Hugh Hefner: The Man Behind Playboy

I must admit that I’ve placed the bunny ears on my head and given a little shake in my Halloween costume to make sure the bunny outfit was just as cute as I first thought it was in my head. If just for a night I’ve imagined what it would be like to have men swooning over me, (from a distance of course), like all the girls I’ve seen on the television set. But, I never once thought about the man behind the bunnies, the one who started it all from the ground up, literally. So for a moment, let’s forget about the “sex on-a-stick” women he surrounds himself with and focus on the man in the middle.

Hugh Hefner was born in Chicago, Illinois on April 9, 1926 to Grace of and Glenn Hefner. After serving two years in the United States Army and being honorably discharged in 1949 Hefner attended the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Hefner majored in psychology with a double minor in creative writing and art. Shortly after graduation, he worked at Esquire, a men’s magazine featuring articles about fashion and literary work. Hefner worked at Esquire as a copywriter until 1953 when he decided to leave the magazine for denying him a $5 raise. Determined to start his own publication with $600 in his pocket and $8,000 he raised from investors including his mother, he launched Playboy Magazine. The very first Playboy issue, featured a nude photo of Marilyn Monroe, it sold about 50,000 copies when it hit newsstands in December 1953 according to biography.com

Although Playboy was doing well, Hefner still ran into a few obstacles. In 1963, Hefner was arrested for selling “obscene” literature after an issue of Playboy featured nude pictures of Actress Jayne Mansfield. The charges were dropped since the jury couldn’t reach a verdict according to biography.com. The trial wouldn’t be the only hard time Hefner would have to face. Playboy Enterprises also took a hard blow when the United States hit a recession in the 1970’s. Playboy faced competition from more explicit men’s magazines such as Penthouse. Hefner tried to respond to the decrease in sales as well as the competition by trying to imitate the rival magazines-by presenting more revealing photos of women in provocative poses. Advertisers began to rebel against the magazine causing circulation to fall even further, according to reports. Hefner decided to restructure the magazine and feature articles such as “Girls of the big ten” and placed a stronger emphasis on the quality and content of the writing. Hefner and the Playboy Magazine were back on track.

Not only did Hefner develop the Playboy Foundation to provide grants to nonprofit groups fighting censorship and researching human sexuality he has also received numerous awards for his contributions to society and the publishing industry. Hefner was inducted into the Hall of Fame of the American Society of Magazine Editors in 1998. In 2002, he also received the Henry Johnson Fisher Award, which is the highest honor of the Magazine Publishers of America. Hefner has no problem giving a piece of his $43 million income back to support others. The man behind the infamous bunny is a creative, innovative businessman who had the right idea at the right time and ran with it. Changing the adult industry completely and becoming the man behind the number one risqué magazine, Hefner has created a world that others dream to be a part of.

Hefner has his hands full. From the first issue of Playboy, produced out of his kitchen in Chicago, to the multimillion-dollar enterprise it has become, Hefner has transformed the adult entertainment world for good. “I never intended to be a revolutionary. My intention was to create a mainstream men’s magazine that included sex in it. That turned out to be a very revolutionary idea,” said Hefner on askmen.com.

-Anjelica Duggins