Picture of author.

Hugh M. Hefner (1926–2017)

Author of Playboy: 50 Years: The Cartoons

265+ Works 902 Members 4 Reviews

About the Author

Hugh Marston Hefner was born in Chicago, Illinois on April 9, 1926. After serving in the Army, he attended the University of Illinois, where he edited the humor magazine and started a photo feature called Co-ed of the Month. Before creating Playboy magazine, he worked for the personnel department show more of a cardboard-box manufacturer, wrote advertising copy for a department store and for Esquire magazine, and was the circulation promotion manager for Children's Activities. The first issue of Playboy was published in 1953. Hefner's company branched into movie, cable and digital production, sold its own line of clothing and jewelry, and opened clubs, resorts and casinos. He appeared on several television shows including Playboy's Penthouse, Playboy After Dark, and The Girls Next Door. He edited several Playboy books including The Century of Sex. He died on September 27, 2017 at the age of 91. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
Image credit: Photo by Alan Light, 1979 (Cropped/Wikipedia & Flickr)

Series

Works by Hugh M. Hefner

Playboy: 50 Years: The Cartoons (2004) — Editor — 123 copies
Hef's Little Black Book (2004) 45 copies
The Bedside Playboy (1963) — Editor — 23 copies
The Playboy Cartoon Album (1959) 19 copies
Hugh Hefner's Playboy (2009) 11 copies
Playboy (2000) 6 copies
Playboy Magazine | May 1963 (1963) — Editor — 3 copies
Playboy Magazine | July 1995 | Sandra Taylor (1995) — Editor — 3 copies
Playboy Magazine | October 1963 | Teddi Smith (1963) — Editor — 3 copies
Playboy Annual 2 copies

Associated Works

History of the World, Part I [1981 film] (1981) — Actor — 218 copies
Nagel: The Art of Patrick Nagel (1985) — Contributor — 213 copies
The Simpsons: Season 4 (2004) — Guest star — 139 copies
The House Bunny [2009 film] (2008) — Actor — 104 copies
Beverly Hills Cop II [1987 film] (1987) — Actor — 71 copies
Vargas (1707) — Foreword — 56 copies
Playboy: The Celebrities (2006) — Introduction — 39 copies
Saturday Night Live: The Complete Third Season 1977-1978 (1977) — Other Contributor, some editions — 18 copies
Inside Deep Throat [2005 Documentary] (2005) — Self — 17 copies
Miss March [2009 Film] (2009) — Self — 12 copies
The Girls Next Door: Season 1 (2005) — Self — 8 copies
Playboy Magazine | September 1985 | Madonna (1985) — Editor — 6 copies
Playboy Magazine | May 1969 | Paulette Lindberg (1969) — Editor — 5 copies
Playboy Magazine | February 1977 | Lena Kansbod (1977) — Editor — 5 copies
The Girls Next Door: Season 2 (2006) — Self — 5 copies
The Girls Next Door: Season 3 (2007) — Self — 5 copies
The Girls Next Door: Season 4 (2007) — Self — 5 copies
Playboy Magazine | May 2003 | Torrie Wilson (2003) — Editor — 5 copies
Playboy Magazine | September 2004 | Amy Acuff (2004) — Editor — 5 copies
The Girls Next Door: Season 5 (2008) — Self — 4 copies
Playboy Magazine | December 1967 (1967) — Editor — 4 copies
Playboy Magazine | May 2001 | Brooke Burke (2001) — Editor — 4 copies
Playboy Magazine | May 2002 | Kiana Tom (2002) — Editor — 3 copies
Playboy Magazine | September 1968 | Erika Toth (1968) — Editor — 3 copies
Playboy Magazine | October 1996 | Jennifer Allan (1996) — Editor — 3 copies
Playboy Magazine | April 2001 | Irina Voronina (2001) — Editor — 3 copies
Playboy Magazine | April 1963 (1963) — Editor — 3 copies
Playboy Magazine | September 1965 | Teddi Smith (1965) — Editor — 3 copies
Playboy Magazine | October 1995 | Lisa Boyle (1995) — Editor — 3 copies
The Girls Next Door: Season 6 (2009) — Self — 3 copies
Playboy Magazine ~ August 1986 (Lillian Müller) (1986) — Editor & Publisher — 2 copies
Playboy Magazine ~ March 1982 (1982) — Editor — 2 copies
Playboy Magazine ~ April 1990 (Deborah Driggs) (1990) — Editor — 2 copies
Playboy Magazine | May 1964 (1964) — Editor — 2 copies
Playboy Magazine | October 1964 (1964) — Editor — 2 copies

Tagged

Common Knowledge

Legal name
Hefner, Hugh Marston
Birthdate
1926-04-09
Date of death
2017-09-27
Gender
male
Nationality
USA
Birthplace
Chicago, Illinois, USA
Place of death
Los Angeles, California, USA

Members

Reviews

Though I labeled this book for my "erotica and sensual" bookshelf, do not let that dissuade you from reading it if erotica and sexuality materials are not your cup of tea. There is very little actual erotic content in this anthology. The book focuses more on 50 years of literary content in Playboy magazine. Yes, people could indeed really be reading it for the articles. The anthology features a pretty broad selection of commentary, opinion pieces, essays, some celebrity interviews, pieces of short fiction, plus some of the features many do expect from the magazine such as a sampling on pin-ups and cartoons and "Playboy jokes."

I think you can read this anthology in a few ways. You can read it as a piece of nostalgia, as a look back at how the magazine was great, and not just for the pictorials. They did feature some of the great writers of the late part of the 20th century. Some of the pieces were better than others, and that is the only reason I gave it three stars. I liked it, but I did not "really like it." There were some misses, but I am sure for other readers, the pieces I did not like others might like. So give it a try anyways. You can also read this book as a sort of small literary history or time capsule. As I mentioned, some great writers and thinkers are featured here. I think you can also read it as a piece of popular culture, as a reflection of its time. I did find interesting some of the things the writers addressed and were concerned about. Some things were curious little details, for example, William Buckley writing about reading and defining what makes someone smart mentioned that, in 1983 or so, he had not really heard of Michael Jackson. Reading that detail today is an interesting experience.

There may be a few pieces that show age, but there are also a few that are pretty timeless, some even relevant still today. The best part of this book is that you can browse through it, find items of interest, and read those. Leaf through it, read a little bit now, a little bit later. It does lend itself to be a bedside reader (may also work for bathroom reading, and I do mean that in a good way).

The only other small nitpicks I had with the book were the way the table of contents was organized and a lack of some small note of information to preface the pieces. The table of contents is organized by major topics, instead of in the order that the pieces appear in the book. Personally, I would have preferred to know what came in what order. Two, in anthologies like this I tend to like a small preface to the pieces, something like, "this piece was published in the X year issue of Playboy" and maybe a bit about an author or something like that. Only way I could tell when a piece was written was either by references the authors made in their piece or by looking at the copyright page if I got curious. Most of the time I could guess ok (on classical things, like that piece by Boccaccio I obviously had an idea when it was originally written). Anyhow, those are the small things.

Overall, this is a pretty good book to pass the time. If you need some reading material, and you need something that you can read with ease, something you can pick up and drop and pick up again, then this is the book for you. And if you have never read the magazine, it may give you an appreciation for it, especially for what it used to be.
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Flagged
bloodravenlib | Aug 17, 2020 |
This book took me back to my childhood when I'd regularly peruse my dad's Playboys. (Other people read it for the articles; I read it for the comics.) I'm not sure I knew the artist's name until now, but I recognized the style immediately. Maybe I didn't get all the jokes at the time, or maybe I did on some level, but in any case revisiting them now has been a delight. It isn't that they are hilarious--they are kind of the visual equivalent of dad jokes, as likely to elicit a groan as a chuckle--but that in itself gives it a kind of charm. This was a time when it was okay to laugh and joke about sex and sexuality. Everyone is so damned serious these days. It's not healthy and it's not progress. Let's go back.

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Flagged
chaosfox | Feb 22, 2019 |
Assembles footage from over 120 films showing the changing face of cinema homosexuality from cruel stereotypes to covert love to the activist cinema of the 1990s. Many actors, writers and commentators provide anecdotes regarding the history of the role of gay men and lesbians on the silver screen.
 
Flagged
UGALGBTCENTER | Oct 11, 2006 |

Awards

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Gardner Rea Contributor
Robert L. Green Contributor
David Kushner Contributor
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Phil Interlandi Contributor
Phil Hahn Contributor
Claude Smith Illustrator
James Schnepf Photographer
Cynthia Wood Playmate
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Statistics

Works
265
Also by
60
Members
902
Popularity
#28,436
Rating
3.9
Reviews
4
ISBNs
30
Languages
4

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