I remember when Peter told a couple of us, confidentially, that he was going to pose for Playgirl. He told some of his younger sisters first, then, the closer cousins, and before you knew it, everyone heard the rumor. When he told me about the photo session, he was making a joke about how women are going to cancel their subscriptions after he poses.
WELL ... July of 1995, Pete's sister Cathy came over the house with advanced copies of the August Playgirl issue. Nettie was home and Peter was downstairs. We all gathered around -- yes, we kept nothing from each other -- and Cathy excitedly told her mother that she brought a copy for her to see. When Nettie looked at the cover, she looked up at Cathy and asked, what kind of photos are in here? And Cathy said, "Don't worry Momma, I put post-it notes on the parts that you shouldn't see. But, just to let you know, he's not your little boy anymore."
Just then, Peter came upstairs and flipped out that his mother was going to look at the Playgirl. But Cathy assured him that she used the Post Its in strategic places so that his mother would be able to see the artistic design of the photos, but not have the shock value associated with the photos.
Each page had 1 or 2 Post Its covering Peter's privates ... but in one photo, to Pete's credit, she needed to use 3 Post Its.
I looked at the centerpage with the 3 Post Its and said to Pete, "WOW, now I understand Pete why girls follow you home from the road and show up on your door step." Pete grinned and walked into the livingroom while his mom flipped through the other photos. He wouldn't even sit in the same room with us.
After Nettie closed the magazine, she walked over to him and told Peter how handsome he looked, how artistic the photos were, how she was positive he was going to have more dates. That's when Peter laughed and said, "I really wish all you ladies would have told me that Playgirl is read mostly by gay men. Now I'm gonna have new fans that I never intended on attracting." And the funny thing is Pete's Playgirl photo shoot was highly rated among gay readers as one of their all time favorites.
In this case, Pete thought the spread would garner him more fans for the band ... Oh, it did ... and the joke was on him.
I LIKE GOILS !
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GcdhNUIHw9k
I'll never look at Post It's in quite the same way again! Great story thanks for sharing
ReplyDeletewhat a cool funny story this is. The image of Peter's photo covered with post-its to hide his assets was a total giggle-fest. You ladies have a great sense of humour, you really do. And I have to say, Nettie was such an awesome cool lady! So supportive, open-minded full of praise and ready to see the positive in everything Peter did (as well as her other children I gather). Thank you for sharing.
ReplyDeleteWas it true that Peter's mom said something along the lines of, "That's why I named him Peter?" (Although, yes I know his actual name was Petrus)
ReplyDeletePost-Its--how cute! I wish I could get a back-issue copy.
Miss B: Peter's real name is Peter Thomas Ratajczyk. Says so on his birth certificate. You have to undersand that Peter had a sense of humor - even with himself - When we were younger, he got an AMEX card with the name, "Lord Petrus Steele" and so from that moment on, he decided to make his name larger than life. And, he definitely had the personality to go along with it.
ReplyDeleteHahaha. Carry on. Great stuff here all the time. XD
ReplyDeleteI laughed out loud when I read about the post its...I will never think of them the same way again! Thanks for sharing your stories, they are a great way to get to know the man that Peter actually was, not his onstage persona.
ReplyDeleteI have that issue in its plastic case, never to be viewed by myself. I respectfully never opened it for my own virtues, but I am sure he looked wonderful. Flashing flesh or candid with his head bowed, Peter was all Man all the time. Sexy doing nothing....no need to ever open,no need for post its but I can imagine my Nana's face.
ReplyDeletethat's so funny ! i can picture the strategic post its :) thanks for sharing all those amazing details about his amazing personality
ReplyDeleteLove
Oh my. I've accidentally stumbled on those Playgirl pics while browsing at work...
ReplyDeleteroflmao!!!! Thank God the post it notes stayed on there!!! I bet he was completely beside himself...
ReplyDelete**he decided to make his name larger than life. And, he definitely had the personality to go along with it.**
ReplyDeleteAmong other things.
(c'mon, someone had to say it)
Ha Ha @whiterabbit - I'm glad you were the one to write that ... "among other things" ... Thanks for commenting
ReplyDeleteNo, thank YOU for sharing. Peter will never be gone as long as he is talked about and remembered. <3
ReplyDeletei remember cathy telling me about this story, i love hearing the memories you all share
ReplyDeletelove amy
and thats a funny story about the amex card, i call him LORD PETER STEELE/LORD PETRUS ALL the time. lol. it just amazes that pete didnt have a big head. ya know? he is the MOST beautiful creature to EVER walk on this planet...just sayin!
ReplyDeleteawesome write up. this made me laugh and my heart skip a few beats. thank you very much for sharing such a delightful memory. this family is so blessed with these memories. cherish them always. Much <3
Laughed so hard I had tears rolling down my cheeks! I used to have post-its in various colors. But will never look at post-its the same way again! :-) Thank you for sharing this!
ReplyDeleteClever way to hide the goods from Mom - lol :)
ReplyDeleteLord Petrus Steele....F*CING COOL!
ReplyDeleteI own a well-worn (ahem) copy of that issue, and unlike "tara St. Ellen" I have opened that magazine a lot. Whew! No one can say that Pete wasn't an upstanding member of society.
ReplyDeleteMy daughter bought me a copy of the magazine for christmas some years ago. I had a lot of fun telling people that i got a magazine with pictures of naked Peter Steele in it from my daughter. Most people didn't know what to say. It is a treasured possession. He was a beautiful man with clothes on or off. It is an old joke in our house that whenever I am home alone they tell me I have my Peter magazine to keep me company. To the Ratajczyk family I wish I could give you all the biggest hug ever for giving me these beautiful stories and photos. It means a lot.
ReplyDeleteThanks for this story. I too will never look at another post it note the same way. I can see where Peter's humor came from.
ReplyDeleteShortly after the magazine came out. I had the pleasure of talking to Peter for a while at the meet N greet after the show at Pyramids Lounge, Ft. Meyers, FL. Peter allowed me to stay by his side while he signed autographs because he was using my marker, and because he was standing up for me against a bouncer with an attitude problem.
I was standing there all starstruck when someone handed him the playgirl centerfold open "package" side up to sign. He nonchalantly turned to me and said, "look what she just gave me to sign" knowing that the REAL "package" was litterally just above chest high to me. Naturally my eyes just went from the photo which he was holding waist level to, well, straight under my nose...and he was watching- caught me. I stuttered and stammered and my face blazed hot enough to light a cigarette. He kept teasing me for a minute, asking me if I'd ever seen such a thing...when in fact I had TWO copies at home. I swear for a minute there I thought he KNEW. I was speechless....ME, speechless! LOL
He graciously gave me a huge hug, lifting me off the ground. I don't think my feet ever touched the earth all the way back to my car. It is a moment I will never forget. A part of me really loved him that day for having such a great sense of humor. I will never forget Peter.
I will admit my geeky girlfriends and I found the specs of the watch he was wearing in the centerfold and did some careful measuring and a little math to come up with some REALLY impressive numbers. God almighty. All of that was crowding into my head at the moment he showed me that photo. Its a wonder I didn't faint.
The 'Post-it' idea is really nice - after reading this here I always will have to smile when seeing these Post-it's ;-) Actually I was not aware about Pete's Playgirl pics until I stumbled into them when searching for info about him on the Web - I was pretty impressed ;-) Thx for sharing your memories with us & all the best to your family
ReplyDeleteSabine, Vienna, Austria