Opening alongside Expo 67, the social club drew 2,000 Bunny hopefuls and booked acts like Tony Bennett before vanishing within a decade.
July 29, 2026 · 4 min read
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On July 15, 1967, Hugh Hefner stepped off a plane at Dorval and into a scrum of journalists, a live set by Les Classels, and a welcoming committee of women in satin corsets and rabbit ears. Showered with kisses from his newest employees, the Playboy boss offered his first review of the city: "This is a kissy, kissy city!"
That same day, a few kilometres east at the corner of Aylmer and President Kennedy, the doors opened on the first and only Playboy Club in Canada.
Timed alongside Expo 67, Hefner wanted a piece of the action. At his press conference, he explained that the World's Fair had drawn him here, along with the city's sophistication (a compliment the assembled press lapped up). He was less charmed by Expo itself, reportedly throwing a fit when staff at the fair's press lounge turned him away for lacking accreditation.
The city, for its part, was ready to play along. Proceeds from the opening gala went to muscular dystrophy research, La Presse covered the Bunnies' appearances at the racetrack, and by the end of August the club had signed up 13,000 members with celebrities among them.
(Above) Photograph: Centre d’archives de Laval
Getting hired was reportedly harder than getting in. The job of assembling the inaugural corps of Bunny waitresses fell to Keith Hefner, Hugh's younger brother, working alongside a "Bunny Mother" dispatched from the Chicago head office. More than 2,000 women applied, some travelling from as far as Sweden and Italy, and 57 made the cut.
Opening alongside Expo 67, the social club drew 2,000 Bunny hopefuls and booked acts like Tony Bennett before vanishing within a decade.
July 29, 2026 · 4 min read
The Main is reader-supported. Subscriptions are what keep us independent. Five dollars a month — the restaurants, the guides, the weekly bulletin, and what to do each weekend. Support us today.
On July 15, 1967, Hugh Hefner stepped off a plane at Dorval and into a scrum of journalists, a live set by Les Classels, and a welcoming committee of women in satin corsets and rabbit ears. Showered with kisses from his newest employees, the Playboy boss offered his first review of the city: "This is a kissy, kissy city!"
That same day, a few kilometres east at the corner of Aylmer and President Kennedy, the doors opened on the first and only Playboy Club in Canada.
Timed alongside Expo 67, Hefner wanted a piece of the action. At his press conference, he explained that the World's Fair had drawn him here, along with the city's sophistication (a compliment the assembled press lapped up). He was less charmed by Expo itself, reportedly throwing a fit when staff at the fair's press lounge turned him away for lacking accreditation.
The city, for its part, was ready to play along. Proceeds from the opening gala went to muscular dystrophy research, La Presse covered the Bunnies' appearances at the racetrack, and by the end of August the club had signed up 13,000 members with celebrities among them.
(Above) Photograph: Centre d’archives de Laval
Getting hired was reportedly harder than getting in. The job of assembling the inaugural corps of Bunny waitresses fell to Keith Hefner, Hugh's younger brother, working alongside a "Bunny Mother" dispatched from the Chicago head office. More than 2,000 women applied, some travelling from as far as Sweden and Italy, and 57 made the cut.
Welcome to The Main's comments section!
Share your thoughts and join the conversation. Please be respectful and constructive.
Did Sharon Rose Anderson (and/or Shirley Purdy) ever make any public statements about the circa 1963 expose that Gloria Steinman made; about working as a Playboy Bunny?
On July 15, 1967, Hugh Hefner stepped off a plane at Dorval and into a scrum of journalists, a live set by Les Classels, and a welcoming committee of women in satin corsets and rabbit ears. Showered with kisses from his newest employees, the Playboy boss offered his first review of the city: "This is a kissy, kissy city!"
That same day, a few kilometres east at the corner of Aylmer and President Kennedy, the doors opened on the first and only Playboy Club in Canada.
Timed alongside Expo 67, Hefner wanted a piece of the action. At his press conference, he explained that the World's Fair had drawn him here, along with the city's sophistication (a compliment the assembled press lapped up). He was less charmed by Expo itself, reportedly throwing a fit when staff at the fair's press lounge turned him away for lacking accreditation.
The city, for its part, was ready to play along. Proceeds from the opening gala went to muscular dystrophy research, La Presse covered the Bunnies' appearances at the racetrack, and by the end of August the club had signed up 13,000 members with celebrities among them.
(Above) Photograph: Centre d’archives de Laval
Getting hired was reportedly harder than getting in. The job of assembling the inaugural corps of Bunny waitresses fell to Keith Hefner, Hugh's younger brother, working alongside a "Bunny Mother" dispatched from the Chicago head office. More than 2,000 women applied, some travelling from as far as Sweden and Italy, and 57 made the cut.
The standards were peculiar to Montreal. As the club's Bunny Mother, ex-Bunny Shirley Purdy, told the Gazette in 1969, most applicants washed out because they weren't bilingual, lacked personality, or couldn't manage the costume and the three-inch heels that came with it. Roughly one candidate in ten was hired, then put through a three-week training program to learn the Playboy way of doing things.
The pay, upwards of $125 a week, was serious money at the time, but the job was closer to boot camp than magazine marketing work. Sharon Rose Anderson, one of the original 1967 Bunnies, later described a workplace of whalebone corsets, nightly costume cleanings, and a demerit system that tracked every move: the tray carried one-handed with fingers spread, never touched with the other hand, never set on the table. Shifts ran six to eight hours, during which sitting down was forbidden; the closest thing to a break was an approved lean against a railing.
There were weekly weigh-ins, a confidential rating file that scored each woman's looks from one to four, and—per a 1968 CBC visit to the club—an entire grooming culture around the tail itself, which Bunnies fluffed with pet brushes and dabbed with perfume so a scent trailed them between tables.
The Main is Montreal's city magazine. We write the stories about this city nobody else is telling.
We're independent and reader-supported. Your support keeps us going.
Your email costs you nothing and opens the rest of this story now. It also means the next one reaches you on a Thursday, instead of disappearing into a feed.
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On July 15, 1967, Hugh Hefner stepped off a plane at Dorval and into a scrum of journalists, a live set by Les Classels, and a welcoming committee of women in satin corsets and rabbit ears. Showered with kisses from his newest employees, the Playboy boss offered his first review of the city: "This is a kissy, kissy city!"
That same day, a few kilometres east at the corner of Aylmer and President Kennedy, the doors opened on the first and only Playboy Club in Canada.
Timed alongside Expo 67, Hefner wanted a piece of the action. At his press conference, he explained that the World's Fair had drawn him here, along with the city's sophistication (a compliment the assembled press lapped up). He was less charmed by Expo itself, reportedly throwing a fit when staff at the fair's press lounge turned him away for lacking accreditation.
The city, for its part, was ready to play along. Proceeds from the opening gala went to muscular dystrophy research, La Presse covered the Bunnies' appearances at the racetrack, and by the end of August the club had signed up 13,000 members with celebrities among them.
(Above) Photograph: Centre d’archives de Laval
Getting hired was reportedly harder than getting in. The job of assembling the inaugural corps of Bunny waitresses fell to Keith Hefner, Hugh's younger brother, working alongside a "Bunny Mother" dispatched from the Chicago head office. More than 2,000 women applied, some travelling from as far as Sweden and Italy, and 57 made the cut.
The standards were peculiar to Montreal. As the club's Bunny Mother, ex-Bunny Shirley Purdy, told the Gazette in 1969, most applicants washed out because they weren't bilingual, lacked personality, or couldn't manage the costume and the three-inch heels that came with it. Roughly one candidate in ten was hired, then put through a three-week training program to learn the Playboy way of doing things.
The pay, upwards of $125 a week, was serious money at the time, but the job was closer to boot camp than magazine marketing work. Sharon Rose Anderson, one of the original 1967 Bunnies, later described a workplace of whalebone corsets, nightly costume cleanings, and a demerit system that tracked every move: the tray carried one-handed with fingers spread, never touched with the other hand, never set on the table. Shifts ran six to eight hours, during which sitting down was forbidden; the closest thing to a break was an approved lean against a railing.
There were weekly weigh-ins, a confidential rating file that scored each woman's looks from one to four, and—per a 1968 CBC visit to the club—an entire grooming culture around the tail itself, which Bunnies fluffed with pet brushes and dabbed with perfume so a scent trailed them between tables.
The Main is Montreal's city magazine. We write the stories about this city nobody else is telling.
We're independent and reader-supported. Your support keeps us going.
Your email costs you nothing and opens the rest of this story now. It also means the next one reaches you on a Thursday, instead of disappearing into a feed.
No password. No payment. Opens instantly.
Already a member? Sign in
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Did Sharon Rose Anderson (and/or Shirley Purdy) ever make any public statements about the circa 1963 expose that Gloria Steinman made; about working as a Playboy Bunny?