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| Hugh Hefner: Playboy magazine founder dies aged 91 | Hugh Hefner: Playboy magazine founder dies aged 91 |
| (6 days later) | |
| Hugh Hefner, American founder of the international adult magazine Playboy, has died at the age of 91. | Hugh Hefner, American founder of the international adult magazine Playboy, has died at the age of 91. |
| Playboy Enterprises Inc said he passed away peacefully at home in Los Angeles, from natural causes. | Playboy Enterprises Inc said he passed away peacefully at home in Los Angeles, from natural causes. |
| Hefner began publishing Playboy in his kitchen in 1953. It became the largest-selling men's magazine in the world, shifting seven million copies a month at its peak. | Hefner began publishing Playboy in his kitchen in 1953. It became the largest-selling men's magazine in the world, shifting seven million copies a month at its peak. |
| Cooper Hefner, his son, said he would be "greatly missed by many". | Cooper Hefner, his son, said he would be "greatly missed by many". |
| He paid tribute to his father's "exceptional and impactful life as a media and cultural pioneer," and called him an advocate for free speech, civil rights and sexual freedom. | He paid tribute to his father's "exceptional and impactful life as a media and cultural pioneer," and called him an advocate for free speech, civil rights and sexual freedom. |
| Hefner's trailblazing magazine helped make nudity more acceptable in mainstream publications, despite emerging at a time when US states could legally ban contraceptives. | Hefner's trailblazing magazine helped make nudity more acceptable in mainstream publications, despite emerging at a time when US states could legally ban contraceptives. |
| It also made him a multi-millionaire, spawning a business empire that included casinos and nightclubs. | It also made him a multi-millionaire, spawning a business empire that included casinos and nightclubs. |
| The first edition featured a set of nude photographs of Marilyn Monroe originally shot for a 1949 calendar that Hefner had bought for $200. | The first edition featured a set of nude photographs of Marilyn Monroe originally shot for a 1949 calendar that Hefner had bought for $200. |
| The silk pyjama-clad mogul became famous for his hedonism, dating and marrying Playboy models, and throwing decadent parties at the luxurious Playboy mansion in Los Angeles. | The silk pyjama-clad mogul became famous for his hedonism, dating and marrying Playboy models, and throwing decadent parties at the luxurious Playboy mansion in Los Angeles. |
| Sexual revolutionary or dirty old man? | Sexual revolutionary or dirty old man? |
| By James Cook, BBC Los Angeles Correspondent | By James Cook, BBC Los Angeles Correspondent |
| Hugh Hefner - silk pyjamas and all - was a character who divided America. | Hugh Hefner - silk pyjamas and all - was a character who divided America. |
| Was he really the godfather of the sexual revolution, or just a dirty old man? | Was he really the godfather of the sexual revolution, or just a dirty old man? |
| A louche purveyor of corrupting smut, or an enlightened publisher of contemporary literature? | A louche purveyor of corrupting smut, or an enlightened publisher of contemporary literature? |
| Feminists, and others, accused him of reducing women to sexual objects - if not de facto prostitutes - at the Playboy mansion. | Feminists, and others, accused him of reducing women to sexual objects - if not de facto prostitutes - at the Playboy mansion. |
| But then there was also his support for racial integration and gay rights, along with a hefty dollop of great writing and agenda-setting interviews. | But then there was also his support for racial integration and gay rights, along with a hefty dollop of great writing and agenda-setting interviews. |
| In short, he was a character more complex than tabloid editors allowed. | In short, he was a character more complex than tabloid editors allowed. |
| And in terms of sexual mores his early permissiveness - daring or shocking depending on your taste - now seems, if not quite quaint, then certainly not unusual. | And in terms of sexual mores his early permissiveness - daring or shocking depending on your taste - now seems, if not quite quaint, then certainly not unusual. |
| In that respect Hugh Hefner was ahead of his time, for good or ill. | In that respect Hugh Hefner was ahead of his time, for good or ill. |
| He claimed to have slept with more than 1,000 women, and credited the impotence drug Viagra with maintaining his libido. | He claimed to have slept with more than 1,000 women, and credited the impotence drug Viagra with maintaining his libido. |
| "I am a kid in a candy store," Hefner famously said. "I dreamed impossible dreams, and the dreams turned out beyond anything I could possibly imagine. I'm the luckiest cat on the planet." | "I am a kid in a candy store," Hefner famously said. "I dreamed impossible dreams, and the dreams turned out beyond anything I could possibly imagine. I'm the luckiest cat on the planet." |
| From 2005-10, a reality TV show called "The Girls Next Door" showcased Hefner's libertine lifestyle - and the harem of young blonde women who shared it. | From 2005-10, a reality TV show called "The Girls Next Door" showcased Hefner's libertine lifestyle - and the harem of young blonde women who shared it. |
| Friends of Hefner and former Playboy models have been paying tribute to him. | Friends of Hefner and former Playboy models have been paying tribute to him. |
| Pamela Anderson, who appeared on the cover of Playboy 15 times, said on Instagram: "You gave me my life... I'm in such deep shock." | Pamela Anderson, who appeared on the cover of Playboy 15 times, said on Instagram: "You gave me my life... I'm in such deep shock." |
| Civil rights figure Rev Jesse Jackson tweeted: "Hugh Hefner was a strong supporter of the civil rights movement. We shall never forget him." | Civil rights figure Rev Jesse Jackson tweeted: "Hugh Hefner was a strong supporter of the civil rights movement. We shall never forget him." |
| In 2012, aged 86, Hefner married his third wife Crystal Harris - who was 60 years his junior. | In 2012, aged 86, Hefner married his third wife Crystal Harris - who was 60 years his junior. |
| Though critics saw Playboy as a byword for sleaze, its founder - who was born into a strict Methodist family - never shared that view. | Though critics saw Playboy as a byword for sleaze, its founder - who was born into a strict Methodist family - never shared that view. |
| "I've never thought of Playboy quite frankly as a sex magazine," Hefner told CNN in 2002. "I always thought of it as a lifestyle magazine in which sex was one important ingredient." | "I've never thought of Playboy quite frankly as a sex magazine," Hefner told CNN in 2002. "I always thought of it as a lifestyle magazine in which sex was one important ingredient." |
| Hefner faced obscenity charges in 1963 for publishing and distributing Playboy, but the jury was unable to reach a verdict. | Hefner faced obscenity charges in 1963 for publishing and distributing Playboy, but the jury was unable to reach a verdict. |
| The magazine's most significant interviewees included civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr, Beatle John Lennon, and Cuban revolutionary Fidel Castro. | The magazine's most significant interviewees included civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr, Beatle John Lennon, and Cuban revolutionary Fidel Castro. |
| Its huge sales were certainly prompted by glossy nude pictures, but it also developed a reputation for fine writing, with Norman Mailer, Kingsley Amis, Kurt Vonnegut, James Baldwin, Vladimir Nabokov, Margaret Atwood and Ray Bradbury among its contributors. | |
| Their contributions allowed men to say they did not buy the magazine only for the pictures. | Their contributions allowed men to say they did not buy the magazine only for the pictures. |
| In the 1980s, competition from publications carrying more explicit photos saw Playboy's circulation decline, and Hefner himself suffered a stroke in 1985. | In the 1980s, competition from publications carrying more explicit photos saw Playboy's circulation decline, and Hefner himself suffered a stroke in 1985. |
| His daughter Christie took over Playboy Enterprises four years later, and Hefner retreated to his mansion, living with a bevy of women. Cooper Hefner took on a major role in the company in 2014 after Christie stepped down in 2009. | His daughter Christie took over Playboy Enterprises four years later, and Hefner retreated to his mansion, living with a bevy of women. Cooper Hefner took on a major role in the company in 2014 after Christie stepped down in 2009. |
| The magazine decided to scrap nudity in March 2016, but reversed its decision earlier this year. | The magazine decided to scrap nudity in March 2016, but reversed its decision earlier this year. |
| A neighbour of Hefner's in August last year bought the Playboy mansion for $100m, but agreed Hefner could continue to live there until he died. | A neighbour of Hefner's in August last year bought the Playboy mansion for $100m, but agreed Hefner could continue to live there until he died. |
| Born in 1926 in Chicago, Hefner served in the US Army in the mid-1940s. He graduated with a degree in psychology and worked as a copywriter for men's magazine Esquire before borrowing $8,000 to start Playboy in 1953. | Born in 1926 in Chicago, Hefner served in the US Army in the mid-1940s. He graduated with a degree in psychology and worked as a copywriter for men's magazine Esquire before borrowing $8,000 to start Playboy in 1953. |