LOS ANGELES --
Bonnie Jo Halpin, an original Playboy "bunny" who worked at several of Hugh Hefner's clubs and appeared in the magazine on numerous occasions in the 1960s, has died. She was 65.
"Bonnie Jo Halpin was the very first 'door bunny' on opening day at the very first club, so it's quite appropriate to refer to her as the very first bunny," Hefner told the Los Angeles Times. "She was a very special lady."
Halpin died in her West Hollywood apartment after she was seriously injured in a hit-and-run car accident, her friend Joyce Nizzari told the newspaper.
The Los Angeles County Coroner's office said the cause of death as an accidental overdose of the prescription painkiller Vicodin, the newspaper reported.
Halpin wore the trademark bunny wear - a skimpy, one-piece satin outfit with a black bow tie and rabbit ears - at the opening of Hefner's first club in 1960.
She also appeared on the cover of the October 1962 issue of Playboy, and was featured inside in the following two years.
After working for Playboy, Halpin had several other jobs, including working as a personal trainer. She was also a longtime volunteer at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center
http://www.heraldtribune.com/apps/pb.../APN/404300540
Bonnie Jo Halpin, an original Playboy "bunny" who worked at several of Hugh Hefner's clubs and appeared in the magazine on numerous occasions in the 1960s, has died. She was 65.
"Bonnie Jo Halpin was the very first 'door bunny' on opening day at the very first club, so it's quite appropriate to refer to her as the very first bunny," Hefner told the Los Angeles Times. "She was a very special lady."
Halpin died in her West Hollywood apartment after she was seriously injured in a hit-and-run car accident, her friend Joyce Nizzari told the newspaper.
The Los Angeles County Coroner's office said the cause of death as an accidental overdose of the prescription painkiller Vicodin, the newspaper reported.
Halpin wore the trademark bunny wear - a skimpy, one-piece satin outfit with a black bow tie and rabbit ears - at the opening of Hefner's first club in 1960.
She also appeared on the cover of the October 1962 issue of Playboy, and was featured inside in the following two years.
After working for Playboy, Halpin had several other jobs, including working as a personal trainer. She was also a longtime volunteer at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center
http://www.heraldtribune.com/apps/pb.../APN/404300540
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