The world lost another famous figure on Tuesday when Hugh Hefner, founder of Playboy Magazine, passed away peacefully in his home.
He’ll be put to rest in L.A.’s Westwood Village Memorial Park, where he bought a crypt right next to the woman who helped put Playboy on the map in 1953: Marilyn Monroe.
And while the pre-fame nude photos Hef purchased of Monroe certainly caught the public’s interest, Playboy would mean so much more over the years than just a place to ogle pretty girls (though it definitely was that, too).
In 1955, two years into Playboy’s existence and ten years before Stonewall, Hef published a sci-fi story written by Charles Beaumont that described a world where heterosexuals were persecuted by homosexuals.
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The story — “The Crooked Man” — was intended to break down the prevailing prejudices of the time, and it made a big stir.
The magazine received baskets of hate mail, to which Hefner publicly responded: “If it was wrong to persecute heterosexuals in a homosexual society, then the reverse was wrong too.”
And though he’ll remain a controversial figure, possibly deserving of some of his accusations of misogyny, his track record on first amendment rights, gay rights and civil rights speaks for itself.
“I felt from a very early age that there were things in society that were wrong, and that I might play some small part in changing them,” Hefner told CBS in 2011.
And on same-sex marriage, he said:
“Without question, love in its various permutations is what we need more of in this world. The idea that the concept of marriage will be sullied by same-sex marriage is ridiculous. Heterosexuals haven’t been doing that well at it on their own.”
“My father lived an exceptional and impactful life as a media and cultural pioneer and a leading voice behind some of the most significant social and cultural movements of our time in advocating free speech, civil rights and sexual freedom. He defined a lifestyle and ethos that lie at the heart of the Playboy brand, one of the most recognizable and enduring in history,” Hefner’s 26-year-old son, Cooper, said.
Bradsman
He was an ally. RIP. Hard to believe he and Marilyn were the same age.
Jaxton
An ally?
Kieran
“Life is too short to live somebody else’s dream.” —Hugh Hefner
Jaxton
I don’t consider Hefner an ally.
Hefnet paid women to take their clothes off – that’s pretty much what he did. If gay men think exploiting women is a good thing, then that shows how much gay men have fallen.
Face it – Hefner was about propping up the sleazy straight guy fantasy at the expense of male homosexual desire. The Playboy philosophy blatantly discriminates against male bisexuality.
winemaker
He lived a long life and made a SHIT load of money and gave America something to think about when it came to sex, and was surrounded by beautiful women, what’s so wrong with that? FYI: The Westwood Memorial Park is off Wilshire Blvd. about 2 blocks east of Westwood Blvd. This intersection is one of the busiest in Los Angeles. Marilyn Monroe’s crypt is in one of the walls of the outdoor ‘columbarium’ along with Truman Capote and George Burns. There’s a walkway along the wall of crypts and a bench in front of Marilyn Monroe’s crypt and each crypt has a bronze flower vase. Joe Di Maggio had sent red roses to her crypt for approximately 50 or so years as he once said “she was the love of my life”
until he passed away. He’s buried in Holy Cross cemetery in Colma Calif..
They were married for only 9 months until they divorced in October 1954. Natalie Wood is buried here in the ground and her grave is marked with a Russian Orthodox Cross.
Jaxton
Hugh Hefner paid women to take their clothes off – nothing revolutionary about that. He was clever to exploit the emerging mass media of the mid 20 th century to spread his naked female images far and wide in exchange for cash.
He BGB
I’ve been to there to Westwood Memorial. Very simple and easily accessable.
Josh447
Hef definitely emboldened the ‘I did it my way’ ideal. Very honest and thoughtful in his treatment of his fellow man. I have a lot of admiration for what his goals were in breaking down sick beliefs around sex and sexuality.
Jaxton
Lol – people have been having sex for millions of years. Hefner turned female nudity into a commodity using mass images. He exploited the fact that women will accept cash to take their clothes off.
He BGB
He’s the cool str8 guy I love! RIP.