The journalist put on the iconic bunny suit to get a sense of what a night at the Playboy Club was really like

NEED TO KNOW

• Barbara Walters was one of the first journalists to cover New York City’s Playboy Club
• During her time as a reporter at NBC News, Walters worked a shift at the club for a segment on the new hotspot
• Walters died in Dec. 2022 at the age of 93

Barbara Walters‘ journalism took her to unexpected places.

Today recently shared an archival piece that shows the famed late journalist on New Year’s Eve in 1962, taking a shift at New York City’s Playboy Club to learn what it really took to work at the famed hotspot.

Walters wore the signature bunny costume for the segment, getting a crash course on all things Playboy from Chief of the Bunnies, Joan Howard, who told the journalist that any 18- to 24-year-old women who were “young, pretty (and) funny” could apply.

Potential bunnies would go through two weeks of “bunny school,” where they learned the ins and outs of working at the club. “We have films… we have lectures. We give them the bunny manual,” Howard shared.

Howard would keep an eye on the bunnies who did make it out on the club floor to make sure they were following the rules. “Not only is she not allowed to date seatholders, but she’s not allowed to date personnel at the club,” Howard explained.

As for how much the bunnies made, Walters reported, “With tips, the bunnies can average between $200 and $300 a week for a five-day week.”

Walters put on the costume, which she described as “a too-tight satin bathing suit and black leotard with more coverage probably than you’d find at the beach. It just looks barer.”

The journalist asked if the girls are ever embarrassed by the costume, and while she was told most weren’t, she admitted she “feels ridiculous.”

When it came time to hit the floor, Walters said she felt “pretty awkward, but at least I didn’t spill anything on the customers.”

The first Playboy Club opened in Chicago in 1960. The New York City location was the fifth to open, just weeks before Walters’ segment. It followed Miami, New Orleans, and St. Louis. By 1988, all 30 locations across the US had closed.

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