Get to Know Playboy's Founder, Hugh Hefner
Everyone on the planet seems to known Hugh Hefner, affectionally known as "Hef". There are also some facts about the internationally known founder of
Playboy you may not know.
Hugh Marston Hefner (born April 9, 1926 in Chicago, Illinois) described his home as repressed and without shows of affection of any kind. He actively served in the US Army during the final month of WWII and interestingly enough - the man who would lead a sexual revolution both entered and left the Army, a virgin.
Hef attended the University of Illinois and majored in psychology. He married his childhood sweetheart, Mildred in 1949 and had two children (twins) born in 1955. Hef and Mildred divorced in 1959.
Despite spending less than three years in college before graduating, Hefner found time to edit Shaft, his first magazine and sold cartoons to magazines. His first salaried job was with a firm that produced and printed cardboard cartons.
After later serving in both the subscription department and as a copywriter for Esquire, he left in January 1952 after being denied a $5 raise. He moved on to Children's Activities, then took his biggest gamble in 1953 by pawning his furniture for $400 and raising $10,000 from 45 investors - including $1,000 from his mother to start his dream magazine, Playboy.
The original name for Playboy was "Stag Party" but Hef had to change it to avoid a conflict with the already existing magazine called "Stag". After talking with a friend about other "Playboys" in the animal kingdom, the rabbit was chosen and the famous Playboy name and logo was born. The first issue of the magazine arrived in December 1953 (with no date on the cover as Hefner didn't know if he could afford to produce another issue), and had a nude photo of Marilyn Monroe inside that Hefner had purchased for $200.
The magazine sold over 54,000 copies and more than paid for the next issue, Hefner knew he was on to something good and the Playboy empire grew from that first humble issue. An interesting side note is that Hefner even had a species of rabbit named after himself, the Sylvilagus palustris hefneri.
posted by Just Men's Magazines
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