The Playboy Science Fiction Convention
| Science Fiction Convention | |
|---|---|
| Name: | The Playboy Science Fiction Convention |
| Dates: | October 22-25, 1976 |
| Frequency: | once |
| Location: | Playboy Resort and Country Club, Great Gorge, N.J. |
| Type: | celebrity guests, for-profit |
| Focus: | science fiction |
| Organization: | "Science Fiction Services, Inc." |
| Founder: | Tom Anderson was the "convention coordinator" |
| Founding Date: | |
| URL: | |
| Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
The Playboy Science Fiction Convention was a four-day con in New Jersey.
Cost was $12.00 for four days or $5.00 daily.
A flyer stated that "Only 4,000 registrations will be sold. Over 950 are gone and this is only the first public announcement! NO DOOR REGISTRATIONS!" This attendance number was almost certainly an over-statement, as by all accounts, the con was sparsely attended.
Scheduled guests were: Nichelle Nichols (featured ST guest), Isaac Asmiov, Hal Clement, Stephan Fabian, Walter Gibson, Jacqueline Lichtenberg, Fred Ordway, Frederick Pohl, George O. Smith, Christopher Stasheff, Chris Steinbrunner, Mort Weisinger, Allan Asherman (the MC, spelled incorrectly on the flyer), and the comedy team of Overton & Sullivan.
From a flyer:
Experiance [sic] the most unforgettable and glamorous weekend of your lifetime! Enjoy a weekend mini-vacation, or a day, conventioneering at the finest resort hotel in the East. Your admission ticket is as good as a PLAYBOY KEY CARD, and entitles you to full use of resort facilities without having to be a member. Imagine! A SF Can where you can also horseback ride or skeet shoot just to name a few of the varied sports and activities offered. You have seen the famous, fabulous BUNNIES in print, have you ever seen them in living color and 3-D? You can at the PLAYBOY SCIENCE FICTION CONVENTION, 22-25th October.
Difficult to get to? NOT AT ALL! Special Reserved Seating Buses will be available during the Convention. They will leave from the Mid-town Port Authority Bus Terminal and arrive directly at the front door in time for the program each day and will leave after the programming each evening.
The con had a dealer's room, a costume call, an art show, writing workshops ($5 for two hours), SF research workshop ($5 for two hours), a light and slide show, movies, and an exhibition area.
Con Report
I didn't find out in time to get the word out to you about the Playboy Con, anyway. I'm really sorry about that, as it could have been a really good Con if it had been better attended. There was practically no publicity ahead of time (which was why I didn't know about it) which meant that it was very sparsely attended. What made it very special was that Nichelle was appearing in the club lounge both Friday and Saturday evenings. Her act was just fantastic! [1]