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| Marguerite Empey | |
|---|---|
 Webber in 1955 | |
| Playboycenterfold appearance | |
| May 1955 February 1956 | |
| Preceded by | Marilyn Waltz (April 1955) Lynn Turner (January 1956) |
| Succeeded by | Eve Meyer (June 1955) Marian Stafford (March 1956) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1932-07-29)July 29, 1932[2] Los Angeles, California, US[3] |
| Died | August 19, 2008(2008-08-19) (aged 76)[1] Los Angeles, California, US |
Marguerite Diane Webber (bornMarguerite Empey; July 29, 1932 – August 19, 2008)[3][2][4] was an Americanmodel, dancer, actress andnudist.
Born inHollywood, Los Angeles, California, U.S., the daughter of Marguerite (née Andrus), a Hollywood actress and former Miss Long Beach beauty contest winner,[5] andArthur Guy Empey. She received her formal education atHollywood High School. As a child, she receivedballet lessons from Russian ballerina Maria Bekefi.
In the early 1950s, while developing her professional modeling career, she found employment as achorus girl atBimbo's 365 Club inSan Francisco. As the decade progressed, she modeled for many professional photographers, includingPeter Gowland,Bunny Yeager and Keith Bernard, appearing in a myriad of men's magazines, such asEsquire, and commercial advertising imagery.
Under the name Marguerite Empey, she wasPlayboy magazine'sPlaymate of the Month in both May 1955 and February 1956. The photo shoot for the 1956 publication was shot byRuss Meyer. When she posed for Playboy the second time, Hugh Hefner didn't even recognize her as a Playmate from the previous year.
Webber appeared on the cover art of severalpop musicvinyl record albums in the late 1950s-1970s, includingGeorge Shearing'sSatin Brass (1959),Cliff FerreLooks Like Fun,Les Baxter'sLa Femme (1956) andJewels of the Sea (1961),Los Mambolocos' "Mambo" (1974),Nelson Riddle'sSea of Dreams (1958),Marty Paich'sJazz for Relaxation (1956),[6]Xavier Cugat'sChilie con Cugie (1959), Otto Cesana'sSheer Ecstasy (1960) and theR.C.A. Japanese release of Seiji Hiraoka & His Quartet'sBedtime Music (1965).[7]
During the 1960s,Adam magazine released several albums entitledStag Party Record. Webber appeared on the 10th edition which was calledOff Limits.
In the 1960s and 1970s, she appeared in the movieMermaids of Tiburon (1962), and an episode of the television seriesVoyage to the Bottom of the Sea entitled "The Mermaid" (1967). She also appeared in the filmThe Trial of Billy Jack (1974).
In the mid to late 1960s, as a part of thecounter-culture movement in the United States, Webber became involved withnudism and appeared in numerous nudist publications advocating the lifestyle, such asNaked and Together: The Wonderful Webbers by June Lange (1967).[8] In 1965, she traveled toSioux City to give evidence at the request of aDistrict Attorney's Office in a court trial involving the sending of allegedly obscene nudist publications into the State ofIowa. However, when taking the witness stand, instead of proving the prosecution's case, she gave a spirited defense of the principles of the naked lifestyle.[9][10]
From 1969 to 1980, Webber's professional career was as abellydancing instructor at the now defunct Everywoman's Village inVan Nuys, California. She occasionally performed this dance accompanied by some of her better students to the accompaniment of Middle-Eastern music in public places in and around Los Angeles.[11][12] She founded Perfumes of Araby,[13] one of the firstMiddle-Eastern dance companies in the United States. Webber's dancing shows were sensual but didn't pander to a male audience, with women and children often attending the performances.[14] For several years, she led and coordinated these outdoor shows, with up to forty performers taking part.[15]
Her iconic status amongPlayboy models is referenced inGay Talese's non-fiction bookThy Neighbor's Wife (1980).[16] Talese had published an extensive article in the August 1975 issue ofEsquire, in which Webber is considered an object of fantasy as well as an actual person.[17] Two nude photos of her appear in the article, and one is on the cover.
In her final years, Webber was a librarian and archivist for a law firm inSanta Monica.[18]
She married Joseph Webber in 1955 (the marriage ended with a divorce in 1986), from which came a son named John (born 1956).[5]
Webber died on August 19, 2008, in Los Angeles, following complications from surgery for cancer. She was 76.
