10 insane (but true) things about Hugh Hefner

Playboy founder Hugh Hefner and his girls

Hugh Marston Hefner was an American adult magazine publisher, editor, businessman, and playboy.

He was best known as the editor-in-chief and publisher of Playboy magazine, which he founded in 1953.

He was also the founder and chief creative officer of Playboy Enterprises, the publishing group that operates the magazine.

Here are 10 things to know about the pleasure seeker who died on Wednesday aged 91.

    1. Hefner was born in Chicago, Illinois on April 9, 1926, and was the first child of Grace Caroline and Glenn Lucius Hefner who both worked as teachers and had strong religious views.
    2. He attended Sayre Elementary School and Steinmetz High School, then during World War II, served as a writer for a military newspaper in the U.S. Army from 1944 to 1946.
    3. Before Playboy, Hefner worked as a copywriter for Esquire magazine. However, he quit after his request for a $5 raise was rejected.
    4. In 1953, he took out a mortgage, generating a bank loan of $600, and raised $8,000 from 45 investors, including $1,000 from his mother to launch Playboy, which was initially going to be called Stag Party.
    5. The first issue, published in December 1953, featured Marilyn Monroe from her 1949 nude calendar shoot and sold over 50,000 copies.
    6. On June 4, 1963, Hefner was arrested for promoting obscene literature after an issue of Playboy featuring nude shots of Jayne Mansfield was published. The case went to trial and resulted in a hung jury.
    7. Hefner became known for moving an ever-changing coterie of young women into the Playboy Mansion, including twins Sandy and Mandy Bentley.
    8. In 2009, he received a “worst supporting actor” nomination for a Razzie award for his performance as himself in Miss March.
    9. Hefner was married three times and has four children from his first two marriages. He married his third wife, former Playmate Crystal Harris, in 2012. At 86, he was 60 years older than his bride.
    10. He reportedly slept with over 2,000 women. The magazine magnate insisted he had always been faithful during his marriages but “made up for it” when he was single.