Hugh Hefner Biography

Fast Facts

• Honored by the Chamber of Commerce in California for donating money to repair the Hollywood sign
• Owns a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for his contributions to TV
• Started "Playboy" magazine in 1953 after being denied a $5 raise from "Esquire," mortgaging his furniture and finding over forty investors to fund the new publication
• Fought in World War II after graduating from high school in Chicago
• Quote: "(On the risk of having a nude woman in a magazine) "It was risky enough that I didn't put my name on the first issue․""
• Conducted every "Girl of the Month" interview in "Playboy" since the magazine's inception
• Settled on the name of "Playboy" for his magazine after his initial idea to name it "Stag" was already taken by another publication
• Opened his world-renowned Playboy Mansion of Los Angeles in 1971
• The mansion he purchased in 1996, which is next door to his, is an exact replica of the original Playboy Mansion of Los Angeles
• The Playboy Mansion of Los Angeles is one of few private homes to own a zoo license, and is the only private house in the city to own a pyrotechnical license