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Claudia Jennings
Claudia Jennings
Playboy centerfold appearance
	November 1969
Preceded by	Jean Bell
Succeeded by	Gloria Root
Playboy Playmate of the Year
	1970
Preceded by	Connie Kreski
Succeeded by	Sharon Clark
Personal details
Born	Mary Eileen Chesterton; December 20, 1949; Saint Paul, Minnesota, U.S.
Died	October 3, 1979 (aged 29); Malibu, California, U.S.
Height	5 ft 6 in (1.68 m)

Mary Eileen Chesterton (December 20, 1949 – October 3, 1979),^[1] known professionally as Claudia Jennings, was an American actress and model. Jennings was Playboy magazine's Playmate of the Month for November 1969 and also Playmate of the Year for 1970. She subsequently pursued a career in acting, and was known as the "Queen of B movies".^[3] She died in an automobile accident in 1979.

Career

Mary Eileen Chesterton (known as "Mimi" to friends and family) was born in Saint Paul, Minnesota, in 1949, later moving to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and then Richmond, Indiana. When her family moved from Richmond to Evanston, Illinois, as a result of her father becoming the advertising director with Skilsaw, she transferred at the start of her sophomore year to Evanston Township High School (ETHS) where she graduated in 1968. She was featured in a silent, plotless movie titled after her nickname which was shot on Super 8 film by fellow ETHS classmate Todd McCarthy. She worked as a receptionist at Playboy and then posed for the magazine in 1969. She adopted the name Claudia Jennings because she didn't want to embarrass her family and that she thought "Mimi" sounded too girlish.^[4]^{[citation needed]} Her original pictorial was photographed by Pompeo Posar.^[1] She was Playmate of the Year in 1970, and was awarded a pink Mercury Capri.^[5]

After her appearances in Playboy, Jennings became an actress in exploitation movies and in television. In 1973, she had a guest appearance on The Brady Bunch episode titled "Adios, Johnny Bravo". Jennings auditioned for the role as Kate Jackson's replacement on the hit television show Charlie's Angels, but the role was awarded to Shelley Hack.^[6]

Death

On October 3, 1979, Jennings died in an automobile collision on the Pacific Coast Highway near Malibu, California. She was 29.^[2]^[3]

Jennings was featured in a 2000 episode of E! True Hollywood Story in which several of her friends and acquaintances were interviewed. The episode was made without the cooperation of her family, who considered the show too "tabloid" in style.^[7]

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role
1971	Jud	Sunny
1971	The Love Machine	Darlene
1972	Trampa mortal
1972	The Stepmother	Rita
1972	Unholy Rollers	Karen Walker
1973	Group Marriage	Elaine
1973	40 Carats	Gabriella
1974	Willy & Scratch	Jennifer
1974	Truck Stop Women	Rose
1974	The Single Girls	Allison
1974	'Gator Bait	Desiree Thibodeau
1976	The Man Who Fell to Earth	Peters' Wife
1976	Sisters of Death	Judy
1976	The Great Texas Dynamite Chase	Candy Morgan
1977	Moonshine County Express	Betty Hammer
1978	Deathsport	Deneer
1979	Fast Company	Sammy

Television

Year	Title	Role	Episode
1971	Ironside	Maralyn	"The Professionals"
1973	Barnaby Jones	Denise Frazer	"To Denise, with Love and Murder"
1973	The Brady Bunch	Tami Cutler	"Adios, Johnny Bravo"
1974	The F.B.I.	Judith Grinnell	"Deadly Ambition"
1974	Cannon	Leona Wilson / Susan Williams	"Bobby Loved Me", "Lady in Red"
1974	The Manhunter	Peggy	"The Truck Murders"
1975	Movin' On	Ann	"Ransom"
1975	Caribe	Jean Benedict	"School for Killers"
1976	The Streets of San Francisco	Evie	"Underground"
1978	Lucan	Debbie Kern^[8]	"Nightmare"
1979	240-Robert	Barbara Rice	"Bank Job"