Playboy Retro: Bunny Yeager's Girls

In the 1950s, Bunny Yeager helped create the entire genre of pin-up photography and her stunning photographs of beautiful women remain influential to this day. One of the few women photographers of the age, she began her career as a model before deciding to work on the other side of the camera. Her groundbreaking pictures portray voluptuous sexpots with broad smiles seemingly caught by the camera in the middle of having fun — each frame exudes a joyful sensuality and an amorous glorification of the female form.

Throughout the ‘50s and ‘60s, Bunny popularized the bikini in America, discovered Bettie Page, (their first collaboration was a Christmas-themed shoot for the January 1955 edition of Playboy), wrote a number of books about photography, showed up as a guest star on game shows, shot stills of Ursula Andress for the James Bond flick Dr. No, acted in a Frank Sinatra film, befriended Hugh Hefner, appeared as a guest on Johnny Carson, and shot for Playboy a total of 11 times.

For this week’s Playboy Retro, we’re taking a look back at Bunny Yeager’s first years at Playboy. The obvious model to start with? Bettie Page, AKA the “Queen of the Pin-Ups,” AKA "The Queen of Curves," AKA "The Dark Angel," the immortal model who managed to simultaneously exude wide-eyed innocence and sultry naughtiness. Tall, curvy, with her raven hair and her trademark bangs, a million-watt smile and friendly eyes, Bettie’s been a style icon and the subject of lust for over 50 years. Though she'd been modelling since 1952, it was Bunny who brought Bettie into wider notice and acclaim. And while Bettie Page retired still young in 1957, her oeuvre remains timeless.

Bunny Yeager discovered actress and model and Lisa Winters when she was just a pretty girl hurrying to catch a bus in Miami. Bunny ran after Lisa but couldn’t catch up to her. So Bunny went back to the same bus stop for the next three days in a row. Her persistence paid off: Bunny finally found her muse at the bus stop and was able to convince Lisa to model for her. Lisa Winters proved to be a knockout as Miss December 1956.

Myrna Weber didn’t do much modeling, but when she did she made it count! Her pictorial for the August 1958 issue “Playmate on a Picnic” is iconic of the fun and flirty Yeager style. This great set of photos will stun you, then pick you up, and then make you a bit sad Myrna didn’t pose more often.

Cindy Fuller was a legal secretary and an aspiring professional swimmer before taking the plunge and posing for Playboy. A succulent brunette with measurements to drool over (36D-24-36) Cindy was being wasted behind a desk until Bunny Yeager showed her off in the May 1959 edition. Get in the pool and see what Cindy’s all about.