Hugh Hefner died this Wednesday, Sept. 27, of natural causes in his Playboy Mansion.
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Hefner was a playboy and editor-in-chief of Playboy magazine. At the time of his death, Hugh Hefner was estimated to be worth $49 million. His magazine sales made him around $100,000 a year. The first edition of Playboy hit newsstands December 1953. Marilyn Monroe, American actress and model, was the first person to be featured on the cover of Playboy magazine. While Monroe’s cover turned Hefner into a success, the two never actually met.
Hefner claimed to feel a connection with her “because she was the launching key to the beginning of Playboy”. He also felt connected to Monroe because the two were born the same year. Years before the first Playboy was published, Marilyn posed nude for a pinup photographer named Tom Kelley. She was only paid $50 for the original nude photo. Four years after the original shoot, “Hefner paid a Chicago calendar company $500 for one of those nude images, plus another clothed photo, to launch his magazine”. The magazine was instantly successful and is one of the most iconic covers in Playboy history.
Credit: NY Daily News
Hefner exploited Marilyn Monroe and she never received any money from Hugh or the Playboy Enterprises. He did not receive consent from Monroe to use her photographs yet, benefited greatly.
Hefner bought a $75,000 crypt in 1992, 30 years after Marilyn Monroe died, next to where she was buried. She was buried at Westwood Village Memorial Cemetery in Los Angeles. Hefner’s infatuation with Marilyn is not only disturbing but also obsessive.
