A tip of the hat to local talent

ABC's real “Desperate Housewives” might have taken a pass at posing in Playboy magazine, but it didn't stop Playboy from finding some "Real Desperate Housewives," including a woman from Clinton, Iowa.

Kathy Sander, 37, was one of 12 women selected to appear in the magazine's "Real Desperate Housewives" feature, appearing in the May 2005 issue.

She appears in two pictures, one wearing an apron. [What's she wearing in the other? A smile?] The mother of two tells the magazine she's never seen the television show but understands what it's like to be a desperate housewife because she believes her neighbors are just too nosy.

In fact, she suspects they know what brand of toilet paper she uses, she said.

The adult publication began a nationwide search in November for curvaceous homemakers willing to pose nude for the pictorial and fielded about 1,000 submissions from across the country.

"Desperate Housewives" took network television by storm when it opened to an audience of 21.6 million in viewers when it first aired in early October.

The show airs on ABC on Sunday nights. Playboy made a $9.5 million offer for the cast to pose nude, but the offer was turned down.

A big Inside Dope thumbs up to Ms. Sander for being a fine representative of the many desperate housewives in the area.