On September 27th of this year, the world said "farewell" to media icon Hugh Hefner when he passed away at the age of 91. Doctors confirmed that the nonagenarian ladies' man died from respiratory arrest and cardiac failure following an e. coli-borne septicemia infection that appeared to be antibiotic resistant. In the month since his passing, family, friends, colleagues, and fans have expressed their love and adoration for a man lauded as "kind" and "humble." But those left in charge of the infamous Playboy magazine have thought up a touching and unique way to honor their dearly departed boss.
Hugh Hefner: the cover boy
Since its inception back in 1953, Playboy has obviously, considering its content, published issues featuring almost exclusively women. During the entire run of the print's salacious history, a grand total of ten men (including, but not limited to, Burt Reynolds, Seth Rogen, Steve Martin, Bruno Mars, Jerry Seinfeld, and our current commander-in-chief, Donald J. Trump) have appeared on the cover -- albeit always accompanied by a lady or ladies. So, in an unprecedented move to honor founder Hugh Hefner, the magazine has memorialized the immortal "Hef" by making him the first and likely only XY-chromosome to appear by himself on the magazine's cover.
The page features an elegant black-and-white photograph of a 39 year-old Hefner taken by Larry Gordon in 1965.
Underneath the signature Playboy moniker, the script simply reads "Hugh M. Hefer, 1926-2017." The first six-pages of the collector's edition issue will contain a tribute to Hefner's legacy; the magazine also intends to publish a 100-page separate edition to honor his life and achievements.
The legacy of Hugh Hefner
Hugh Hefner began his career in print media after landing a job as a copy-editor at Esquire magazine in Chicago, but when the publication moved its offices to the Big Apple and he was denied a whopping raise of $5, he decided to strike out on his own.
After scrounging up $8,000 from multiple investors -- including money from his religiously devout mother -- Hefner moved to start his own magazine. Although he kept from calling it "Stag Party" like he wanted to due to copyright issues, a friend suggested the sophisticated sounding "Playboy." A bow-tie-wearing rabbit was chosen as the logo, and the rest is history.
The gentleman's magazine founder was married only three times during his long life. First, he was married to Mildred Williams in 1949, shortly after which, he began his notorious print publication, and divorced a decade later; fast-forward thirty years to 1989, Hefner married Kimberley Conrad, whom he stayed with until their divorce in 2010; he married third wife Crystal Harris in 2012 and remained married to her until his death. He is survived by four children -- Christie, David, Marston, and Cooper -- the latter of which is the COO of the Playboy empire. He rests in a plot next to fellow icon and original cover girl Marilyn Monroe.
