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THE PLAYBOY FAQ

Hugh Hefner

When is Hef's birthday?
Is Hef married?
Where does Hef live?
How can I get invited to a Mansion party?
Does Hef have a home page?
What was the famous saying on the door of the Chicago Mansion?
Has Hef ever been arrested?
Is it true about all the Pepsi he drinks?
Does he still wear pajamas?
Have any movies been made about Hef?
Is it true that Hef has an animal species named for him?
Did Hef ever host a television show?
What was the Big Bunny?

When is Hef's birthday?
Hef was born in Chicago on April 9, 1926.
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Is Hef married?
Hef married his first wife, Millie Williams, in 1949. They had two children, Christie Ann (b1952) and David Paul (b1955), before divorcing in 1959. Hef married Kimberley Conrad, the 1989 Playmate of the Year and "Playmate for a Lifetime," on July 1, 1989 at the Playboy Mansion West. They have two children, Marston Glenn (b1990) and Cooper Bradford (b1991). He and Kimberley separated in 1999.
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Where does Hef live?
In 1959 Hef purchased the 70-room Playboy Mansion on Chicago's Gold Coast. In 1963 he moved his office from the Playboy headquarters to the Mansion, and for the next decade or so lived and worked there. In 1971 Playboy purchased the Mansion West in Holmby Hills, California, where Hef now resides. The Chicago Mansion was donated to the Art Institute of Chicago in the early Eighties and was later converted into condominiums. You can learn more about the mansions on Hef's home page.
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How can I get invited to a Mansion party?
As much as we'd like to help, we're sorry to report we get hundreds of requests like this from individuals and members of the armed services each week. There's no way we could accommodate even a fraction of the people who would like to visit the Mansion (which is a private residence), and there's certainly no fair way to pick one over any other. Occasionally our subscription department will offer sweepstakes to win tickets to a party, or we sometimes auction tickets online (typically they sell for $5,000 to $10,000 each).
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What was the famous saying on the door of the Chicago Mansion?
A brass plate read "Si Non Oscillas, Noli Tintinnare," which translates roughly from the Latin as "If You Don't Swing, Don't Ring."
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Does Hef have a home page?
Yes. It's located here.
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Has Hef ever been arrested?
Hef was arrested in June 1963 on obscenity charges by Chicago police after Playboy published a pictorial called, "The Nudest Jayne Mansfield." The trial resulted in a hung jury that voted 7-5 for acquittal.
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Is it true about all the Pepsi he drinks?
After suffering a mild stroke in 1985, Hef switched to Diet Pepsi. But yes, there's always a supply nearby.
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Does he still wear pajamas?
Unless he has to venture outside the Mansion, Hef can usually be found wearing pajamas. In Playboy's early years, Hef worked around the clock getting the magazine out, so he didn't bother getting dressed. During the Seventies, when he was working and living in the Chicago Mansion, he realized there was no need to change at all. He now puts on a fresh pair of pajamas each morning -- usually gunfighter black -- and changes to another color at night. If he has company, he puts on a smoking jacket.
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Have any movies been made about Hef?
David Lynch and Mark Frost produced a 94-minute documentary about Hef called Once Upon A Time, which includes exclusive home video footage, glimpses of life inside the Mansion, clips from Hef's early TV appearances and interviews with both friends and enemies. Hef was also the subject of a special two-hour episode of A&E's Biography that first aired May 19, 1996.
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Is it true that Hef has an animal species named for him?
Yes. As a tribute to Hef, the discoverers of a certain endangered marsh rabbit gave it the scientific classification of Sylvilagus palustris hefneri.
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Did Hef ever host a television show?
The one-hour, syndicated Playboy's Penthouse premiered on October 24, 1959. It ran for two seasons, then returned in the fall of 1963 for another short run. The guests included Lenny Bruce, Ella Fitzgerald and Harry Belafonte. Playboy After Dark premiered in fall of 1968 and was also syndicated for two seasons. Hef also hosted Saturday Night Live on October 15, 1977 and has appeared as a guest on Laugh-In, The Tonight Show and many other programs. There are more details on his home page.
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What was the Big Bunny?
The Big Bunny was a 119-foot long DC-9 jet that became the most famous private plane in the world. Painted black with a white Rabbit Head on its tail, it carried Hef between his Chicago and Los Angeles homes and around the world. It was equipped with a galley, living room, disco, movie and video equipment, a wet bar and sleeping quarters for 16 guests. The company sold the plane in 1976 after Hef settled in Los Angeles.
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