ActiveMan
No Result
View All Result
  • Health & Fitness
  • Style
  • Living
  • Culture
  • Health & Fitness
  • Style
  • Living
  • Culture
No Result
View All Result
ActiveMan
No Result
View All Result

Hugh Hefner: The Original Playboy

by Elizabeth Hazard
in Culture
Reading Time: 3 mins read
Hugh Hefner: The Original Playboy
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Hugh Hefner, the legendary founder, publisher, and Editor in Chief of Playboy Magazine has died at 91-years-young.

Always a kid at heart, he leaves behind a legacy, that agrees with it or not, made a lasting imprint on American culture. While in later years he became more of a silk-robe-wearing known as the “Hef,” who was known most for his sexual prowess and multiple Playmate wives, his story is one of legends.

Early life and education

Hugh Hefner was born in Chicago in 1926 to teacher parents who were quite conservative, according to Hefner. “"My folks were raised pure prohibitionist," Hefner said in an interview to The Hollywood Reporter. "They were very good people, with high moral standards — but very repressed.

There was no hugging and kissing in my home." Hefner served in the Army from 1994 to 1946, and it is there that he had his first foray into writing as a writer for a military newspaper. After the army, he went to the University of Illinois where he graduated in an impressive two years.

Career

He began his career in magazines as a copywriter for Esquire Magazine. When he was designed a $5 raise, he left the magazine, and one year later he was working on a project that would change the course of his life forever and Society’s as well.

In 1953 he took out a loan for $600 to begin his quest to start his magazine. With the help of about 50 investors, Playboy (formerly called Stag Party) was launched with just $8,000. The first issue began in December 1953 and featured a nude Marilyn Monroe. That first issue sold over 50,000 copies.

While Playboy caught attention through its nudity, Hefner also published quality essays addressing social issues in the pages of the magazine. "I’ve never thought of Playboy, quite frankly, as a sex magazine," he told CNN. "I always thought of it as a lifestyle magazine in which sex was one important ingredient." The magazine was a testament to Hefner’s stance as a staunch advocate for freedom of expression civil rights and sexual freedom.

The magazine played an impact in the sexual revolution of the 1960s, as it opened the conversation of sexual expression to a nation that seemed to always play on the conservative side.

Over the years, Hefner and Playboy helped launch the careers of some of the most iconic sex symbols. Playmates of the Month, as the centerfolds were called, launched careers as models and actresses. With the success of the magazine reaching its height in the 1960s and 1970s, Hefner took on a celebrity status, creating himself and the Playboy lifestyle as a brand beyond just the magazine.

Playboy Mansion

In 1971, Hefner opened the Playboy Mansion in Los Angeles. Here, Hefner resided with many Playboy bunnies, hundreds of them becoming his bedmates over time. Hefner, always clad in a satin robe, took on this persona as the man who dated and sometimes married, multiple women at a time, most who were at least half his age.

The television show Girls Next Door captured an inside look at this eccentric lifestyle. The antics raised eyes and critics. In 2016 the Playboy Mansion was sold for over $200 million. In 2017 his son took over the magazine as his health declined.

Marriage

Hefner married Millie Williams in 1949, but this would not be a married that lasted. Admitting to him that she’d cheated on him, she allowed him to see other people while they were married to make up for her mistake. While the couple had two children together, they divorced in 1959. In 1989 Hefner wed Playmate Kimberly Conrad. They had two children together. In 2012 he and Chrystal Harris, another Playmate 60 years his junior, were married.The two were still married at the time of his death.

While his lifestyle was far from normal, we cannot recognize Hugh Hefner as a cultural pioneer and activist.

In a statement to CNN, Hefner once said, “"I would like to be remembered as somebody who has changed the world in some positive way, in a social, sexual sense, and I’d be delighted with that.

I’m a kid who dreamed the dreams and made them come true." Always a kid at heart, Hefner lived his life as a true Playboy, living up the very essence of the lifestyle and publication he created.

Death

Hefner passed away at his home in Holmby Hills, Los Angeles, California, on September 27, 2017, at the age of 91.

Share1Tweet
Previous Post

6 Fit Tips to Stay on Track While Traveling

Next Post

10 Ways to Improve Your Life in Just a Month

Related Posts

So You’ve Lost the Spark: Now What?

So You’ve Lost the Spark: Now What?

For most couples, the quality of sex plays a big role in the long-term success of the relationship. Once the...

Use Roman Swipes, Fulfill your Fantasy and Last Longer in Bed - 2022

Use Roman Swipes, Fulfill your Fantasy and Last Longer in Bed – 2022

Premature Ejaculation is the most common problem amongst men. If you too are suffering from this then do not worry....

Best Overview of Cremaster Muscle 2022 - Check Out this Essential Guide

Best Overview of Cremaster Muscle 2022 – Check Out this Essential Guide

Cremaster muscle is a muscle that is found only in male humans, that covers testicles and the spermatic cord. The...

7 Tips for the Great American Road Trip

7 Tips for the Great American Road Trip

Road trips have increasingly become the most preferred mode of travel in the U.S and across the world today. The...

The Most You Could Get Out of Hookup Sites

The Most You Could Get Out of Hookup Sites

Have you been considering hookup sites or you're already signed up? Well, you may be wondering what's the best you...

5 Famous Black Male Actors of Hollywood All the Time

5 Famous Black Male Actors of Hollywood All the Time

Hollywood is loaded with many hot black male actors. When it comes to charming and appealing black male actors top...

A Few Ideas for What to Buy Men at Christmas

A Few Ideas for What to Buy Men at Christmas

While Christmas shopping is never easy, the men in your life can be among the most elusive people when it...

5 Fun Bachelor Party Ideas

5 Fun Bachelor Party Ideas

Why do we have bachelor parties? For one thing, they serve as a great way to bring friends and family...

6 Things to do Before Baby Comes

6 Things to do Before Baby Comes

Welcoming a baby into your life is one of the most exciting and joyous things that will happen to you,...

Load More

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Relationships

10 Delicious Foods That Will Make You Horny

Health & Fitness

10 Men’s Style Bloggers And Influencers in New York

Health & Fitness

6 Creative Hacks On How To Lace Vans Like A Rockstar

Health & Fitness

What Happens Inside a Nude Yoga Class and How to do It

  • About
  • Disclaimer
  • Contact us

© 2021 ActiveMan. All rights reserved. Registration on or use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. All the information on this website –activeman.com – is published in good faith and for general information purpose only. ActiveMan does not make any warranties about the completeness, reliability, and accuracy of this information. Any action you take upon the information you find on this website (ActiveMan), is strictly at your own risk. ActiveMan will not be liable for any losses and/or damages in connection with the use of our website. ActiveMan might get paid commissions on purchases made through our links to retailer sites. ActiveMan is a registered trademark of Placeful, Inc.

No Result
View All Result
  • Health & Fitness
  • Style
  • Living
  • Culture

© 2020 ActiveMan. All rights reserved. All images property of their respective owners. ActiveMan is a registered trademark of Placeful, Inc.