Christa Speck (August 1, 1942 – March 22, 2013) was a German model and actress. She was chosen as ''

Playboy ''Playboy'' is an American men's Lifestyle magazine, 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 H ...

'' magazine's Playmate of the Month for the September 1961 issue, and as the 1962 Playmate of the Year. Her original pictorial was photographed by Sam Wu.

Career and media appearances

Speck was working as a bank secretary at

Bank of America The Bank of America Corporation (often abbreviated BofA or BoA) is an American multinational investment bank and financial services holding company headquartered at the Bank of America Corporate Center in Charlotte, North Carolina. The bank ...

when she was discovered by Playboy. She was chosen as ''

'' magazine's Playmate of the Month for the September 1961 issue, and as the 1962 Playmate of the Year, the first foreign-born model to be so named. She worked as a

Bunny Rabbits, also known as bunnies or bunny rabbits, are small mammals in the family Leporidae (which also contains the hares) of the order Lagomorpha (which also contains the pikas). ''Oryctolagus cuniculus'' includes the European rabbit sp ...

in the company's Chicago nightclub, lived in the

Playboy Mansion The Playboy Mansion, also known as the Playboy Mansion West, is the former home of ''Playboy'' magazine founder Hugh Hefner who lived there from 1974 until his death in 2017. Barbi Benton convinced Hefner to buy the home located in Holmby Hill ...

and was featured in all of the magazine's 60s pictorials about life at Mansion: 1961's ''Playmate Holiday House Party'', 1963's ''Playmate Pillow Fight and Bunnies'' and 1966's ''The Playboy Mansion''. Speck was selected by Playboy editors and readers as one of their "ten favorite Playmates from the magazine’s first decade." Her centerfold is seen in the 1978 film ''

Animal House ''National Lampoon's Animal House'' is a 1978 American comedy film directed by John Landis and written by Harold Ramis, Douglas Kenney and Chris Miller. It stars John Belushi, Peter Riegert, Tim Matheson, John Vernon, Verna Bloom, Thomas Hu ...

'', which takes place in 1962. Speck is mentioned in the 2007 book ''Confessions of a Crabgrass Cowboy: From Lincoln Logs to Lava Lamps: Coming of Age in an Early American Suburb'' by William Schwarz. She is also mentioned briefly in the 2011 book ''The Bunny Years'' by fellow, former Bunny

Kathryn Leigh Scott Kathryn Leigh Scott (born Marlene Kringstad;Biography:Kathryn Leigh Scott". Retrieved on September 28, 2010 January 26, 1943) is an American television and film actress and writer who is best remembered for playing several roles on ''Dark Shadows ...

Personal life

Speck was born in Danzig, Germany (now Gdańsk, Poland). She was later married to children's programming producer

Marty Krofft Sid Krofft (born July 30, 1929) and Marty Krofft (born April 9, 1937) are a Canadian sibling team of television creators and puppeteers. Through their production company, Sid & Marty Krofft Pictures, they have made numerous children's television a ...

. Speck and Krofft had three daughters.

Death

Speck died of natural causes at her home in Los Angeles, California, at the age of 70.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Speck, Christa 1960s Playboy Playmates Playboy Playmates of the Year 1942 births 2013 deaths Actresses from Gdańsk People from West Prussia German emigrants to the United States

Career and media appearances

Personal life

Death

See also

References