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In this above side-by-side comparison of the 1977 official Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders poster and the uncensored 1978 photo of the Texas Cowgirls, Inc. by Playboy photographer Arny Freytag, it’s crystal clear to see the latter’s was a take-off (sure, pun intended) of the former’s then-popular poster. The ladies featured on the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders poster are (from left to right): Syndy Garza, Suzette Russell, Suzie Holub, Cynde Lewis, and Debbie Wagener. The above breast-baring Texas Cowgirls, Inc. are (left to right) Debbie Kepley, Charyl Russell, Linda Kellum, Janice Garner, and Meg Rossi. It’s funny that Charyl posed in such a way so that her breasts aren’t bared in the photo. However, she did show at least one of them later in the Playboy pictorial that opened with the below shot. (See below left.) Another oddity is that Texas Cowgirls, Inc. founder, Tina Jimenez, is not one of the ladies on the poster. The similarity between the two above posters was sure not lost on the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders’ legal team. In late 1978, they (unsuccessfully) sued Freytag, the Texas Cowgirls, Inc., and Scoreboard Posters, Inc. (the manufacturer and distributor of the poster) over “copyright infringement, service mark infringement, and unfair competition.”
Charyl Russell (left) in a little less modest shot from the 1978 Playboy pictorial. Dawn Stansell (right) was another original
member of the Texas Cowgirls, Inc., whose above shot also appeared in the December ’78 Playboy pictorial.
Above left is Debbie Kepley in 1977, when she was still a member of the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders and in a shot at right from the December 1978 Playboy pictorial. Debbie cut her hair short near the end of her stint with the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders because the squad’s then-“den mother” wanted her to wear pigtails for a more “girl-next-door” look. Debbie quit the DCC soon afterwards and joined the Texas Cowgirls, Inc. (Author’s Note: I sent a message to Miss Kepley, informing her of this article when it was in its draft form, and invited her for her input, which would have been most welcomed. I received a reply from her, or an agent of hers, requesting a telephone number for her to call, which I obliged with my number. However and unfortunately, I did not receive a call from Miss Keply or anyone representing her. Hopefully, the publication of this article will elicit Miss Kepley to comment and perhaps share some of her memories of being an original member of the Texas Cowgirls, Inc.)
Another look at the center of attention, Linda Kellum (left) and Janice Garner (right). The original Playboy article stated Linda “hates Spam (the canned meat, this was years before e-mail, cell phones, and electronic media), loves kittens and babies, and rides a mean motorcycle.” Janice was reported to be a “Dallas model who writes music.”
Although she was not a cheerleader, the December 1978 Playmate of the Month, Janet Quest, hailed from Texas. The Austin native was a successful model and actress at the time her issue hit the newsstands and had made several appearances on the big and small screens.
Side-by-side comparison of the now-rare Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders’ 1978 poster (left) with a milder (and rarer) Texas Cowgirls, Inc. poster (right) featuring Debbie Kepley second from left and Linda Kellum, once again, front and center. Odd that, with well over 30 ladies on the ’78 Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders squad to choose from, this poster featured only three.
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Great article Chris! Sometimes I forget there were cheerleaders before the Gold Rush.
Thanks, Steve! Yeah, the Gold Rush didn’t debut until 1983, between the Niners’ first and second Super Bowl wins.
I remember seeing them in Playboy! I had a subscription back then and I would always look forward to the Holiday Issue. Thanks for this trip down Memory – or should I say 'Mammary' – Lane!
I still have this issue in my collection. It was the Farrah Fawcett "Gala Christmas Issue" The cheerleaders article had some real babes from other teams too. Like Julie Jourdan, an Embraceable Ewe for the Rams when they were still in LA. She must be 60 now because I found this 1980 article on her that was written when she was 25.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1980/01/21/the-lure-of-the-camera-the-roar-of-the-crowd/e694e0ef-03fc-4680-9f34-fb99ef23ea4a/
Debbie Does Dallas was a classic! I’m not surprised the DCC sued the makers of it. You should do a “whatever happened to” article on Bambi Woods. Who knows? She may read it and respond!
Porn Dead: a Whatever Happened to Bambi Woods? Is available on Amazon Kindle. It is a true life investigative story that uncovers her true identity and current whereabouts. A recent photo is even provided towards the end. For those of you interested in the real truth behind this 25 year old mystery this story does not disappoint.
Regards,
Charlie Imus
If the 1977 Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders poster is going to be displayed in the Smithsonian, then so should the Texas Cowgirls, Inc poster. What do you say we start a petition?
https://www.dallasnews.com/opinion/commentary/2018/02/24/iconic-1977-dallas-cowboys-cheerleader-poster-will-hang-smithsonian
Good article. I had the issue of Playboy the Texas Cowgirls inc were in. I have wondered what became of them over the years. Some of them you can see here at ‘Pompedia’ (a great resource for checking who was really a former pro cheerleader) when they were still with the DCC.
https://www.pompedia.com/index.php?title=Dallas_Cowboys_Cheerleaders_of_1977_-_78
Very good article, I still have that issue of Playboy in my collection.
This is a more recent article in the NY Post. Another reminder of the DCC past they wish to forget.
https://nypost.com/2018/11/08/former-cowboys-cheerleaders-tell-all-on-debbie-does-dallas-scandal/
A lot of the girls who were in that Playboy article are now in the whatever happened to file, no? Not just the Cowboys cheerleaders, but some of the others. I’d love to know what happened to Liz Caleca, who was a former Miss Nude California and a San Diego Chargers cheerleader.
Suzie Holub was one hot babe. Anyone know where is she now?
I was right, Syndy Garza was both DCC & Texas Cowgirl.
This article in the NY Post ran 2 years ago. In it, a former Cowboys cheerleader claims their lawyers sued the makers of Debbie Does Dallas and won. “The uniform came out of the movie” she claims but that’s a crock. Bambi Woods wore an outfit in the film that looked exactly like a Cowboys Cheerleaders outfit, except for the added hat, which was a nice touch!
https://nypost.com/2018/11/08/former-cowboys-cheerleaders-tell-all-on-debbie-does-dallas-scandal/
I’m a lifelong Charger fan but born after Liz Caleca was a Chargerette. Too bad because I would have loved to have seen her shaking her pom poms on the sidelines.
Here’s an article that ran in D Magazine in August 1978, just before the Playboy issue with these girls hit the stands:
https://www.dmagazine.com/publications/d-magazine/1978/august/bunnies-cheerleaders-always-shake-it-separately/