Ledger Pop Journal - Celebrity News & Sports

Carmen Electra will return to the cover and pages of Playboy Magazine as the 36 year old uber-babe will be the covergirl for the magazine's 55th Anniversary Special Edition. The 36 year old Electra, born Tara Patrick, is presently engaged to rocker Rob Patterson from "Korn." She's been previously married to basketball bad boy (and Hulk Hogan Celebrity Wrestling Champion) Dennis Rodman and legendary rocker Dave Navarro.

Carmen Electra Playboy Photos Leak Online: 55th Anniversary Special Edition (Image: Wenn)

In May 1996, Electra --then a protege of Prince -- was featured in a nude pictorial in Playboy that proved so popular, she was featured in the magazine three more times, with her second appearance in June 1997. She then became the Playboy Cover Girl twice, in December 2000 and April 2003.

The Playboy 55th Anniversary Special Edition has been the talk of publisher Hugh Hefner's entire company, which recently suffered a major blow when Hef's daughter, Christie Hefner, 56, announced she is stepping down as CEO after 20 years.

Last month marked my 20th anniversary as CEO; just as this country is embracing change in the form of new leadership, I have decided that now is the time to make changes in my own life as well," Ms. Hefner said in a statement.

You can take a sneak peek at Carmen's hot Playboy photo shoot here.

Hef himself added, "As a result of her efforts, the company today has more consumers and fans than at any time in our history. I believe that she will go on to achieve even greater personal success." Christie Hefner will be replaced on an interim basis by Jerome Kern, a Playboy board member and business consultant.

Playboy is not without controversy at the moment. The company has reported slumping sales and widening losses this year. Playboy breaks out its business into three categories. Entertainment, which includes television and the Web properties, generated revenues of $38 million in the third quarter, a 22% drop from the prior year. Publishing, which houses the magazine, generated revenues in the 3rd quarter of $22 million, which was down almost 6%.

The licensing division has been picking up. The company has even been selling high priced art from its corporate collection. In an investors conference call reporting a $5 million loss in early November, company execs were even talking about the "hidden asset" that Hef's legendary Los Angeles mansion represents. The elder Hefner rents his famous estate from the corporation for $700,000 annually, but it costs the company nearly $3 million a year to run. Playboy acquired the 29-room mansion in 1971 for $1.1 million but has invested some $14.2 million more in it, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing.

A recent article speculated Playboy's biggest problem is one exasperating all traditional media—the abundance of free content on the Web and the alternatives that brings for both viewers and advertisers. In April the company announced it would sell its Los Angeles video production studio and in October announced it would stop releasing DVDs entirely.