Playboy founder Hugh Hefner has passed away at the impressive age of 91.
The publisher became famous for finding a niche in the market of men’s magazines which had previously only focused on fishing, hunting and shooting.
While Playboy might be the legacy he leaves behind, it was his life beyond the magazine that is truly fascinating.
He’ll be buried next to Marilyn Monroe
Hugh Hefner had long been infatuated with Marilyn Monroe.
The first ever issue of Playboy featured a set of nude photographs of the iconic actress he purchased for $200, but he never actually met the blonde bombshell. After years obsessing over the starlet, Hef bought the crypt next to where she was buried at Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery and will be buried next to her.
It cost him $75,000(USD) in 1992.
The iconic first issue of Playboy.
There is a species of bunny named after Hefner
Fitting for the man who created Playboy bunnies… Sylvilagus palustris hefneri, common name Lower Keys marsh rabbit, is an endangered subspecies of marsh rabbit named after Hugh Hefner.
During a 1967 interview, he explained the bunny logo: “The rabbit, the bunny, in America has a sexual meaning; and I chose it because it’s a fresh animal, shy, vivacious, jumping — sexy.”
The bunny outfits became iconic.
Hef was cheated on by his first wife, Mildred Williams
While he was away in the army, his then-girlfriend (and future wife!) cheated on him.
Hefner said when she ‘fessed up, it was “the most devastating moment of my life”.
He married Williams anyway and they stayed together for a decade, having two children together, but their marriage was always marred by infidelity. It’s thought Williams let Hef sleep with other women because of her own guilt.
Hef was married three times
Hef was married to Mildred in 1949 and the pair had two children – Christie Hefner and David Hefner. They divorced in 1959.
He then married Playmate of the Year Kimberley Conrad in 1989. The couple, who were 36 years apart in age, had two sons – Marston Glenn and Cooper Bradford. They divorced in 2010.
Hef married his third wife, Crystal Harris in 2012 when she was 26 and he was 86.
Hugh and Crystal in 2014.
With second wife Kimberley and their two boys.
The Playboy mansion had ‘unusual’ decor
The infamous grotto…
And we’re not just talking about the infamous Playboy mansion grotto…
According to Esquire, Hef owned a marble fountain topped by a statue of a cherub molesting a dolphin. Just so you know.
Speaking of Esquire, before starting Playboy, Hefner left his job as copywriter at the magazine after they refused to give him a pay raise of $5 per week.
He slept with “over 2,000 women”
His best sexual experience? Well, it involved a girlfriend and 17 other playmates in the grotto on his birthday.
Hefner had two Guiness World Records
One for being the longest-serving editor-in-chief of a magazine and the other for holding the world’s largest collection of personal scrapbooks.
Hef was related to two political figures
He was the 9th cousin, twice removed of George W. Bush and 9th cousin, once removed of John Kerry.
Hugh was 100% against racial discrimination
Hef actually repurchased two Playboy Club franchises who refused to admit African-Americans.
“We believe in the acceptance of all persons in all aspects of life on the basis of individual merit, and without any regard to race, colour, or religion,” he said.
He’d been supporting gay rights since the ’50s
Hef published a science-fiction that depicted a world where heterosexuals were in the minority despite it being rejected by other publications.
He was also a supporter of same-sex marriage, telling The Daily Beast: “Without question, love in its various permutations is what we need more of in this world,” he said. “The idea that the concept of marriage will be sullied by same-sex marriage is ridiculous. Heterosexuals haven’t been doing that well at it on their own.”
He also had his own gay experience.
The book Mr. Playboy: Hugh Hefner and the American Dream describes Hefner being given a blow job by a gay man.
He may have always had an army of women around him, but apparently Hef once had a sexual encounter with a man!
RIP Hugh Hefner.
Related stories
Native ad body.
Native ad body.
Native ad body.
