Playboy Playmate as a "former" Playmate because "Once a Playmate, always a Playmate". Marilyn Monroe, who was featured in the first issue, was the only one to appear as "Sweetheart of the Month." The first model called a Playmate of the Month was Margie Harrison, Miss January 1954, in the second issue of "Playboy". Generally a woman may appear only once as a Playmate, but in the early years of the magazine, some models were featured multiple times. Marilyn Waltz (February 1954, April 1954, April 1955 her first appearance was as Margaret Scott) and Janet Pilgrim (July 1955, December 1955, and October
Playboy was published in 1953 and serialized in the March, April and May 1954 issues of "Playboy". An urban legend started about Hefner and the Playmate of the Month because of markings on the front covers of the magazine. From 1955 to 1979 (except for a six-month gap in 1976), the "P" in "Playboy" had stars printed in or around the letter. The legend stated that this was either a rating that Hefner gave to the Playmate according to how attractive she was, the number of times that Hefner had slept with her, or how good she was in bed. The