Playboy Magazine Founder and Publisher Hugh Hefner Dead at 91

Playboy Magazine has just lost its founder. Hugh Hefner passed away today at the age of 91. He died from natural causes in his home—the iconic Playboy Mansion in Hollywood—while surrounded by his loved ones.
Back when sex was taboo, there was no other man who made it sound better and look better. Playboy Magazine sported a culture of expensive parties and beautiful women who went on to separate itself as an entertainment brand. Playboy is now one of the most recognizable brands in the world.
In a press release by Playboy Enterprises Inc., Chief Creative Officer and Hefner’s son Cooper Hefner praised the accomplishments of the late publisher. “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,” Hefner said of his late father.
“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.”

Hugh Hefner and the beginnings of Playboy Magazine

Hefner began his vision for Playboy back in 1953, during a time where people strongly believed in conservative values. Hefner served in the army and went on to work in the publishing industry after his tour of duty. It was there where he saw the probable success of a men’s magazine.
Once Playboy Magazine began publishing, the magazine not only featured sexy and beautiful women in its contents. Aside from seeing sex as a market, Hefner also believed that it was important to have a progressive approach to humor, literature, politics, and culture. And so the magazine was also a quality source of interviews and pieces on famous figures such as Martin Luther King in 1965, Hunter S. Thompson in 1974 and much more.
In a previous interview, Hefner talked about how far he’s come since the beginning of Playboy Magazine. “I think that from the very beginning, what made Playboy so popular was not simply the naked ladies, there were naked ladies in other magazines,” Hefner said. “What made the magazine so popular was, even before I started writing the philosophy, there was a point of view in the magazine. Prior to that, you couldn’t run nude pictures without some kind of rationale that they were art. I made them into, I put them into a context of a positive, or what I perceived as a positive attitude, on male-female relationships.”
“I suggested that sex was not the enemy, that violence was the enemy, that nice girls like sex.” Hefner added.