Hugh Hefner,Playboy Magazine Founder and Star of Girls Next Door, Dies at 91

“Hugh M. Hefner, the American icon who in 1953 introduced the world to Playboymagazine and built the company into one of the most recognizable American global brands in history, peacefully passed away today from natural causes at his home, The Playboy Mansion, surrounded by loved ones,” a rep for the Playboy Enterprises founder said in a statement to PEOPLE.

“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. 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,” said Cooper Hefner, his son and Chief Creative Officer of Playboy Enterprises.  

After serving in the army and attending college, Hefner got the idea for Playboywhile working in the publishing industry.

By putting up his furniture as collateral for a loan and borrowing the rest from family and friends, Mr. Hefner published the very first issue of Playboy in December of 1953, which featured a nude Marilyn Monroe.

The same year, Hefner launched media and lifestyle company Playboy Enterprises, Inc., on which he served as a board member until the time of his death.

Of Playboy’s iconic logo, Hefner said in a 1967 interview: “The rabbit, the bunny, in America has a sexual meaning; and I chose it because it’s a fresh animal, shy, vivacious, jumping — sexy.”

The magazine became known for its articles as well as the beautiful women that graced its pages, with Hefner asking some of the world’s greatest and most progress literary figures to write for him including, Hunter S. Thompson, John Updike, Ian Fleming, Joseph Heller, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Margaret Atwood, Jack Kerouac and Kurt Vonnegut.

Following his decade-long marriage to first wife Mildred Williams, with whom he shared daughter Christie and son David and whom he divorced in 1959, Hefner was public about sharing intimacies with numerous women.

In 1971, Hefner purchased the legendary Playboy Mansion in Los Angeles where he relocated to permanently and lived until the time of his passing. Open full Article