Page 31 - ARUBA TODAY

PEOPLE/ARTS Friday 29 September 2017
A31
Playboy magazine founder Hugh Hefner dies at 91

By ANDREW DALTON several alleging they had
Associated Press been raped by Hefner’s
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Play- close friend Bill Cosby, who
boy founder Hugh M. He- faced dozens of such al-
fner, the pipe-smoking legations. Hefner issued a
hedonist who revved up statement in late 2014 he
the sexual revolution in the “would never tolerate this
1950s, has died at 91. behavior.” But two years
Hefner died of natural later, former bunny Chloe
causes at his home sur- Goins sued Cosby and
rounded by family on Hefner for sexual battery,
Wednesday night, Playboy gender violence and other
said in a statement. charges over an alleged
As much as anyone, He- 2008 rape at the Playboy
fner helped slip sex out Mansion.
of the confines of plain After a stroke, Hefner hand-
brown wrappers and into ed control of his empire to
mainstream conversa- his feminist daughter, Chris-
tion. In 1953, a time when tie, although he owned 70
states could legally ban percent of Playboy stock
contraceptives, when the and continued to choose
word “pregnant” was not every month’s Playmate
allowed on “I Love Lucy,” and cover shot. Christie
Hefner published the first Hefner continued as CEO
issue of Playboy, featuring until 2009.
naked photos of Marilyn In this May 14, 1999 file photo, Playboy founder and editor in chief Hugh Hefner receives kisses Hefner is survived by his
Monroe (taken years ear- from Playboy playmates during the 52nd Cannes Film Festival in Cannes, France. wife Crystal as well as his
lier) and an editorial prom- Hefner ran Playboy from model Lauren Hutton, both boy. daughter, Christie; and his
ise of “humor, sophistica- his elaborate mansions, of whom had fond memo- Other bunnies had trau- sons, David, Marston and
tion and spice.” first in Chicago and then in ries of their time with Play- matic experiences, with Cooper.q
Playboy soon became for- Los Angeles, and became
bidden fruit for teenagers the flamboyant symbol of
and a bible for men with the lifestyle he espoused.
time and money. Within a For decades he was the
year, circulation neared pipe-smoking, silk-pajama-
200,000. Within 5 years, it wearing center of a con-
had topped 1 million. stant party with celebrities
By the 1970s, the magazine and Playboy models.
had more than 7 million Hefner was host of a tele-
readers and had inspired vision show, “Playboy After
raunchier imitations such Dark,” and in 1960 opened
as Penthouse and Hustler. a string of clubs around
Competition and the in- the world where waitresses
ternet reduced circulation wore revealing costumes
to less than 3 million by the with bunny ears and fluffy
21st century. white bunny tails.
But Hefner and Playboy Playboy’s clubs also influ-
remained brand names enced the culture, giving
worldwide. early breaks to such en-
Asked by The New York tertainers as George Car-
Times in 1992 of what he lin, Rich Little, Mark Russell,
was proudest, Hefner re- Dick Gregory and Redd
sponded: “That I changed Foxx. The last of the clubs
attitudes toward sex. That closed in 1988, when Hef-
nice people can live to- ner deemed them “passe”
gether now.” and “too tame for the
Hefner was born in Chi- times.”
cago on April 9, 1926, to In the 21st century, he was
devout Methodist parents back on television in a
who he said never showed cable reality show — “The
“love in a physical or emo- Girls Next Door” — with
tional way.” three live-in girlfriends in
“Part of the reason that I the Los Angeles Playboy
am who I am is my Puritan mansion.
roots run deep,” he told Playboy proved a scourge,
the AP in 2011. “My folks and a temptation. Drew
are Puritan. My folks are Barrymore, Farrah Faw-
prohibitionists. There was cett and Linda Evans are
no drinking in my home. among those who have
No discussion of sex. And I posed for the magazine.
think I saw the hurtful and Several bunnies became
hypocritical side of that celebrities, too, including In this Aug. 20, 2008 file photo, Holly Madison, from left, Hugh Hefner, Bridget Marquardt, and
from very early on. “ singer Deborah Harry and Kendra Wilkinson arrive at the premiere of “The House Bunny” in Los Angeles.
Associated Press