Hugh Marston Hefner (born April 9, 1926), sometimes known simply as Hef, or, as the Playboy, is an American magazine publisher, founder and chief creative officer of Playboy Enterprises.[1] In 2003, Arena magazine listed him second on the "50 Most Powerful People in Porn" list.[2]
Early life
Hefner was born in Chicago, Illinois, the elder of two sons born to Grace Caroline Swanson (1895-1997) and Glenn Lucius Hefner (1896-1976), both teachers.[3] He went to Sayre Elementary School and Steinmetz High School, then served as a writer for a military newspaper in the U.S. Army from 1944-1946. He graduated in 1949 from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where he majored in psychology with a double minor in creative writing and art, and earned his degree in two and a half years. He also took a semester of graduate courses at Northwestern University, with a focus in sociology and U.S. sex laws.[4]
Working as a copywriter for Esquire, he left in January 1952 after being denied a $5 raise. In 1953, he lent his furniture for $600 and raised $8,000 from 45 investors - including $1,000 from his mother ("Not because she believed in the venture," he told E! in 2006. "But because she believed in her son") - to launch Playboy, which was initially going to be called Stag Party. The undated first issue, published in December 1953, featured Marilyn Monroe from her 1949 nude calendar shoot. Hefner, who never met Monroe, owns the crypt next to hers.[5]
Personal life
Hefner married Northwestern University student Mildred Williams in 1949. They had two children, Christie (born November 8, 1952) and David (born August 30, 1955).[6] Before the wedding, Mildred confessed that she had had an affair while he was away in the Army; he called the admission "the most devastating moment of my life." A 2006 E! True Hollywood Story profile of Hefner revealed that Mildred allowed him to sleep with other women, out of guilt for her infidelity and in the hopes that it would preserve their marriage. They divorced in 1959.
Hefner remade himself as a bon vivant and man about town, a lifestyle he promoted in his magazine and two TV shows he hosted, Playboy's Penthouse (1959-1960) and Playboy After Dark (1969-1970). He admitted to being "'involved' with maybe eleven out of twelve months' worth of Playmates" during these years.[7] Donna Michelle, Marilyn Cole, Lillian Müller, Patti McGuire, Shannon Tweed, Brande Roderick, Barbi Benton, Karen Christy, Sondra Theodore, and Carrie Leigh - who filed a $35 million alimony suit against him - were a few of his many partners. In 1971, he acknowledged that he experimented in bisexuality[8] and moved from Chicago to Los Angeles.
Hefner had a minor stroke in 1985 at age 59. After re-evaluating his lifestyle, he made several changes. The wild, all-night parties were toned down significantly and in 1988, daughter Christie began to run the Playboy empire. The following year, he married Playmate of the Year Kimberley Conrad. The couple had two sons, Marston Glenn (born April 9, 1990) and Cooper Bradford (born September 4, 1991).[9] The E! True Hollywood Story profile noted that the notorious Playboy Mansion had been transformed into a family-friendly homestead. After he and Conrad separated in 1998, Conrad moved into a house next door to the mansion.
Hefner then began to move an ever-changing coterie of young women into the Mansion, dating up to seven girls at once; among them, Brande Roderick, Izabella St. James, Tina Marie Jordan, Holly Madison, Bridget Marquardt, and Kendra Wilkinson. The reality television series The Girls Next Door depicted the lives of Madison, Wilkinson and Marquardt at the Playboy Mansion.[10] In October 2008, all three girls made the choice to leave the mansion. Hefner was quick to rebound and as of 2009, Hefner is dating his new "Number One" girlfriend, Crystal Harris.[11] along with 20-year-old identical twin models Kristina and Karissa Shannon,[12]. They will be taking the place of Holly Madison, Bridget Marquardt and Kendra Wilkinson in the sixth season of E!'s hit reality show The Girls Next Door, about life for Hefner's girlfriends living at the mansion. After an 11 year separation, Hefner filed for divorce from Conrad stating irreconcilable differences.[13] Hefner has said that he only remained married to her for the sake of his children,[14] and his youngest child had just turned 18.[9]
Hef is in talks about making a film about his life; production may start later in 2009.[15]
Politics and philanthropy
On June 4, 1963, he was arrested for selling obscene literature after an issue of Playboy featuring nude shots of Jayne Mansfield was released. A jury was unable to reach a verdict. His former secretary, Bobbie Arnstein, was found dead in a Chicago hotel room after an overdose of drugs in January 1975. Hefner called a press conference to allege that she had been driven to suicide by narcotics agents and federal officers. Hefner further claimed the government was out to get him because of Playboy's philosophy and its advocacy of more liberal drug laws.[16][17]
The Hugh Hefner First Amendment Award was created by Christie Hefner "to honor individuals who have made significant contributions in the vital effort to protect and enhance First Amendment rights for Americans."
He has donated and raised money for the Democratic Party.[18]
After it was rejected by Esquire magazine in 1955, Hefner agreed to publish in Playboy Charles Beaumont's science fiction short story, "The Crooked Man," about straight men being persecuted in a world where homosexuality was the norm. After receiving angry letters to the magazine, Hefner wrote a response to criticism where he said, "If it was wrong to persecute heterosexuals in a homosexual society then the reverse was wrong, too." Hefner is portrayed as a gay rights pioneer in the documentary film, Hugh Hefner: Playboy, Activist and Rebel.[19]
Hefner donated $100,000 to the University of Southern California's School of Cinematic Arts to create a course called "Censorship in Cinema", and $2 million to endow a chair for the study of American film.[20]
Both through his charitable foundation and individually, Hefner also contributes to charities outside the sphere of politics and publishing, throwing fundraiser events for Much Love Animal Rescue, as well as Generation Rescue,[21] an autism campaign organization supported by Jenny McCarthy.
References
- ^ Playboy Enterprises Inc. Corporate Officers
- ^ "The Porn Power 50," Arena Magazine, October 2003.
- ^ [1], Mr Playboy: Hugh Hefner and the American Dream, Steven Watts. Accessed October 10, 2009.
- ^ HUGH M. HEFNER, Playboy Enterprises. Accessed January 2, 2009.
- ^ Westwood Village Memorial Cemetery
- ^ Playboy Time Line.
- ^ Acocella, Joan. "The Girls Next Door." New Yorker, March 20, 2006
- ^ "Faces of the Week." BBC News. May 26, 2006
- ^ a b [2] TV.com, Cooper Hefner
- ^ http://www.buddytv.com/articles/the-girls-next-door/a-new-boy-for-former-girl-next-26275.aspx
- ^ "Meet Playboy founder Hugh Hefner's other girlfriend, Crystal Harris"
- ^ Party's over for Playboy king Hugh Hefner The Age October 18, 2008. Accessed October 30, 2008
- ^ "People.com Hugh Hefner Finally Files for Divorce". http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20303278,00.html. Retrieved 2009-09-09.
- ^ "Reuters: Hugh Hefner files for divorce". http://www.reuters.com/article/peopleNews/idUSTRE58874L20090909. Retrieved 2009-09-09.
- ^ "Hef Ready for the big screen?". BuddyTV. January 16, 2009. http://www.buddytv.com/articles/the-girls-next-door/the-girls-next-door-hef-ready-25741.aspx. Retrieved 2009-01-17.
- ^ David Cotner (2008-10-02). "The life and times of an alpha male". Book Review. LA Times. http://articles.latimes.com/2008/oct/02/entertainment/et-book2. Retrieved 2009-01-17.
- ^ Roger Ebert (October 23, 1992). "Hugh Hefner: Once upon a time". LA Times. http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/19921023/REVIEWS/210230302/1023. Retrieved 2009-01-17.
- ^ Hugh Hefner's Federal Campaign Contribution Report, newsmeat.com
- ^ Garcia, Michelle. "Hugh Hefner, Gay Rights Pioneer" advocate.com, August 28, 2009
- ^ Hefner Gives $2M to USC Film School, Associated Press, November 16, 2007.
- ^ "Hugh Hefner & Jenny McCarthy Fund Autism Research". Celebrity Halo. October 2008. http://celebrityhalo.blogspot.com/2008/10/hugh-hefner-jenny-mccarthy-fund-autism.html. Retrieved 2008-12-29.
Further reading
- Watts, Steven (2008). Mr. Playboy: Hugh Hefner and the American Dream. Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 0-471-69059-7.
- Miller, Russell (1985). Bunny: The Real Story of Playboy. London: Corgi. ISBN 0-03-063748-1.
- St. James, Izabella (2006). Bunny Tales: Behind Closed Doors at the Playboy Mansion. Philadelphia: Running Press. ISBN 0-762-42739-6
- Hefner, Veronika and Jurij Toplak (2009). Hefner, Hugh. In: Vile, John R., Hudson, David L., and Schultz, David Andrew (Eds.). Encyclopedia of the First Amendment. Washington, D.C.: CQ Press, p. 564.
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