For the first year of their 36-year marriage, Marianne Gaba and her husband shared their bedroom with a giant stuffed hound dog -- a gift from Elvis Presley and his mentor, Colonel Tom Parker. "Finally, my husband said, 'That dog goes or I do,' so I threw it out," she says. "Can you imagine how much it would be worth today?" 

Shortly before her wedding, Marianne had gone on a date with Elvis, on whom she'd had a crush since high school. They appeared in one movie, "GI Blues," together and he asked her out. Although she'd just become engaged, Marianne accepted the date and had a memorable, though platonic, evening. 

"When Mike and I were married in Vegas, Connie Stevens, who had been my roommate for a time, was my maid of honor. We're still close friends. Colonel Parker happened to be in town, and he sent over this huge stuffed hound dog -- bigger than I was -- with a card saying, 'Love, Elvis and the Colonel.' " 

The daughter of a mail carrier from the Chicago suburbs, Marianne landed in Los Angeles -- and showbiz -- when she entered the Miss Universe competition as Miss Illinois. She got a part in "The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet" and dated Ricky Nelson for a year and a half. "It was like a dream come true," she recalls, "because the Nelsons' lives were just like they were on television. Harriet would come home and cook and we'd all go to Laguna Beach on the weekends. It was just like a big, happy family." 

Today, that's the phrase Marianne uses to describe her friends at Playboy. "The magazine opened a lot of doors for me," she says. "I know it sounds corny, but when we go up to Playboy Mansion West it's like we're part of the family."


PLAYBOY APPEARANCES: Centerfold, September 1959; "Playmate Review -- 1959," January 1960; "Playmates Revisited," July 1964; "Playmate Reunion," April 1980.

PLAYBOY NEWSSTAND SPECIALS: "Playmates: The First 15 Years," January 1983.

PLAYBOY VIDEO CREDITS: "Video Centerfold: Lynne Austin," January 1987; "Playmates: The Early Years," January 1991.

MOVIE CREDITS: "Missile to the Moon" (1959); "GI Blues" (1960); "Raymie" (1960); "Choppers" (1961); "Ladies Man" (1961); "Dr. Goldfoot and the Bikini Machine" (1965); "How to Stuff a Wild Bikini" (1965).

TELEVISION CREDITS: "77 Sunset Strip" (1961).