Candy Loving (born Candis Loving; September 4, 1956) is an American model. She was '' Playboy's''

Playmate of the Month A Playmate is a female model featured in the centerfold/gatefold of ''Playboy'' magazine as Playmate of the Month (PMOTM). The PMOTM's pictorial includes nude photographs and a centerfold poster, along with a pictorial biography and the "Playm ...

for the January 1979 issue, which made her the magazine's 25th Anniversary Playmate. Her

centerfold The centerfold or centrefold of a magazine is the inner pages of the middle sheet, usually containing a portrait, such as a pin-up or a nude. The term can also refer to the model featured in the portrait. In saddle-stitched magazines (as opp ...

was photographed by

Dwight Hooker Dwight Hooker (June 22, 1928 – January 3, 2015) was an American photographer and architect. He was best known as a photographer for ''Playboy'' magazine and has been described as one of the masters of "the sensual and the erotic", along with pho ...

Early life

Loving was born Candis Loving in

Oswego, Kansas Oswego is a city in and the county seat of Labette County, Kansas, United States, and situated along the Neosho River. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 1,668. History Oswego is located on the site of an Osage village calle ...

, on September 4, 1956, and moved to

Ponca City, Oklahoma Ponca City ( iow, Chína Uhánⁿdhe) is a city in Kay County in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The city was named after the Ponca tribe. Ponca City had a population of 25,387 at the time of the 2010 census- and a population of 24,424 in the 2020 ...

, at the age of three with her mother and four siblings. She graduated from Ponca City High School in 1974 and married Ron Prather. She then enrolled as a public relations major at the

University of Oklahoma The University of Oklahoma (OU) is a Public university, public research university in Norman, Oklahoma. Founded in 1890, it had existed in Oklahoma Territory near Indian Territory for 17 years before the two Territories became the state of Oklahom ...

''Playboy'' career

In 1978, the ''

Playboy ''Playboy'' is an American men's lifestyle and entertainment magazine, formerly in print and currently online. It was founded in Chicago in 1953, by Hugh Hefner and his associates, and funded in part by a $1,000 loan from Hefner's mother. K ...

'' magazine began a yearlong nationwide Great Playmate Hunt for its 25th-anniversary publication. She was a junior at the University of Oklahoma, and working in a dress shop and as a waitress when she saw the ad in the paper. At the urging of her then husband, Loving entered the contest and photographer Dwight Hooker shot the test photos of her. Seven months later the 22-year-old college student beat out more than 3,500 other models with her natural beauty, girl-next-door looks and name that seemed almost fabricated for a playmate. Her centerfold came out in the January 1979 issue. That year, she took advantage of her celebrity status and moved out to California to pursue acting and modeling. She traveled the world as the ambassador of ''Playboy'' magazine during the 25th-anniversary celebrations, taking a year out of college to do so. Promotional appearances included the

National Press Club Organizations A press club is an organization for journalists and others professionally engaged in the production and dissemination of news. A press club whose membership is defined by the press of a given country may be known as a National Press ...

in Washington D.C., and hosting a men's fashion show. In 2001, the readers of Playboy would vote her the runner-up for "the sexiest Playmate of the 1970s."

Post ''Playboy''

At the time of her January 1979 centerfold appearance Loving was a senior at the University of Oklahoma studying public relations. By 1981 she realized the celebrity life was not for her, so she re-enrolled at the University of Oklahoma at the age of 25 to finish her bachelor's degree in journalism, and then began a

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...

degree in human relations. She used the money from her work at Playboy to fund her studies. She continued to perform publicity duties for the magazine, including signing posters at car shows, and considering her career options. She later met

Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South divisio ...

offensive lineman Dave Reavis when both were judging a beauty pageant. She followed him to Tampa in July 1983. Even though this relationship did not last, she remained in Southern Florida, working in the healthcare industry designing benefit packages for companies. She is no longer married but is the mother of one daughter.

Filmography

* ''

Dance Fever ''Dance Fever'' is an American musical variety television series that aired weekly in syndication from January 1979 to September 1987. The series was technically created by Merv Griffin but his agent Murray Schwartz actually conceived the idea o ...

'' (TV Series) (1979) as herself * ''

The Misadventures of Sheriff Lobo ''The Misadventures of Sheriff Lobo'' is an American action comedy television series that ran on NBC from September 18, 1979, to May 5, 1981. For its second season the show was renamed ''Lobo''. The program aired Tuesday nights, at 8:00p.m. Easte ...

'' playing "Herself" in episode: "Who's the Sexiest Girl in the World" (episode # 1.16), February 19, 1980 *

Woody Allen Heywood "Woody" Allen (born Allan Stewart Konigsberg; November 30, 1935) is an American film director, writer, actor, and comedian whose career spans more than six decades and multiple Academy Award-winning films. He began his career writing ...

's ''

Stardust Memories ''Stardust Memories'' is a 1980 American comedy-drama film written and directed by Woody Allen and starring Allen, Charlotte Rampling, Jessica Harper and Marie-Christine Barrault. Sharon Stone has a brief role, in her film debut. The film is abo ...

'' (1980) only in the walk-on scene at the end as Tony's girlfriend * ''Playboy Playmates: The Early Years'' (documentary) (1982) as herself * ''Playboy Video Centerfold: Playmate 2000 Bernaola Twins'' (Video documentary) (2000) as herself * ''Playboy: The Party Continues'' (documentary) (2000) as herself * ''Playboy: The Ultimate Playmate Search'' (documentary) (2003) as herself * ''Playboy: 50 Years of Playmates'' (documentary) (2004) as herself

References

External links