She married Joseph Webber in 1955 (the marriage was divorced in 1986), from which came a son named John (born 1956).Įmpey died on August 19, 2008, in Los Angeles in her 76th year from complications following surgery for cancer. Her iconic status among the Playboy models is referenced in Gay Talese's non-fiction book Thy Neighbor's Wife. In her final years she was a librarian and archivist for a law firm in Santa Monica. For several years Empey led and co-ordinated these outdoor shows with up to forty performers taking part. Empey's dancing shows were sensual but they didn't pander to a male audience, women and children often attending the performances. Empey founded Perfumes of Araby, one of the first Middle-Eastern dance companies in the United States. She occasionally performed this dance accompanied by some of her better students to the accompaniment of Middle-Eastern music in public places in and around Los Angeles.
#Diane webber model trial#
In 1965 she traveled to Sioux City to give evidence at the request of a United States District Attorney in a court-room trial involving the sending of allegedly obscene nudist magazines into the State of Iowa, but instead of proving the prosecution's case, in the witness box she made a spirited defense of the principles of the lifestyle.įrom 1969 to 1980 Empey's professional career was as a bellydancing instructor at the now defunct Everywoman's Village in Van Nuys, California. Japanese release of Seiji Hiraoka & His Quartet album Bedtime Music. She also appeared on the cover-art of several pop-music vinyl record albums, including Les Baxter's Jewels of the Sea, Sea of Dreams by Nelson Riddle, Marty Paich's Jazz For Relaxation, Chile con Cugie by Xavier Cugat, the Luxuriously Slow Moods of The Cesana Strings album "Sheer Ecstasy", and the R.C.A. She lived the life she wanted - filled with fun and dance and doing things her way.In the 1960s as a part of the counter-culture sweeping the United States she became involved with the Nudist movement, and with her husband appeared in numerous nudist magazines advocating the benefits of the lifestyle, such as Naked & Together: The Wonderful Webbers by June Lange (1967). Years later, Diane worked as an archivist and librarian for a Santa Monica law firm.ĭiane passed away in August 2008 at the age of 76. She ran a successful dance studio and welcomed families to participate, instead of merely pandering to an all-male audience. In her later years, Diane gave up on acting and took up belly dancing, performing regularly and giving lessons. Diane spoke glowingly about the nudist lifestyle, much to the chagrin and embarrassment of the District Attorney. She was subpoenaed by the DA of Sioux City, Iowa to speak on their behalf at a trial involving the mailing of nudist magazines and pending obscenity charges. In the 1960s, free-spirited Diane became active in the budding nudist movement, appearing in nudist publications and becoming an advocate for the counter-culture lifestyle.
#Diane webber model series#
She also appeared as a mermaid in a 1967 episode of the action series Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea. She starred in a few B-movies, including “Mermaids of Tiburon,” playing the queen of the title characters. Diane was “Miss May 1955” as well as “Miss February 1956.” The latter photoshoot was done by the notorious Russ Meyer, known for his kitschy “sexploitation” films of the 60s and 70s.ĭiane used her new-found fame as a stepping stone to an acting career. She was one of just a handful of women to be chosen “Playmate of the Month” more than once. Using the pseudonym “Marguerite Empey,” Diane appeared in early issues of Playboy magazine. In between performing, Diane was an in-demand model, working with the likes of Bunny Yeager and appearing in a number of commercial advertisements primarily in men’s magazines as well as nearly a dozen album covers in the jazz and “bachelor pad” genres.
She worked as a chorus girl at a San Francisco club. Diane’s mother, a model and sometime actress, sowed the seeds for Diane’s career path. things to do in LA when you’re dead: part 2Īs a teenager, Hollywood-born Diane Webber took ballet lessons from noted dance instructor Maria Bekefi.yea, tho’ I walk through the San Fernando Valley of the Shadow of Death.who are the people in your neighborhood?.touched down in the land of the delta blues.things to do in new york when you’re dead.pissing off the world one person at a time.
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