Apocalypse Then

AN ORAL HISTORY OF THE MEMORABLE PLAYMATE SCENE FROM FRANCIS FORD COPPOLA’S OSCAR-WINNING 1979 CLASSIC

- Steve Palopoli

On the great and sprawling road map of American culture, the distance between PLAYBOY magazine and Francis Ford Coppola’s masterpiece Apocalypse Now is, surprisingly, just a short jaunt — perhaps one best traversed by helicopter.

Among the movie’s many indelible scenes is a five-minute sequence, possibly inspired by actual events, in which Playmates put on a show for servicemen — or try to. Against the chugga-chugga t hump o f w hirring blades, a Rabbit Head- emblazoned chopper descends from the night sky onto a brightly lit stage as hundreds of G.I.s scream in anticipation. An unfazed Captain Willard (Martin Sheen), leading his soldiers upriver to hunt the renegade Colonel Kurtz (Marlon Brando) when they unexpectedly encounter the USO show emceed by Bill Graham, joins the audience. As three Playmates— portrayed by Colleen Camp and real-life Centerfolds Cyndi Wood (1974 Playmate of the Year) and Linda Carpenter (August 1976, as Linda Beatty) — emerge from the helicopter and begin shimmying to “Suzie Q,” the crowd grows frenzied. Soon enough, the soldiers rush the platform, forcing the performers to depart. Like the movie as a whole, the scene brilliantly captures a frightening aspect of humanity: the menace of men driven to extremes.