Publisher, Businessman. He was the founder and publisher of "Playboy Magazine", which he built the company into one of the most recognizable American global brands in history, and help lead the way for the so called "Sexual Revolution" of the 1960s. The son of two schoolteachers, he joined the United States Army as an infantry clerk after high school and went on to become a copywriter for "Esquire Magazine". In 1953, he raised $8,000 from friends and family to launch "Playboy", featuring photos of Marilyn Monroe from a 1949 nude calendar shoot. The issue sold more than 50,000 copies, solidifying the endeavor. The magazine was the first to feature the pull-out centerfold, which became the centerpiece for its "Playmate of the Month" feature. Playboy Enterprises would expand to include television, film, resorts, nightclubs, products and websites. The brand's highly recognizable logo was the silhouette of the head of a dapper, bow-tie-wearing rabbit. In 1971, "Playboy" was selling 7 million copies a month and in 1974, Hefner moved in to his Playboy Mansion in Holmby Hills, California and got involved in local affairs and civic projects, such as the restoration of the Hollywood sign. In 1989, he married longtime girlfriend Kimberley Conrad and they had two sons together, Marston and Cooper. The couple divorced in 2010. From 2005 to 2010, he starred on the cable channel "E!'s" "The Girls Next Door" with several girlfriends. In 2012, Hefner married Crystal Harris and semi-retired, saying one of his sons would take the reins of the publication. In April 2017, a private equity firm put Playboy Enterprises on sale for $500 million to shore up the media corporation's finances.
Publisher, Businessman. He was the founder and publisher of "Playboy Magazine", which he built the company into one of the most recognizable American global brands in history, and help lead the way for the so called "Sexual Revolution" of the 1960s. The son of two schoolteachers, he joined the United States Army as an infantry clerk after high school and went on to become a copywriter for "Esquire Magazine". In 1953, he raised $8,000 from friends and family to launch "Playboy", featuring photos of Marilyn Monroe from a 1949 nude calendar shoot. The issue sold more than 50,000 copies, solidifying the endeavor. The magazine was the first to feature the pull-out centerfold, which became the centerpiece for its "Playmate of the Month" feature. Playboy Enterprises would expand to include television, film, resorts, nightclubs, products and websites. The brand's highly recognizable logo was the silhouette of the head of a dapper, bow-tie-wearing rabbit. In 1971, "Playboy" was selling 7 million copies a month and in 1974, Hefner moved in to his Playboy Mansion in Holmby Hills, California and got involved in local affairs and civic projects, such as the restoration of the Hollywood sign. In 1989, he married longtime girlfriend Kimberley Conrad and they had two sons together, Marston and Cooper. The couple divorced in 2010. From 2005 to 2010, he starred on the cable channel "E!'s" "The Girls Next Door" with several girlfriends. In 2012, Hefner married Crystal Harris and semi-retired, saying one of his sons would take the reins of the publication. In April 2017, a private equity firm put Playboy Enterprises on sale for $500 million to shore up the media corporation's finances.
Bio by: Louis du Mort
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