Hudson Reporter Archive

The house bunny

Janet Lupo is a real estate agent with Liberty Realty in Hoboken. She recently gave an interview about 1974 and the year she joined Playboy. Here are her words:

It was April, 1974 when I drove up to Playboy’s Great Gorge Resort hotel in McAfee, N.J. I didn’t have an appointment with the Bunny Mother but that didn’t stop me from pretending as if I did. All I knew was I wanted to be a bunny. The security guard called the Bunny Mother on the phone and told her I was waiting to meet with her for our interview. He talked to her for a few minutes, then to my surprise he said, “The Bunny Mother will see you now.” I was so scared and excited at the same time. Sandy was so sweet. She acted as if I had an appointment with her. After the interview, she told me she usually telephones you within two weeks if you’re to be hired as a bunny, but in this instance she said, “I’m hiring you on the spot because you have chutzpah.”

Asked about the new TV show starting this season “The Playboy Club,” Janet gave her thoughts on the original clubs.

I visited the New York Playboy Club, but I was most impressed with the Great Gorge Playboy Club and Resort Hotel – it was fantastic. It was built back when gambling was being considered in the area; the club was much better than the New York Playboy Club. They had all these rooms; a bunny hutch disco, a petrified tree in the sidewalk cafe. It was lots and lots of fun. We had a bunny dorm where the girls lived. There were no males allowed and you were not allowed to date the customers. The girls would try to sneak the guys into the dorm and we would watch through the blinds, there was a guard so the girls would put long wigs and makeup on the guys or hide them in the trunks of their cars. Only female friends were allowed. The New York City Playboy club was great, but Great Gorge was unbelievable.

The Playboy brand has made a great comeback with the TV reality show “The Girls Next Door.” The show follows three women who live at the mansion with Hugh Hefner. Janet talked about what it was like to visit the Los Angeles and Chicago mansions.

I visited both mansions. My Playboy centerfold for Miss November 1975 was shot at Playboy studios in Chicago. I lived at the mansion for three months. Actually, I was going to move to Chicago and work at the Playboy Club, but the day of my move I chickened out – it was so windy and cold in Chicago, I had a change of heart. I ended up shooting in Chicago a few more times for calendars and the magazine. Ten years later, my Playmates Forever layout was shot in Los Angeles and I had the opportunity to stay at the Los Angeles mansion. The difference between the two mansions was while the LA mansion was beautiful, the Chicago mansion was like magic. It was full of secret walls you could push and they would open up into secret rooms; there was a bowling alley and a fireman’s pole you would slide down to enter the underwater bar where you’d watch people swimming in the indoor pool through the glass. The LA mansion had beautiful grounds and an exotic zoo, but the Chicago mansion was right smack in the middle of town and it was beautiful.

The famous question everyone wants to know: “Did you date Hugh Hefner”?

No, I never dated Hefner.

Do you have any beauty tips?

Moisturize, moisturize, moisturize, eat well, sleep tight and treat everyone the way you’d like to be treated, it all comes back to you.

Janet is now a successful real estate agent for Liberty Realty in Hoboken. And apparently, Janet’s signature and personal items are coliectable.

Yes, several years ago I was contacted by an autograph dealer and he said “You’re very collectable, nobody can find you.” I was really surprised. I couldn’t believe my autograph and collectables were valuable. So in 1999 I created JanetLupo.com and I appear at “Glamourcon” every year. Now my fans can find me. As for all those real estate documents I sign each year, people say, they all hold a little extra value.

Any fundraisers or events coming up?

I just got a call from Playboy. I will be doing a fundraiser signing at the Hoboken man barber shop Oct. 22 from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. for breast cancer research. I will be signing photos for $5. All proceeds will go to breast cancer research. All the girls working there will wear pink t-shirts with “Save the TATAs” on the shirts.

Janet Lupo practices real estate for Liberty Realty located at 525 Washington St. in Hoboken, New Jersey. Contact her directly at her office at (201) 222-2900.

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