Lou Zivkovich

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Lou Zivkovich was a defensive end for the Calgary Stampeders in the Canadian Football League. He is widely known for appearing as the July 1974 centerfold in Playgirl magazine, at the age of 33.

[edit] Early life

Zivkovich is the son of Canadian immigrants. He attended the University of Miami where he received a degree in Physical Education and English.

[edit] Playgirl pictorial

In this photospread, (taken during an expense paid trip to Hawaii), the muscular and hirsute Zivkovich displayed his 6'4" 216 lb. physique -- 46" chest and 35" waist -- in a series of shots which consistently featured full-frontal nudity. There were no erections and no rear-view shots.

Copies of the magazine quickly became something of a collector's item and even sparked brief talk of an acting career for Zivkovich. (He played a supporting role in a McMillan and Wife episode which aired on October 26, 1975.)

However, there were unfortunate ramifications. The high school in Apple Valley, California, where Zivkovich worked as a phys-ed teacher fired him, charging that his appearance in a nude centerfold showed he was not a proper role model for students. Many of these students as well as fellow teachers then came to the defense of Zivkovich who stated: "I don't see anything wrong with a nude body that is a work of art." The case went to a state appeals panel which admonished Zivkovich for a "mistake in judgment" but ruled in March of 1975 that he could not be fired.

One year later, in March of 1976, Zivkovich -- along with a bevy of musclemen -- appeared with Mae West in a CBS TV special titled "Dick Cavett's Backlot USA." Mae West's biographer, Simon Louvish, describes Zivkovich at this point as being Mae West's "frequent escort."