Hugh+Hefner


 * HUGH HEFNER **

__ Biography __ Founder, Editor-in-Chief, and Chief Creative Officer of Playboy, Hugh Marston Hefner was born in Chicago, Illinois, on April 9, 1926, to conservative and Protestant parents, Glenn and Grace Hefner. He is a direct relative of Massachusetts Puritan leaders William Bradford and John Winthrop. Growing up in a strict religious household, Hefner was never exposed to outward displays of affection or any sex-related information by his family (Watts, 2008). Despite his sheltered childhood, Hefner was a very imaginative and romantic child. He spent much of his time drawing and writing, eventually creating his own cartoon character of himself. Discovering //Esquire// magazine, a men’s lifestyle magazine that included sexual cartoons and images, in his early teenage years, he decided he wanted to life his life portrayed by the pages of the magazine (Gunelius, 2009). He attended Sayre Elementary School and Steinmetz High on the West Side of Chicago. While he was just an average teenager in high school, he had a genius I.Q. of 152. After high school, in January 1944, he joined the Army as an infantry clerk and drew cartoons for various Army newspapers. In fall of 1964, Hefner enrolled at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign where he earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology in only two and a half years. He also drew cartoons for the //Daily Illini// and was the editor for a campus humor magazine //Shaft// (Playboy, 2006). Although he is known for having many girlfriends, Hefner has only tied the knot a couple times during his life. Married on June 15, 1949, Hugh Hefner and Mildred Williams had 2 children in their 10 year marriage, Christie in 1952 and David in 1955. Hefner’s second marriage to Playmate of the Year Kimberly Conrad in 1989 lasted eight years in which they had 2 kids, Marston in 1990 and Cooper in 1991 (Playboy, 2006). Currently engaged to Crystal Harris, His third marriage is to take place in June 2011 (85 things).

__ Career and //Playboy// __ After college, Hefner went on to work as an assistant personnel manager for the Chicago Carton Company in 1949 and then as an advertising copywriter for Carson Pirie Scott department store in 1950. //Esquire// hired him as a promotion copywriter in 1951, but once his request for a five dollar raise was denied, he decided to start his own magazine – a dream he had wanted to fulfill for a long time. After briefly working for //Children’s Activities// magazine//,// Hefner decided to make his dream a reality (Playboy, 2006). In late 1953, Hefner started developing plans to create his own men’s magazine in the living room of his South Side Chicago apartment, and he borrowed $600 from a local bank and raised $8000 from friends and relatives, all of which was used to put together the first issue of //Playboy// (85 things). He used the //New Yorker// and //Esquire// as his main inspiration. Originally, he named the magazine //Stag Party// and then after a few disputes with //Stag// magazine, Hefner changed the symbol from a stag to a rabbit in a tuxedo and called it //Playboy.// Hefner wanted to show that beauty was everywhere so he created the notion that the Playmate of the Month represented “the girl next door.” The magazine was intended to be a celebration of female beauty as well as a lifestyle guide for men (Watts, 2008). The first issue of //Playboy,// which had no cover date because he was unsure if he would be able to produce another issue//,// featured Marilyn Monroe and was on newsstands December 1953. It sold over 50,000 copies. The publication grew at an astonishing rate. By the end of the decade, more than one million copies were being sold monthly. To celebrate the success of the magazine, Hefner held the //Playboy// Jazz Festival at Chicago Stadium. Because of the immediate popularity of //Playboy//, Hefner decided he would never change two iconic aspects of the magazine: the centerfold and the interview (85 things). At the start of the 1960s, the //Playboy// brand took off. Hefner appeared on talk shows, hosted a popular television show called //Playboy’s Penthouse,// bought the Playboy Mansion, and opened the first Playboy Club in Chicago. In 1968 and 1969, he hosted a second television show, //Playboy After Dark//. When Playboy Enterprises went public, the magazine was selling seven million copies a month by 1971, and there were 23 Playboy Clubs, resorts, hotels, and casinos. Establishing a second home in Los Angeles in 1971, Hefner was able to supervise Playboy Enterprises more closely, leading to an increase interests in television and film production. Hef was given his own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1980. In 2003, Playboy celebrated its 50th Anniversary. As the brand continues to evolve and take advantage of on its unique products and global interest, //Playboy// will continue to be an iconic brand among the world. And //Playboy// still remains the world’s best selling men’s lifestyle magazine (Playboy, 2006).

__ Sexual Revolution __ Hugh Hefner and //Playboy// created a sexual revolution. Hef has become an influential figure in modern culture by playing a key role in changing the American values, ideas, and attitudes (Watts, 2008). Nudity and sexuality is now viewed as acceptable and a form of popular, social media. With //Playboy’s// erotic photographs and rebellious editorial stance, the magazine produces one of the earliest open displays of a revolution (Watts, 2008). “What I was trying to say, quite frankly, was that, sex was a natural part of life. And that nice girls like sex too. In the middle 1950s, that was a revolutionary idea” (85 things). According to Escoffier (2003), Hefner “envisioned an overtly sexual magazine that featured nude photos of attractive young women.” Over the next 20 years, Hefner expanded a philosophy of the sexually active young bachelor who avoided the complications of marriage. No other magazine in America has had an impact on culture comparable to the way //Playboy// has. In a period when many magazines were slipping away, //Playboy// prospered. Hefner lead the way to brining a sex life into popular culture and made the magazine world safe for nudity (Brady, 1975). Hugh Hefner “survives as the most enduring symbol of the sexual revolution and deserves considerable credit for the sexual openness that has become so characteristic of modern America” (Watts, 2008).

__ REFERENCES __
 *  85 facts about Hef. (n.d.). //PLAYBOY//. Retrieved April 10, 2011, from []
 *  //* * Editor’s note: Most of the 85 facts in this list came from Brigitte Berman’s documentary, but other facts about Hef were included fro context, from the Steven Watts biography// Mr. Playboy //and Hef himself.//
 *  Brady, J. (1975). Nude journalism. //The Journal of Popular Culture//, //IX//, 153-161.
 *  Escoffier, J. (2003). //Sexual revolution.// New York: Thunder Mouth Press.
 *  Gunelius, S. (2009). //Building brand value the Playboy way//. Basingstoke, Hampshire: Palgrave MacMillan.
 *  Playboy Enterprises, Inc.. (2006). //Playboy Enterprises, Inc.//. Retrieved April 10, 2011, from http://www.playboyenterprises.com/home/content.cfm?content=t_template&view=admin&packet=00061D22-C172-1C7A-9B578304E50A011A
 *  Watts, S. (2008). //Mr. Playboy: Hugh Hefner and the American dream//. Hoboken, N.J.: Wiley.