Diane Webber

Marguerite Empey
Playboy centerfold appearance
May 1955 February 1956
Preceded by	Marilyn Waltz (April 1955) Lynn Turner (January 1956)
Succeeded by	Eve Meyer (June 1955) Marian Stafford (March 1956)
Personal details
Born	July 29, 1932(1932-07-29)[2] Los Angeles, California[1]
Died	August 19, 2008(2008-08-19) (aged 76)[1] Los Angeles, California
Measurements	Bust: 39"C[1] Waist: 23" Hips: 37"

Diane Marguerite Webber AKA Marguerite Empey (July 29, 1932—August 19, 2008)^[1][2] was an American model, dancer and actress.

Empey was born in Los Angeles, California, the daughter of Marguerite (née Andrus) and screen writer Arthur Guy Empey.

Under the name Marguerite Empey she was Playboy magazine's Playmate of the Month in May 1955 and in February 1956. The photos for her 1956 appearance were taken by soft core porn director Russ Meyer.

Empey took ballet lessons from Russian ballerina Maria Befefi and later worked as a chorus girl at Bimbo's in San Francisco. In 1955, she married Joe Webber. She later took an interest in nudism, appearing in numerous nudist magazines. The Wonderful Webbers by June Lange, published by Elysium Inc in 1967, documented the Webbers' nudist life style. Webber posed for many famous photographers such as Peter Gowland, Bunny Yeager and Russ Meyer. She also appeared on the covers for several vinyl record albums including Les Baxter's Jewels of the Sea, Sea of Dreams by Nelson Riddle, Marty Paich's Jazz For Relaxation and Chile con Cugie by Xavier Cugat.

Around 1969 to 1980 Empey devoted her full-time career as a bellydance instructor at Everywoman's Village in Van Nuys, California. She occasionally performed this dance accompanied by her top students and a band playing Middle Eastern music in public places in and around Los Angeles.^[3][4] Empey founded Perfumes of Araby, one of the first American belly dancing companies. Empey's shows were extremely sensual; they didn’t pander to the audience. Lots of women and children enjoyed the shows.^[5] For several years Empey coordinated outdoor performances with up to 40 Middle Eastern dancers.^[6]

In the Gay Talese book Thy Neighbor's Wife, the story tells of a man who carried Diane Webber's nude picture in his wallet for fifteen years as his masturbatory fantasy.^{[citation needed]}

Empey died on August 19, 2008 in Los Angeles at the age of 76 due to complications following surgery for cancer.

Filmography

• The Trial of Billy Jack (1974) .... Belly-Dance instructor
• The Witchmaker (1969) .... The Nautch of Tangier
• Sinthia, the Devil's Doll (1968) .... The Housewife
• The Swinger (1966) (uncredited) .... Model #12
• Mermaids of Tiburon (1962) .... Mermaid Queen
• This Is My Body (1962) .... Herself

Notable TV guest appearances

• Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea playing "Mermaid" in episode: "The Mermaid" (episode # 3.19) 29 January 1967
• Alfred Hitchcock Presents playing "The Other Woman" in episode: "The Pearl Necklace" (episode # 6.29) 2 May 1961
• Markham playing "Valerie" in episode: "The Glass Diamond" (episode 1.8) June 1959
• Highway Patrol playing "Woman" in episode: "Coptor Cave-In" (episode # 18) February 1959
• Peter Gunn playing "Midge" in episode: "Scuba" (episode # 1.21) 16 February 1959

See also

• List of people in Playboy 1953-1959
• {Find a Grave}[3]

References

1. ^ ^{a b c d} "Playmate listing". http://wekinglypigs.com/cgi-bin/nand/search/pmstat?browse=%3A%3ACONFIG%3A%3Adatebrowse&key=1955&limit=0. Retrieved March 23, 2009. 
2. ^ ^{a b} "Name:Diane M Webber, State:California". http://ssdi.rootsweb.ancestry.com. Retrieved March 24, 2009. 
3. ^ Thy Neighbor's Wife by Gay Talese, Doubleday & Company, 1980, page 440, paragraph 2
4. ^ TIME, Demography: The Command Generation, Friday, Jul. 29, 1966
5. ^ [1]
6. ^ [2]

External links

• Diane Webber at Playboy.com
• Diane Webber at the Internet Movie Database

Persondata
Name	Webber, Diane
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	July 29, 1932
Place of birth	Los Angeles, California
Date of death	August 19, 2008
Place of death	Los Angeles, California