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Hefner's Plaboy magazine spurred the sexual revolution of the 1960s
Playboy magazine founder and editor-in-chief Hugh Hefner died late Wednesday from natural causes at his Playboy Mansion in the upscale community of Beverly Hills in Los Angeles, California. He was 91.
Playboy company said Hefner was "surrounded by loved ones" before he breathed his last.
Media figures and from other industries paid tribute to Hefner, whose magazine spurred the sexual revolution of the 1960s.
In a statement, Hefner's son Cooper, who is the chief creative officer of Playboy Enterprises, said: "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."
Among those who paid tribute to Hefner were civil rights advocate Rev. Jesse Jackson and Gene Simmons of the rock band KISS.
Jackson said: "Hugh Hefner was a strong supporter of the civil rights movement. We will never forget him." Simmons, on the other hand, said Hefner was a "great man, entrepreneur and innovator."
Nancy Sinatra, wife of the late singer Frank Sinatra, said Hefner "was one of the nicest men" she has ever known.
Larry King, host of the defunct CNN show "Larry King Live", said Hefner was "a GIANT in publishing, journalism, free speech & civil rights. He was a true original, and he was my friend."
Hefner was born in Chicago on April 9, 1926 to Glenn and Grace Hefner, who were both conservative Protestants from Nebraska.
Hefner founded Playboy magazine in 1953 with only US$600 and built the publication into a multimillion-dollar empire that hit its peaks in the 1970s. By then, the Playboy conglomerate included TV shows, a jazz festival and several Playboy Clubs whose waitresses wore bunny ears and cottontails.
Hefner bedded hundreds of young women, married a few of his magazine's "Playmates" and cavorted on reality TV shows with girls who were much younger than he was.
Playboy went public in 1971, the same year that the magazine's monthly circulation peaked at seven million issues. However, Hefner's empire soon struggled amidst a post-sexual revolution and post-feminist world, according to CNN.
Raunchier men's magazines such as Penthouse and Hustler also took readers from Playboy so that by the 1980s, the Playboy franchise had lost its popularity.
Hefner suffered a minor stroke in 1985 and stepped down as CEO. He turned over all Playboy business operations to his daughter, Christie, who guided the company's cable TV channel but shut down the Playboy Clubs.
After being divorcing his first wife, Millie, 30 years earlier, Hefner married Kimberly Conrad, 26, and a former Playmate of the Year, in 1989. He fathered two boys with Conrad. The couple separated in 1998 and subsequently divorced.
By the 2000s, Hefner's profile grew again because of "The Girls Next Door," a reality series on E! Channel about his life with three of his young girlfriends.
Hefner married Crystal Harris, another former Playmate, in a small private ceremony at the Playboy Mansion in 2012. At that time, Hefner was already 86 while Harris was 26.
Playboy's circulation dropped to about 800,000 copies in late 2015 and the company said it was surrendering to the realities of the Internet but the company changed its mind and continued publishing the magazine.
The Playboy Mansion sold for U$100 million last year – about half of Hefner's asking price, CNN said. It was the most expensive home ever sold in Los Angeles and came with a condition – that Hefner would get to stay there for the remainder of his lifetime.
Up until Hefner's demise, Playboy earned by licensing its brand and signature rabbit logo around the world for fragrances, jewelry and other merchandise, according to CNN. JTNDc2NyaXB0JTIwc3JjJTNEJTIyJTJGJTJGcGFnZWFkMi5nb29nbGVzeW5kaWNhdGlvbi5jb20lMkZwYWdlYWQlMkZqcyUyRmFkc2J5Z29vZ2xlLmpzJTIyJTIwYXN5bmMlM0QlMjIlMjIlM0UlM0MlMkZzY3JpcHQlM0UlMEElMjAlM0MlMjEtLSUyMGluLWFydGljbGUlMjBhZCUyMC0tJTNFJTBBJTIwJTNDaW5zJTIwY2xhc3MlM0QlMjJhZHNieWdvb2dsZSUyMiUyMHN0eWxlJTNEJTIyZGlzcGxheSUzQSUyMGJsb2NrJTNCJTIyJTIwZGF0YS1hZC1jbGllbnQlM0QlMjJjYS1wdWItNTAwNjI0MTU4MzU4MTg0OSUyMiUyMGRhdGEtYWQtc2xvdCUzRCUyMjg1MjYwOTM2MTElMjIlMjBkYXRhLWFkLWZvcm1hdCUzRCUyMmF1dG8lMjIlM0UlM0MlMkZpbnMlM0UlMEElM0NzY3JpcHQlM0UlMkYlMkYlMjAlM0MlMjElNUJDREFUQSU1QiUwQSUyOGFkc2J5Z29vZ2xlJTIwJTNEJTIwd2luZG93LmFkc2J5Z29vZ2xlJTIwJTdDJTdDJTIwJTVCJTVEJTI5LnB1c2glMjglN0IlN0QlMjklM0IlMEElMkYlMkYlMjAlNUQlNUQlM0UlM0MlMkZzY3JpcHQlM0UlMEE=
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