Hugh Hefner passes away

[TheShaft]

http://www.thewrap.com/hugh-hefner-play ... r-dies-91/

[CGYMike]

Hugh Hefner was indeed a man ahead of his time. I'm sure that he fought many a battle and broke down many a door.

His magazine blended class and sophistication. His Playboy interviews were up there with the some of the best journalism of its time. You could find a great place to vacation alongside some of the best pictorials of the most beautiful women. As a teenager I wanted to sneak a peek at the "Girls of the Big 10" or "NFL's Hottest Cheerleaders". His clubs were black tie and the parties at the mansion were the best of the best.

He loved and celebrated women, and I for one am going to miss a world where Hef is not a part of. He will rest in peace shoulder to shoulder to Marilyn Monroe. What a fitting place to rest for all eternity.

[Fr33Sprt]

From what I understand he had cancer, his son Cooper & I believe his brother where holding the business. He will be for sure missed...

Ive been a fan of Playboy is I was 16, I remember the first pair of panties I bought with the famous logo on it! I came across my first issue maybe around 10th or 11th grade it was my uncles. Later I found out that that him & I were born on the same day (April 9th). I still have countless lingerie, wallets, bags, a hat & even a Halloween costume I wore last year (his smoking jacket). Not only did he wave the way of punished nudity but he was also a civil rights advocate.....I know some women felt that he was objectifying women but thats another story.


RIP Zodiac Brother!

[stickyvicky]

some dirt

[Fr33Sprt]

All the dirt comes out when people die, I'm not too surprised about the whole allowance thing either.

[DKPaine13]

Can't really speak to any of the dirt in that video, though I wouldn't be terribly surprised if it was all true.

While I recognize Hefner's contribution to pop culture, one thing that kind of irks me is how he is revered & loved by mainstream America for selling sex, but people like Russ Meyer, Marilyn Chambers, Bettie Page, and Gil Elvgren didn't even make the front page when they died.

Elvgren was the most prolific pin-up painter of all time, in addition to creating lots of memorable images for Coca Cola and other major brands. His work is still everywhere, to this day. But when he died, hardly anyone even noticed. I get why folks weren't keen to celebrate Linda Lovelace when she passed, despite the cultural significance of DEEP THROAT, but Marilyn Chambers? She never turned her back on porn or acted ashamed that she did it. And she was arguably more recognizable than Lovelace ever was. A beautiful, liberated woman who never apologized for her sexuality & was a household name in her XXX heyday, yet she's all but forgotten by everyone but fans of this industry now. Page has become something of a brand name since her death, but she still doesn't get the recognition she deserves.

And Russ Meyer had at least as much to do with the eventual acceptability of nudity & sexual content in cinema & art as Hef did. But he's still viewed as just a sleazy smut peddler with an appetite for giant breasts, and his death was back page news. If it hadn't been for Beyond the Valley of the Dolls and a handful of mainstream celebs like Quentin Tarantino who love Faster Pussycat! Kill! Kill!, the media might not have covered his passing at all.

I guess the difference is that, for some inexplicable reason, it's okay to admit that you masturbated to Playboy, but confessing that you jerked off watching Insatiable, SuperVixens or a Bettie Page bondage loop is admitting that you're a troubled deviant.

Not that any of that is Hefner's fault, mind you. It's just weird, the double standards we apply to sexually oriented entertainment.

[rokkerr]

good post but don't forget he did break ground when it was very improper to sell anything to the masses...
taking the stand in his own obscenity trial for one...

http://chicagoist.com/2009/04/10/friday ... ty_bat.php

Linda Lovelace has had not one but two Hollywood movies made about her.
Marylyn Chambers is certainly tragic but she was less ''mainstream'' than Playboy
Russ Meyer is the same type of thing... more underground I would say (I for one don't know much about him despite his obvious accomplishments)

Hef built a worldwide brand and had some of the most famous women in the world in his magazine... Marylyn and Pamela Andersen to name just a few...

[rokkerr]

... and in doing some ''research''... here's...

... the fascinating story of a Playboy Playmate turned inmate...
http://superbondgirl.blogspot.com/2011/ ... nmate.html

[DKPaine13]

good post but don't forget he did break ground when it was very improper to sell anything to the masses...
taking the stand in his own obscenity trial for one...

http://chicagoist.com/2009/04/10/friday ... ty_bat.php

Linda Lovelace has had not one but two Hollywood movies made about her.
Marylyn Chambers is certainly tragic but she was less ''mainstream'' than Playboy
Russ Meyer is the same type of thing... more underground I would say (I for one don't know much about him despite his obvious accomplishments)

Hef built a worldwide brand and had some of the most famous women in the world in his magazine... Marylyn and Pamela Andersen to name just a few...

Fair points, all. My thing is just that Meyer, Chambers, and the rest could & should have been more mainstream, if America wasn't so selectively puritanical. Meyer made two major studio pictures, one of which was among the highest-grossing films of that year. When Behind the Green Door came out, Chambers became an overnight sensation for a hot minute, and briefly had a mainstream film career of her own (as well as running for Vice-President). And a lot of less mainstream types have fought against censorship & ridiculous "obscenity" laws in courtrooms, yet aren't heralded today as pioneers in that - or any - area of our culture. When the "porno chic" era ended, those folks & their achievements were once again relegated to the dirty, hidden corners our society, while Hef & his magazine remained mainstream.

Not bashing Hefner or in any way downplaying his contributions to free speech or the publishing industry. Just lamenting that it took us this long to get to a point where selling sexually oriented entertainment was even as accepted as it is today, and we're still dealing with lots of hypocritical attitudes and strange double standards. We should be mourning the death of Playboy's founder, but I feel like we should have done that for a lot of other folks, too.