Farrah Fawcett makes it Playboy's Sexy 101

Rickety Playboy magazine took some heat last fall when it when it buried its tribute to the recently-deceased Farrah Fawcett in an October issue that featured cartoon character Marge Simpson on its cover (with Tracy Morgan getting larger typeface than the Charlie's Angels icon).


It now appears Playboy is making amends for its misstep by giving Farrah special mention in its upcoming special edition, "Playboy's Sexy 100," the annual "salute (to) 100 of the hottest women who have captured our attention over the past year -- from sexy celebrities who've graced the cover of Playboy magazine to toned athletes, reality TV babes and fresh faces you'll want to keep an eye on . . ."

And why not? Farrah's December 1995 issue sold four million copies, the best-selling of the decade.

Farrah fans fume over Playboy "insult"

Fans of the late Farrah Fawcett are up in arms over what's considered to be an insulting, small tribute to the iconic actress in the November issue. Though there were rumours that Farrah, who died in June, would grace the cover of the magazine she'd posed in twice in the Nineties, cartoon character Marge Simpson gets the cover while Farrah gets a mention in smaller type than Stephen King, Tracy Morgan, Benicio del Toro or some Victoria's Secret model.

One fan commented on this site:

"What a slap in the face of Farrah Fawcett. She was THE sex symbol of the 70s and was on the cover of two of the mag’s most successful issues and THIS is how they pay tribute to her? A simple footnote on the cover??!! WTF Playboy? You put that drug addicted, ex-stripper Anna Nicole on your cover when she died but Farrah gets upstaged by a cartoon? How much did FOX pay you for this placement? Huge, missed opportunity here folks. This is why Playboy is barely selling and no longer relevant to consumers-- it is edited by a goofy old man so out of touch. Farrah fans are insulted and Playboy once again missed the boat."


Farrah had resisted appearing nude in films or magazines throughout the 1970s and '80s. When she posed nude in Playboy's December 1995 issue, it became the best-selling issue of the 1990s, with over four million copies sold worldwide. She returned at age 50 with a Playboy pictorial in the July 1997 issue. That same year, she played Robert Duvall's wife in The Apostle and wonan Independent Spirit Award nomination as Best Actress.

Nude Marge Simpson is old nude news

Playboy is getting some ink and buzz this morning with word they've got Marge Simpson on the cover and possibly in a nude pictorial inside the November issue. Funny, but nothing new. Anybody with a kid who's googled his favorite Simpsons character knows the online toonporn industry has been showcasing The Simpsons and their neighbors in various naked positions and configurations for years now.

One of the safest-for-work pix is above.

TMZ's Harvey Levin is queried and probed and poses in heterosexual men's sex magazine

We'd assume there would be little chance of finding a Playboy magazine in the home of Harvey Levin, the shaved bronzed midget frontman of the corporate porn-pushing gossip site TMZ.com and its inconsequential whitewashed syndicated television version. Of course, Harvey’s got his own bunny hutch in his West Hollywood office aerie, but Harvey’s bunnies have balls.

But now the old men’s mag, which has strained its back muscles dipping into the celebutard scene of late, is featuring the prominent appreciator of the male form (see: Matthew McConaughey) in the 20 Questions section of its June issue, which is out today and would make the angry jealous gossip queen the one man in America telling the truth when he claims to read Playboy for the articles.

Playboy’s publicists were kind enough to send us an advance copy, because “we know you have covered Harvey Levin of TMZ before.” Yes we have. Of the twenty questions, two provoke answers that are the most chilling, journalismwise. One is a sad fact that we’ve pointed out: that the “mainstream" news media lazily cite the subliterate celebbaiters as a legitimate news source:

"When we started, two and a half years ago, there was a feeling that nobody except National Enquirer covered this material, and the national media turned up their nose at us. Now you're in trouble if you don't cover it. We play a little game in our office sometimes when we post a big story. We bet on how soon it will take CNN to flash 'TMZ is reporting...' across the bottom of the screen. Often it's a matter of seconds.”

The other worry is where Harvey is next setting his sights:

"I see huge opportunities in covering politics in a way that would be interesting and fun for people. People say you can't make politicians as interesting as Hollywood celebrities, because they're not as good-looking, not as well-known, not as entertaining. I totally disagree. These are some of the most interesting people in the country, and they haven't been covered that way before."

By the way, a reader recently asked about those male torsos featured on this and some of our other recent TMZ-related posts: they’re not of Harvey (Playboy sent us a clothed shot from the magazine, but wanted us to sign a release form to post it), but the corporate-porn-pushing equivalent of the old TV news “headshot.” These are Harvey’s on-air toyboys, the ones who point home video cameras in people’s faces and then report to Harvey about the confrontations on the TMZ TV show. Photographs like these are posted by the boys themselves on their MySpace and other public websites in order to promote their careers and themselves.

We’ll leave it to you to put faces to the bodies. And to send us more.