Hugh Hefner, founder of Playboymagazine and cultural provocateur who pushed sexuality into the mainstream in the 50s and helped usher in the sexual revolution of the 60s, died at his famed Playboy Mansion home in Los Angeles, Playboyhas confirmed. He was 91.
On a shoestring budget and an idea, Hefner and his associates in 1953 founded Playboy, which became a popular brand almost overnight -- not just publishing one of the most well-known men's magazines, but launching a media empire that spanned TV, politics and just about all areas of the zeitgeist.
SEE ALSO:Sure, porn is fine. But did you know Pornhub can also teach you to cook?According to a statement by Playboy Enterprises, Hefner died of natural causes and was surrounded by loved ones.
"My father lived an exceptional and impactful life as a media and cultural pioneer and a leading voice behind some of the most significant social and cultural movements of our time in advocating free speech, civil rights and sexual freedom," Cooper Hefner, chief creative officer of Playboy Enterprises and the son of Hugh, said in a statement.
Tweet may have been deleted
"He defined a lifestyle and ethos that lie at the heart of the Playboy brand, one of the most recognizable and enduring in history. He will be greatly missed by many, including his wife Crystal, my sister Christie and my brothers David and Marston and all of us at Playboy Enterprises."
Following years of work in the publishing industry, including a stint as a writer at Esquire, Hefner started Playboybecause he believed there was a market for anupscale men's magazine that blended racy nude photoshoots with a sampling from the day's most intellectual and influential writers. And he was right.
The first issue was published in December 1953, funded from the furniture he put up as collateral for a loan and borrowing from friends and family. It became an instant hit.
Hugh Hefner holding the first issue of Playboy.Credit: playboyMarilyn Monroe was featured on the cover and as a centerfold in the first Playboy, which he described as a "good choice" in a CNN interview in 2010. While Playboyis known for women in its pages, it also published fiction from writers such as Ian Fleming, Margaret Atwood, Jack Kerouac and Kurt Vonnegut.
There were also interviews, dubbed the "PlayboyInterview," with the likes of jazz great Miles Davis, Steve Jobs, and Martin Luther King. Hefner's insistence on socially progressive commentary and interview subjects came to define the brand as much as its centerfolds; he was an early proponent of gay rights and other forms of social activism that were way ahead of the times.
In the late 1990s, the influence of men's magazines like Playboyand Penthousewaned, and Hefner retreated from the spotlight, rarely leaving his famed Los Angeles mansion. But he re-emerged in 2005 as a reality TV figure with The Girls Next Door, which followed his complex polyamorous relationships with the women featured in his magazine. Playboynow operates websites, the U.S. magazine and more than 20 licensed international editions.
As a pioneer in adult entertainment, Hefner's passing was met with melancholy from industry heavyweights, entertainers, and former Playmates.
Tweet may have been deleted
Tweet may have been deleted
Tweet may have been deleted
Tweet may have been deleted
Tweet may have been deleted
Tweet may have been deleted
Tweet may have been deleted
Hefner's famous Playboy Mansion, a five-acre property which sits in the Holmby Hills of Los Angeles, was sold in 2016 to Daren Metropoulos for reportedly more than $100 million. The 29-room mansion measures 21,987 square feet, and was the home to Hefner's infamously lavish parties, attended by models and celebrities.
The Playboy Mansion in 2005.Credit: FilmMagicPart of the deal was that Hefner would be able to reside at the home until he passed away, according to E News.
"The Playboy Mansion has been a creative center for Hef as his residence and workplace for the past 40 years, as it will continue to be if the property is sold," a Playboy Enterprises representative told the news outlet at the time.
(责任编辑：時尚)
Sound the alarms: Simone Biles finally met Zac Efron
Video games and mindfulness have a surprising history
‘Radical Intimacy’: love, sex and intimacy in a capitalist society
The best Mother's Day GIFsMashReads Podcast: What makes a good summer read?This 'sh*tpost' bot makes terrible memes so you don't have to
The internet is awash in trashy memes just waiting for your late-night retweet spree. Why waste prec
...[详细]How to use TikTok even if it's banned
With a TikTok ban hitting Montana and dozens of other, more nuanced bans of the app across the world
...[详细]Webb telescope snaps image of solar system that's nothing like ours
In our solar system, we know the asteroid belt is teeming with curious, ancient objects. Now, scient
...[详细]Video games and mindfulness have a surprising history
March Mindfulnessis an annual Mashable series that explores the intersection of meditation practice
...[详细]WhatsApp announces plans to share user data with Facebook
Big changes are coming to WhatsApp.
。On Thursday, WhatsApp announced in a blog post it will begin sha
...[详细]Google Pixel Fold and 7a leaks reveal potential June launch
A long-rumored Google Pixel device may be just a few months away.According to reports (based on reta
...[详细]'The Diplomat's Eidra and Stuart embody the practical puzzle of secret work romances
Debora Cahn writes tense foreign policy negotiations and smart, amorous, modern relationships betwee
...[详细]
Generative AI giant OpenAI unleashed its newest product on the world Tuesday. GPT-4, the next-genera
...[详细]Darth Vader is back. Why do we still care?
They saved the best for last in the first official trailer for Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, release
...[详细]Crypto fugitive Do Kwon reportedly arrested in Montenegro
Do Kwon, the former CEO and co-founder of cryptocurrency company Terraform Labs, has reportedly been
...[详细]5 people Tim Cook calls for advice on running the biggest company in the world
Video games and mindfulness have a surprising history