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Playmates

Playmates....ahhh Playmates. Just the sound of it is enough to get the blood boiling. And just where do you take six beautiful Playboy Playmates to shoot the first stunt for a very Special Playboy Playmate edition of Fear Factor? The answer: an isolated street in downtown Los Angeles.

However, as the locals realized exactly what was happening overhead, the neighborhood became a united crowd cheering for the success of the Playmates. As soon as the first Playmate successfully made her way from one building to another over 100 feet off the ground, the street erupted in a thunderous roar! This lasted throughout the day as each of the girls struggled to get across the cable from one building to the next. By the end of the day we had turned this once anonymous street into a united front filled with Playmate and Fear Factor fans.

Day 2

The anticipation and fear of the unknown weighed upon the girls heavily. They knew of the infamous 'B' stunts and were terrified of what was to come. That alone was torturous. Then they were introduced to the stunt - a box filled with thousands of flies and strawberries. After the stunt was over all the girls admitted to having eaten flies and describing them as sour tasting, ruining the taste of their beloved strawberries. Even as we were all leaving the set at the end of the day, Playmate Priscilla Lee Taylor still had flies in her hair. Guess blondes have universal appeal, even in the insect community!

DAY 3

Night shoot. The last stunt to determine which Playboy Playmate would become the Fear Factor Champion. Outdoors the temperature was a wicked 43 degrees with the wind kicking up from the west. I was dressed head to toe in my extreme weather gear huddled around a space heater and still struggling to keep warm! The Playmates meanwhile were stripping down to bikinis and jumping in the water to fight for the Fear Factor crown. Gotta hand it to them, fierce competitors that they are, they really wanted to beat each other. Take your classic female competitive equation and multiply it by 100 for that extra Playmate factor. These girls wanted to beat each other...bad!

by Larry Struber
Supervising Story Producer