Hanging Out With the Girls

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Neferteri Shepherd has had two careers – one as a real estate marketer, the other as a Playboy model. Actually, she hasn’t posed for Playboy in more than 10 years, but she recently tried to jumpstart her former career by joining a dance troupe of former playmates.

Shepherd, 31, is marketing director at Advantage Real Estate, a property investment firm in Santa Monica. In the evenings and on weekends, she’s one of four Playmate Dancers who perform songs wearing little clothing in a format similar to the Pussycat Dolls. The group debuted its first music video earlier this month.

“It’s fun to have a double life,” she said. “One minute I’m a hot, sexy momma on stage, the next I’m a businesswoman with glasses and a laptop – still cute but conservative.”

Shepherd was Playboy’s Playmate of the Month in July 2000. But since modeling careers don’t last forever, she started working as a marketing director at law firms about 10 years ago, experience that eventually led to her job at Advantage.

Some would-be employers aren’t comfortable with her past.

“I’ve interviewed for jobs where people said, ‘It doesn’t go with our brand,'” she said. “I understand and there’s nothing I can do about it. This is who I am.”

The Playmate Dancers are talking with producers about a reality TV series or a show in Las Vegas, and if either comes to fruition, Shepherd might go into show business full time. For now, it’s a part-time gig that balances the stress of her marketing job.

“It’s a relief to dance because I get to hang out with the girls,” she said.

Hefner Treasure

Speaking of Playboy, the Central City Association honored Playboy founder Hugh Hefner, among others, at its annual Treasures of Los Angeles awards luncheon May 17 at the Westin Bonaventure Hotel.

And Hefner honored Carol Schatz, the longtime chief of the association, in his own way: He presented Schatz with a pair of bunny ears.

“It was great to get them from Hugh Hefner,” Schatz, 64, said later. “It was very special for me.”

No Success Like Failure

Tom Rubin has built a successful career as an entertainment attorney in Beverly Hills. But before he ever set foot on a law school campus, he harbored dreams of working in comedy.

Since then, he’s done some stand-up gigs and one-man shows. His latest idea is a comedy show disguised as a Tony Robbins-style success seminar, complete with headset microphone, slideshow presentations and hotel ballroom. But instead of pumping up the crowd with pep talks, the 44-year-old jokes that “failure is an option.”

“It’s just a perfect area for parody,” he said. “When you watch these gurus, everything they say makes sense, and then you realize at the end of it, how come everybody in the audience hasn’t succeeded already?”

He’s worked on the 90-minute show in his off-hours for the past three years, and has done a few test runs at the DoubleTree Suites Hotel in Santa Monica. He plans to start performing it this summer.

“I enjoy practicing entertainment law,” he said, “but look, comedy’s more fun.”

Staff reporters Joel Russell and Alfred Lee contributed to this column. Page 3 is compiled by Editor Charles Crumpley. He can be reached at [email protected].