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She is Debra Jo Fondren, Playboy's 24-year-old Playmate of the Year. He is J. Fredrick Smith, 61 years old and one of the country's best-known glamour photographers. When they met at Smith's New York studio, the rapport was instant. Debra Jo had been traveling hard during the past year, being photog
...raphed by amateurs and professionals a thousand times and taking part in hundreds of Playboy promotions. "It's been an extraordinary year for me," Debra told us. "I've learned a lot and I think it's prepared me well for the future. It's been an education trying to make do in strange cities, meeting people, running for planes. I'll really hate to give up my title." We hate to see her go, too. That's why we arranged one final pictorial salute during her reign. And Smith was the logical choice to do the honors.
Our Playmate of the Year found photographer J. Frederick Smith a joy to work with, and it shows. “He’s a strong, dynamic person, and yet he can be very gentle. He keeps his models supplied with food and wine, on the theory that a full tummy makes for a happy model.” Debra also praises Smith’s choice of props: “He’s very imaginative. He likes to use old clothes, the kind you’d wear at home. Old clothes are very sensuous and easy to move in.”
Debra Jo’s future is currently up in the air: “I’m being pulled every which way.” The good news is you haven’t seen the last of Ms. Fondren. She intends to move to California, take some acting classes and attack the world of films and commercials. The bad news: She’ll probably cut her hair – to elbow length – because, as she says, “It throws off my balance; I’m not very graceful with it this long.” She’s already done enough screen tests to assure her she’s got marketable talent and has recently hired an agent. In any event, she’s as charming as ever, jogs three miles a day and gets to bed by ten p.m. – just an old-fashioned girl.
Smith found Debra Jo to be a lensman’s dream – we could have told him that. Smith has photographed many of the world’s most beautiful women, but he was especially enthusiastic about Debra Jo. “She seems to have no hang-ups. She was very professional, totally uncomplicated and followed directions to the letter. People don’t realize that a good model is fantastically talented. Her work is not the same as acting, because I’ve shot actresses and they don’t necessarily make good models. It’s an intangible quality.”
Says Smith unabashedly, “I am a romantic, and I guess that’s my style. You won’t find a hunk of steel in any of my photos.” Debra loved that approach, saying simply, “He made me feel loved.” Smith considers himself a picture maker rather than a photographer, and says he tries to create an environment and then lets the model act out her fantasies. “I’m a sentimentalist; I love women and I believe in mystery. You need a little mystery to have romance.” The fruit of his session with Debra Jo is a fitting tribute to one of our best-loved Playmates, showing her in a light delightfully different from her previous appearances here. It just leaves us wondering why we didn’t pair Debra Jo and J. Fred a lot sooner than we did.
