but the scandal that led Vanessa Williams to resign her post as Miss America also set her up for one of the greatest comebacks in entertainment history. But they did leave the studio, partly because she was identifiable: photos of Miss America in compromising positions, some of them involving another nude woman, were worth their weight in gold. TIME reported that the photographer was paid more than Penthouse had ever paid for a photo spread before. The statement that Williams ultimately made was that she was more than a racy photo spread — and more than Miss America. The title had never been a dream of hers, as TIME attested just after she won the competition. She wants to be a star. While the exposure she got was not the type she wanted, she became a star on her own terms, as a Grammy-nominated singer and an actress with prominent roles in Ugly Betty and Desperate Housewives , among others.

Penthouse magazine vanessa williams

Imagine a world in which Vanessa Williams created a successful and diverse career without having artistic nudes of her published against her wishes. How about any four out of the last dozen? Because although most of the anointed hope to parlay their title into a showbusiness career, the runway is littered with the detritus of disappointments and dashed dreams.

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Bagging on it, though, was like bagging on the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. He assured her that he wanted only her silhouette, that her face wouldn't be visible. This is not just a story about racy photos, it is about misogyny and racism, and I want to shine a light on that for future generations. Why shouldn't I trust him? All Rights Reserved. In July , the very same month she abandoned her suit against the magazine, it was revealed that the most famous adult actress in the world, Traci Lords, had been underage for nearly her entire career. Also, in , an appointment as head judge of the Miss America Pageant. She was undoubtedly a victim. By providing your information, you agree to our Terms of Use and our Privacy Policy. You can watch it below. And the very people who had terrorized Williams, were now themselves terrified. A peek!

Williams originally made history on September 17, , when she became the first Black woman to win the Miss America crown. She attended Syracuse University and studied musical theater. In , while working a summer job as a receptionist at a modeling agency in Mt.

By providing your information, you agree to our Terms of Use and our Privacy Policy. Related Stories. Almost destroyed it, in fact. The media couldn't show them. Vanessa brings courage to Broadway stages, films, recordings and television in her endless fight against bigotry of all sorts. But because of Penthouse, the entire country, the entire world , knew who Vanessa Williams was. Seventy-two hours later, practically to the minute, Williams became a Miss America first for a second time when she resigned. When it hit stands, I was fielding over a hundred calls a day. In this case, anyway. Really, really hurt it. Williams had already been through the wringer and then some by the time she found out, in mid-July , via a New York Post reporter, that she was about to become Penthouse 's cover girl, an honor she neither asked for nor wanted.