Good Night,
Hef
This is one of those kinds of articles that you know someday you would have
to write, but, at the same time, you wish that you wouldn’t.
Hugh Marston Hefner passed away on September 27th at the age
of 91. Most people will regurgitate the
script that was written about the man; that he founded a magazine and later a
media empire condemned by the self-righteous freedom-hating bible-thumpers as
obscene and pornographic. That he lived
high in a mansion in California bought from the money from said publication,
and that he surrounded himself with beautiful women that the script-writers
declare were exploited victims.
Then again, you know my feelings about script-writers and the people
behind the script-writers. The world would
actually be a whole lot better without their ilk.
The thing is... Hef had the same feelings about those kinds of people,
because he was fighting them for most of his adult life.
Hefner grew up in a strict religious family. Because of this, he began to question the old
script regarding men, women, sexuality, and life in general. While he was putting together his magazine,
originally called “Stag”, he began to piece together what that publication would
represent other than just showing pictures of beautiful women, starting with
some unreleased nude photos of Marilyn Monroe.
His timing could not be more perfect.
The world was moving from post-World War II to a new and more deadlier Cold
War. Russia was putting things in
space. America was under the fear from both
Soviet nuclear weapons and the self-righteous nationalistic terror that was Joe
McCarthy and his goose-stepping freedom-hating friends. At the same time, the battle for civil rights
was starting up, and a new generation of people were starting to come of age, and
they were questioning the same script and the same standards that were keeping
people down. They needed inspiration and
ideas. Playboy Magazine provided both.
Behind the magazine that became Playboy, there was a philosophy. Hef shared it with readers over the years in
his editorials. It was a philosophy that
questioned the wisdom of the old and archaic script but it also advanced a new idea
of freedom and individuality. It
challenged the Madonna-whore complex, and challenged the idea that women needed
to be barefoot and pregnant in the kitchen.
It challenged both men and women to do more and to be more than just
workers and spouses.
Hefner and Playboy gave the sexual revolution and the women’s rights
movement the traction that they needed to take hold in society. He romanticized being an adult. Of being independent and free. It was okay to be beautiful. It was okay to be sexy. You didn’t need the “blessing” of a rigid
theocratic establishment for these things.
Hef fought for the First Amendment; not just for himself or just for his
publication, but for everyone. While
some people talked about racial integration as a concept, Hefner practiced it. He brought African-American entertainers to
his shows and parties at a time when doing so was scandalous. He featured women of all races and
ethnicities in his magazine. And he didn’t
do it as a stunt or for the publicity and then have everything be “business as
usual”. He did it because he practiced
what he preached.
Yes, Hefner was “the” Playboy. He
lived in the beautiful house with the cars and the beautiful women and the
creative swimming pool and the legendary “grotto”. But he was also a husband three times in his
life, and a father as well. And unlike self-righteous
politicians and bible-thumping ministers, the women in Hef’s life (with the probable exception of his first wife) couldn’t say
that they didn’t know what they were getting into with him. He didn’t keep his life a secret. It was right there in the open, with the silk
pajamas and pipe.
Conservatives and theocrats bitch and whine about “tradition” and “heritage”,
but where were they when the giant Hollywood sign fell into disrepair? Where were they when the original motion
pictures made a century ago were rotting away in vaults? Hefner gave the money to save the Hollywood
sign. He spearheaded efforts to find and
restore and preserve the original movies from Hollywood’s earliest years, not
just for himself, but for future generations.
Does that sound like the actions of a wanton selfish hedonist?
Let’s get brutally honest here... Hugh Hefner had more character and far
better morals than anyone in public office today, including and especially the
narcissist currently occupying the White House.
He wasn’t a hypocrite like the bible-thumpers that conspired to destroy
him. Hugh Hefner created a brand and he
lived the brand long before the world ever heard of the name Donald Trump.
This commentator did not have the honor or the pleasure of meeting Hefner,
but I have met with and befriended some who have known him over the years. All of them have told me that they have
nothing but love and praise for the man.
Did he go over the top on some things?
Sure. How many people can claim
to have an actual zoo in their backyard?
But he also did more for both men and women than your average politician
or minister ever could.
But it was his philosophy that had the greatest impact on my life. His words helped to mold and adjust my own
philosophy towards one of true libertarianism.
Not just being “anti-government” for partisan purposes, or “free market”
just for the sake of corporatism. His
words helped me see that true freedom comes through individual freedom. He helped me see that there is a balance
between the primal and intellectual sides of ourselves. They didn’t have to be separate entities like
the script-writers and the freedom-haters demand. And, yes, there was a part of me that also wanted
to live like he did when he was my age. Who wouldn’t?
The sad part of Hef’s life was the fact that he could not give up being “the”
Playboy in his final years. I’ve
mentioned this before in earlier
articles about Playboy. It was good
to be “the” Playboy when he was young and he could fly around on his custom
Playboy airplane with the bunny logo on the tail with
an army of beautiful women on each arm.
Even in his fifties and sixties, it was okay. A little disturbing, but okay. But seeing him in the “Girls Next Door” TV
series, as sanitized as it was, we saw a shadow of who he once was. A fountain of memories in silk pajamas and a
captain’s hat.
That’s why I was relieved when one of his two sons took over the reins of
the magazine and made the bold step of resurrecting it from
the corporate non-nude imposter that took its place. At least Hef was able to pass on knowing that
a portion of his legacy was still intact.
In many ways, even our current President can thank Hugh Hefner for
helping set the stage for his presidency.
Multiple marriages, having his daughter run his business, even having a
wife that once modeled nude, Hef did these things long before Donald Trump
thought of them. And where once these
would have disqualified someone like Trump in the eyes of the voters, today
even his bible-thumping supporters think nothing of it. You can thank your “good friend” for that,
Mister President... but I’m guessing you won’t.
Hugh Hefner did much to change American society for the better, even if
people will not admit to it. The
script-writers cannot change that. And
as long as there are men and women that remember the man and are willing to
keep his philosophy alive even without the magazine or the mansion, then the
script-writers and freedom-haters will never be able to erase what he did.
Good night, Hef. You will be
missed, but hopefully never forgotten.
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