Rosanne Katon

Short Biography

Rosanne Katon (born February 5, 1954) is an American model, actress, comedian and activist. She was Playboy magazine's Playmate of the Month for its September 1978 issue. Her centerfold was photographed by Mario Casilli.Katon was selected as Miss Golden Globes for the 1981 awards show. The honor and the task of presenting the statuettes during the ceremony goes to an up-and-coming actress. Katon was the first African American to be selected, since the custom started in 1962.Additionally, Katon has had several stage credits, including a Broadway lead role in Godspell and a featured role in the parody of women in prison movies, Women Behind Bars.At one point, Katon segued into the world of stand-up comedy, and during that period in her career, she appeared in the June 1991 Playboy pictorial "Funny Girls, " which covered female comedians.Humanitarian WorkIn 1984, Katon married Richard M. Walden, who is the president and chief executive officer of Operation USA, an international organization that supplies relief to Third World areas in need such as Rwanda, Cambodia and, more recently, tsunami-ravaged Sri Lanka, Thailand and Indonesia; and to Hurricane Katrina-ravaged areas of Louisiana and Mississippi. Rosanne is an active participant with Operation USA and also serves on its Advisory Board. The relief group is based in California.PersonalThe Waldens have two children, including a son who is autistic and an expert cellist. The family is featured in the 2007 documentary Autism: The Musical which won the 2007 Emmy for Best TV Documentary Special (HBO)