Hugh Hefner

**Hugh Marston Hefner** (April 9, 1926 – September 27, 2017) was the founder of _Playboy Magazine_ and its Editor-in-Chief.

## Birth and education

Hefner was born into a Methodist family, to Glenn Hefner, an accountant, and Grace (Swanson) Hefner, a teacher, on April 9, 1926 in Chicago, Illinois. He was raised in Woodlawn, Chicago. Hefner served in the US Army (1944 - 1946). He attended the Art Institute of Chicago (1946), the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, earning a BA in psychology (1949), and Northwestern University, 1949.

## Marriages and children

Hefner married Mildred Williams (June 25, 1949 - 1959, divorced); Kimberley Conrad (July 1, 1989 - September 2009, divorced); and Crystal Harris (December 31, 2012 - 2017, his death).

Hefner has several children. With Mildred, he has David Paul (August 30, 1955) and Christie Ann (November 8, 1952). With Kimberley, he has Cooper Bradford (September 4, 1991) and Marston Glenn (April 9, 1990).

Hefner was a distant relative of George W. Bush and John Kerry.

## Career

Hefner owned a multi-million mansion called the Playboy Mansion. He was also the executive producer of Roman Polanski's 1971 movie version of Macbeth. Hefner also appeared in cameos of himself in some movies.

When nude photographs of Jayne Mansfield on the set of _Promises! Promises!_ were published in the June 1963 issue of _Playboy_, Hefner was brought into Chicago city court on obscenity charges.

In 2013, Hefner announced that his youngest son, Cooper, would succeed him and eventually help run the Playboy Empire.

Hefner supported legalizing same-sex marriage. He said that a fight for gay marriage is "a fight for all our rights. Without it, we will turn back the sexual revolution and return to an earlier, puritanical time."

Hefner owned a burial plot next to Marilyn Monroe's grave in Los Angeles.

## Death

Hefner died at his home in Beverly Hills, California on September 27, 2017 after suffering from a cardiac arrest and sepsis caused by respiratory failure and an e. coli infection the age of 91.

## Other websites

- Hugh M. Hefner Foundation

## Infobox (person)

- **name**: Hugh Hefner
- **image**: Hugh Hefner Glamourcon 2010.jpg
- **image size**: 220px
- **caption**: Hefner in November 2010
- **birth name**: Hugh Marston Hefner
- **birth place**: Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
- **death place**: Los Angeles, California, U.S.
- **death cause**: Cardiac arrest and sepsis complicated by respiratory failure and E. coli, E. coli infection
- **resting place**: Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery
- **alma mater**: University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign <small>(Bachelor of Arts, B.A.)</small>
- **occupation**: Businessman, magazine publisher
- **known for**: Editing, Editor-in-chief of _Playboy_ magazine, chief creative officer of Playboy Enterprises
- **party**: Independent voter, Independent
- **boards**: Playboy Enterprises
- **spouse**:

- **partner**: Barbi Benton <small>(1969–76)</small>
Brande Roderick <small>(2000–01)</small>
Holly Madison <small>(2001–08)</small>
Bridget Marquardt <small>(2002–09)</small>
Kendra Wilkinson <small>(2004–08)</small>
- **children**: 4, including Christie Hefner
- **website**: [http://www.playboy.com/ Playboy.com]