Adrienne Houston
Also known as - Arlene James, Patti Downes
Adrienne was a lovely Scottish girl, a beautician in a large Glasgow store who modelled for fun in her spare time. Why not – she was a beauty herself, always immaculately turned out and impeccably made-up.
She was a real cracker, what would be known today, perhaps, as a MILF – classy, elegant, a little more mature than many other ToCo girls, a trim figure and fabulous legs. She was undeniably Bearsden with the tomfoolery on a tricycle in a kitchen, and trying to preserve her dignity and modesty when getting in and out of cars and climbing over gates (hint – try opening the gate).
With all these compliments flying around, it seems extraordinary that Adrienne made no more than 18 appearances; and even more extraordinary that ToCo gave her four different names, the three above plus incorrectly calling her Jacqueline Blair (another gorgeous Bearsden lassie) in Span 239 and Spick 221(bc).
It’s all a bit mysterious.
Those 18 appearances were over a ToCo career of 9 years, so Adrienne was no mayfly model, like so many others, but we saw her only in bursts – 7 appearances in the first 18 months, followed by nothing for a year and a half; then 4 appearances in 14 months, followed by nothing for a year; then 6 appearances in 15 months, followed by nothing for another year; and then her final goodbye in July 1973. Very curious. But she still ends up in the Top 30 of the almost 4,800 girls seen in ToCo.
Such a shame we weren’t allowed to see more of her – though there are several unaccounted-for photos of her that appeared in no ToCo magazines. Perhaps hubby or boyfriend told her to call it a day.
Personal Details - Born 1942 35-22-35
Appearances - 18 (1 cover, 3 back covers), debut Beautiful Britons 102 (April 1964)
Spick - 127(bc), 138, 184(bc), 221(bc), 223, 236
Span - 121, 135, 188, 189, 214, 218, 239
Beautiful Britons - 102, 104, 107, 171, 203
