Here are 26 interesting Hugh Hefner facts.
1-5 Hugh Hefner Facts
1. When the Grateful Dead played “Playboy After Dark” in 1969, the band’s LSD supplier ‘Bear’ dosed the coffee urn that everyone on set was drinking from, including Hugh Hefner. Hefner later wrote a letter to Jerry Garcia thanking the band for the enjoyable experience. – Source
2. In 1955, Hugh Hefner released a short story about straight men being persecuted in a gay world. After receiving numerous hate mail, he released a statement saying “If it was wrong to persecute heterosexuals in a homosexual society then the reverse was wrong, too.” – Source
3. Hugh Hefner’s father, a public accountant, turned him down when he needed money to start Playboy as he did not think the magazine was a good business investment. However, as he was about to leave, his mother took him aside and gave him a $1000 cheque from her savings to help his venture. – Source
4. When the Vanessa Williams Miss America scandal was breaking, Hugh Hefner was offered the nude photos. He turned them down saying “There was never any question of our interest. But they clearly weren’t authorized and because they would cause considerable embarrassment, we decided not to publish.” – Source
5. Hugh Hefner has gone nearly deaf in recent years, which may be caused by the Viagra he uses. But he still says he would rather have sex than have his hearing. – Source
6-10 Hugh Hefner Facts
6. Whenever Hugh Hefner’s daughter, Christie, came to visit the Playboy Mansion as a teenager, “the mansion was cleaned up with all the kinky stuff put away” in an effort to keep her from knowing what was going on. She later became president of the company. – Source
7. Hugh Hefner distanced himself from Joe Francis and his Girls Gone Wild franchise, saying “I’m not a fan because I think it’s exploitative and I don’t think he’s a very nice guy”. – Source
8. Hugh Hefner donated $900,000 to Trust for Public Land to save the iconic Hollywood sign from being plowed under in order to make room for four luxury homes. – Source
9. When Hugh Hefner became a father to two sons raised at the Playboy Mansion, nudity was banned, the “Playmates at Play” sign became “Children at Play”, and the grounds were littered with toys. – Source
10. Hugh Hefner worked as a copywriter for Esquire magazine, from where he resigned in Jan 1952 after being denied a $5 raise. 11 months later, he published the first issue of Playboy, featuring Marilyn Monroe. – Source
11-15 Hugh Hefner Facts
11. Hugh Hefner had an endangered subspecies of Marsh rabbit, Sylvilagus palustris hefneri, is named after him in honor of financial support that he provided. – Source
12. Hugh Hefner has said in interviews that he would like the Playboy Mansion to be purchased by the Playboy Foundation and used as a Graceland-type attraction after his death. As the house is owned by the company rather than him, Hefner paid around $25,000/month for his bedroom. – Source
13. Hugh Hefner’s graduate paper at Northwestern University was titled “Sex Behavior and the U.S. Law”, where he concluded that almost every American would be in jail if all the laws against various sex acts were enforced. – Source
14. Playboy art director Art Paul designed the rabbit head logo in an hour after he told Hugh Hefner that his original “Stag Party” magazine featuring a deer was a bad idea. – Source
15. The first issue of Playboy in December 1953 was undated, as Hugh Hefner was not sure if there would be a second issue. – Source
16-20 Hugh Hefner Facts
16. Hugh Hefner was tried on obscenity charges in Chicago in 1963, but the jury was hung. – Source
17. Students at a Chicago high school made a plea for Hugh Hefner to donate money to cover the printing costs of their school newsletter and Hefner agreed to support the school for five years at a $50,000 grant. – Source
18. Playboy publisher Hugh Hefner avoids relationships with older, more accomplished women because he admits that he does not know what to do with them. – Source
19. Hugh Hefner obtained two Guinness World Records: one for being the longest-serving editor-in-chief of a magazine, and the other for holding the world’s largest collection of personal scrapbooks. – Source
20. The son of Playboy founder Hugh Hefner, who was once the brand ambassador, was dismissed from company board meetings after he spoke out against Playboy’s current leadership and its non-nude magazine restructuring. – Source
21-26 Hugh Hefner Facts
21. Hugh Hefner purchased the burial vault next to Marilyn Monroe as his future place of final rest. – Source
22. Initial funding for the First Rape Kit came from Hugh Hefner. – Source
23. Hugh Hefner owned a personal Douglas DC9 Jetliner called the “Big Bunny”. It was painted black and had private bedrooms, a discotheque, a movie theatre, and a crew of jet bunnies in black miniskirts. – Source
24. Hugh Hefner preferred women with the Marilyn Monroe, Anna Nicole Smith look and his photographer had to “trick” him by shooting some models a certain way for Playboy before he approved them. – Source
25. Gloria Steinem worked undercover as a Playboy Bunny in order to disprove Hugh Hefner’s claim of sexual emancipation for women. – Source
26. A Christian group once tried to convert Hugh Hefner by having him reflect on his childhood and find out why he became a Playboy. They followed up by sending him a Bible with his name on the front cover. – Source
