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Linn Thomas Interview
(Playboy and Penthouse Certerfold)
In May of 1997 Linn Thomas graced the pages of Playboy magazine as their Centerfold.
In October of 2000 She was the Penthouse Pet of The Month, With that she became the first model in history to be seen in both Playboy and Penthouse as their Centerfold.
Q - Linn, Let’s start out by asking you about the present. What takes up your time today? Are you modelling? Are you acting?
A - I am fully retired from the entertainment industry and really don’t keep up with it. I am focused on Art nowadays.
Q – You were what 22 years old when you appeared in Playboy? What were you doing before that? Were you a student? Were you working somewhere?
A – My pictorial was actually shot throughout my 3 years in college. The entire layout took months and I didn’t want it to distract from my studies so, I asked them to shoot me only during the summers. I was 18 when the centerfold was shot, 19 when the rest of the stills were taken, and 20 during the video and 21 when my issue finally came out.
Q - How is it you appeared in Playboy? Did they see you somewhere? Did you approach them after seeing an ad?
A - Someone I met randomly in New York City said he knew Pompea Posar and offered to send him some photographs. Of course he would have to take these photographs himself since I had never posed nude. Obviously I was skeptical. I told him, no. My mom would kill me. So a few weeks later I was trying on a bathing suit with my mom when she turned to me and said “you have Playboy boobs!” And I was like weeeee!!!
Q - Were you comfortable posing for Playboy? Did it take some coaxing on the photographer’s part to get you to take your clothes off?
A - I was never shy to be nude. Shy in most other ways but, not that way. It was much harder for me to emote to the camera. That made me feel much more naked than actually being nude.
Q - I’ve always had this idea that when a woman becomes a Playboy Centerfold the world of entertainment comes calling. Was that the case for you?
A - My issue came out the same month I graduated college. I never imagined I would be part of something like that and I didn’t know much about that world or the world in general. It was really a confusing time. I recall being completely overwhelmed and retreating from it.
Q - What opportunities came your way as a result of being in Playboy?
A - I remember a few opportunities coming down the pipeline but you really do have to do your part to create them. I didn’t have any idea what might be available to me or what I wanted to exactly. So, I didn’t leverage my position as I might have otherwise.
Q - Continuing along with that theme, you were a Playboy Centerfold. Why did you go on to pose for Penthouse? You’d already been a Centerfold. What did you get out of being a Penthouse Pet?
A - By the time I posed for Penthouse, I had decided to go fully into the life of a pinup model, whatever that meant in the early 2000’s. It was symbolic to me of this commitment. Penthouse was actually much more freeing experience perhaps because I was a little bit older. There was less pressure and it felt more honest in some way. I was an erotic model in the sex industry. Bam! No gray area. No pretense.
Q - Playboy no longer has Centerfolds. In your mind, was that a good move or a bad move? Where then do women go who would have posed for Playboy?
A - It wasn’t a decision that made sense to me but then, I see nothing wrong with reinventing something. I guess only time will tell if it was a good or bad decision. It certainly is hard to compete with the amount of digital content available. Where do the women go who would have posed? I don’t know if it makes sense to think of it quite that way. These things are ephemeral.
© Gary James All Rights Reserved
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