Luxe Life Blog

Photos: Miss October Claire Sinclair preps for Crazy Horse Paris debut

Posted September 29, 2010 • 9:57 p.m.

Playboy's Miss October 2010 Claire Sinclair.

Photo: Tom Donoghue/www.donoghuephotography.com

Playboy’s Miss October centerfold is not only a good friend of Peepshow headliner Holly Madison, but she also looks up to her as a mentor to guide her own hoped-for showbiz career. Now the two will become short-term rivals on The Strip next month when 19-year-old Claire Sinclair goes nearly topless in Crazy Horse Paris at MGM Grand.

Claire’s boyfriend Marston Hefner and his famous dad Playboy mogul Hugh Hefner will be here for her opening night Oct. 21. Even her mom and dad, who gave her a thumbs-up for her nude Playboy layout, will be front row center to root for her.

Claire says that because of her age, a Playboy contract and Nevada Gaming Commission regulations, she’ll have to wear pasties in the bare-breasted spectacular.

“You’ll certainly see almost everything that you can see in the October issue, but I have to cover up a little with the stick-on’s, and I’m only now getting used to those,” she told me. “I don’t drink, so that’s not a problem for me to obey the ‘must be 21 rule.’ ”

Before joining her Holly’s World star friend Holly for dinner at Todd English PUB in MGM’s CityCenter and watching her show at Planet Hollywood, Claire modeled for an exclusive Vegas DeLuxe photo shoot at the Crazy Horse Paris theater. In between angling her body and provocatively posing for contributing photographer Tom Donoghue, Claire and I chatted about her Las Vegas debut and first-ever public performance.

“A mutual friend sent a copy of the October centerfold to Sally Dewhurst at Crazy Horse. She liked the way it looked: pinup-like and vintage-like. So they approached me, and the rest is now history,” she said. “They invited me to take part in Crazy Horse, and my mom and dad are both very supportive and coming on opening night. They have no qualms about me ripping off my clothes because they’ve already seen the issue and love it.”

Growing up just 40 minutes from The Playboy Mansion, Claire says that she dreamed of a centerfold layout. “I was discovered by the pinup artist Olivia. She’s known solely by that one name, but Olivia De Berardinis used me as a model for her Playboy artworks.

“It’s weird, but you know how if you surround yourself with something you want, it actually comes to you. I’ve been surrounded by Olivia’s paintings my whole life, and it’s something that I thought maybe one day I could be painted by her. My dad is a big fan, and he had them all around the house.

“Some of them, there is nothing even showing. Just lingerie. It’s one thing I love about Olivia: We pose naked, and then she paints on the lingerie. If you look at the August, September and October issues of Playboy, I am her model for three consecutive months.

“The same mutual friend who introduced me to Crazy Horse introduced me to her. She introduced me to Hef, and one day later he had me organizing a test shoot for Playmate of the Month. I did that one week later, and the week after that, I was booked. And the week after that, I moved into the Bunny House across from The Playboy Mansion. It all happened very quickly.

“Crazy Horse is really about posing and moving, so this will be our photos and Olivia’s paintings coming to life,” Claire giggled. “She will also be here for the opening night. I came to see Crazy Horse first before agreeing to do it. I watched the show. I really enjoyed it, so I wanted to take the part.”

Claire admitted that it will be the first time she’s ever done anything like it. “Never, I’ve never even professionally danced. I dance for fun, so hopefully I’ll be able to pick up the moves easily, but I’ve never danced onstage before. There won’t be any stage fright, so that’s definitely not going to be a problem. No butterflies. In fact, I perform better in front of people I don’t know than people that I do. But with Hef, Marston, my mom and dad and Olivia on opening night, the heat will be on. I’m going to try to do the best that I can the first night without the nerves getting in the way.

“There will definitely be three dances, but we’re also working on a fourth. One is being created for me from Paris where you’ll find me upside down on a mirror. I’ll also be in the finale with all the other dancers, but because of the contracts, I have to wear pasties.

“Only Playboy can show me all-nude, but you’ll see everything else. You will be pleasantly surprised. You get the full outline, and a very nice one, I might add! I experimented with pasties last night for the first time, and it was intense pain. I will be carrying a bottle of baby oil with me everywhere.”

Claire appears nude in the six-page vintage layout shot by Stephen Wayda. She said: “It’s a picture story. What Playboy tries to do is give you the illusion that you’re in the room with the girl and she’s undressing for you, so each page you get progressively a little more nude. That’s what the picture story entails. It’s a build-up, with the dream finally coming true.”

I told Claire that she reminded me of a young Bettie Page, Hef’s favorite pinup beauty, and also Barbi Benton, his girlfriend of seven years who went on to star in TV’s Hee-Haw. Claire is 5’8,” 120 pounds and measures 36C/D-24-37. I also told her that she impressed me with her confidence, poise and smarts!

“I’ve always enjoyed books. I read constantly. I love documentaries,” she responded. “I’m interested in everything. I think that’s the key. Anyone who is older and wiser can give me any advice, and I really hold on to it. I’m a good girl. I have no reason to rebel; everything has always been pretty cool.

“I’m not caught up in any of that young Hollywood stuff , not at all, that’s not me. I don’t drink, I don’t smoke, I really don’t even like going out with people I don’t know. That’s not my gig. I think I’m easy to get to know, my personality is very in your face. I’m an open book, and I like people to know who they are dealing with right away.”

She summed up for me: “I’m looking forward to this opportunity of headlining on The Strip. It’s a dream come true. I’ve never been so excited for anything in my whole life. I love Holly Madison. She is amazing, so sweet. I really look up to her and how she’s handled her career. We’ll be hanging out in Vegas together definitely.

“I would like to perform in Paris, so if this goes well, my ultimate goal is to go over there and perform. I love Dita Von Teese, and she’s done this before. Same with Carmen Electra. I must get their phone numbers for some words of advice. Both of them have been Olivia’s models, too. Ultimately, it’s all thanks to Olivia.

“I love adrenaline rushes. This will be one, but I also want to bungee jump off the top of the Stratosphere while I’m in Vegas. Once I’ve finished the Crazy Horse run, they will let me do that!”

Robin Leach has been a journalist for more than 50 years and has spent the past decade giving readers the inside scoop on Las Vegas, the world’s premier platinum playground.

Follow Robin Leach on Twitter at Twitter.com/Robin_Leach.

Follow Vegas DeLuxe on Twitter at Twitter.com/vegasdeluxe.

Follow VDLX Editor Don Chareunsy on Twitter at Twitter.com/VDLXEditorDon.

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