BY MICHAEL GOODPASTER
(FOUR) HERO
In 1978, Hefner made sure Hollywood was okay. In a ceremonial auction to fund restoration of the “Hollywood” sign, Hefner paid $27,000 to win the letter “Y”. Earlier this year, Hugh Hefner saved “Hollywood” again. The land the iconic sign was on was going to be developed on unless someone stepped in with the money to preserve it. Hugh Hefner was that man. He stepped up the plate for the non-profit group called “Public Trust for Lands”. They made huge efforts to get the 12.5 Million needed, but were still a bit short. Hefner laid down $900,000 and saved the day when it was needed most. “My childhood dreams and fantasies came from the movies,” said Hefner, “and the images created in Hollywood had a major influence on my life and Playboy.”
(THREE) VISIONARY
He got a BA in psychology with a double minor in creative writing and art from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He then took a few classes at Northwestern studying sociology and women and gender studies. In 1952 he quit his job as a copywriter at “Esquire” magazine after being denied a $5 raise. From there he went out and got people to give him money to invest in his own magazine project. He took whatever he could from whoever he could and with $1000 from his mother and another $7000 from 44 more investors. He did what he had to do. He hustled and made his dreams happen. In December of 53, the first issue of Playboy was published. From there he relentlessly worked his ass off to build an empire.
(TWO) LIFE STYLE
You can strip away any moral conflicts with what Hefner does, but the primal desire to indulge and give in is something to be respected. Once he established his empire, he lived a lavish lifestyle. He has always been “THE MAN” when it comes to the idealistic male lifestyle. I’m sure when asking many red blooded men who they’d like to trade lives with that you’d hear “Hugh Hefner” more times than not. The parties he throws are considered classic. The folklore about what goes on at “the Mansion” has always been spoken of among men of all ages. While it may be considered chauvinistic, it’s still in the human nature to want to indulge. I guess back in the day it was crazier times, but now a days it seems as if the parties consist of celebrities and big shots that get to enjoy the rooms, pools, and tons of amusement to be had. Hugh seems to always have multiple girlfriends, playmates of the magazine itself, around him. He gets to basically life in his pajamas. But Hugh Hefner is so classy that his pajamas are called “leisure wear”. That’s class, my friends.
(ONE) REVOLUTIONARY
Hugh Hefner gave us Playboy, a magazine dedicated to men featuring naked women and a presentation of something swankier and classier. The magazine itself, the Playboy bunny logo, the Playboy Mansion, and Hugh Hefner are now as iconic and as a part of Americana pop culture as Coca Cola, M&M’s, and the New York Yankees. But really, it’s more than just “T” and “A”. He made people not embarrassed about sexuality and pushed the limits of the First Amendment in a time which it needed it the most. Way back in 1955, Hefner was one of the first to stick up for gay rights. He published a short story y Charles Beaumont called “The Crooked Man”. The story was about a straight man being persecuted in a world where homosexuality was the norm. There was hate mail sent to the offices, but Hef stuck to his guns and said, "If it was wrong to persecute heterosexuals in a homosexual society then the reverse was wrong, too." That’s just a little bit of the action Hugh has made for advancing the way the world thinks. He has donated to colleges, charities, and causes all in efforts to better the world. These are the things we don’t hear about. We hear about the sexual exploits and romps, but never the fact that he generally seems to care about making the world a better place with his fortune and efforts. In many ways Hugh Hefner is responsible for modern sexuality and the evolution of perversion. Without his work in the past, it’s doubtful a porn industry would exist. Like it or not, him opening the eyes to the sexual form paved the way for the Rated R culture we live in. God bless him for it.
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