Hugh Hefner - Hefner was born in Chicago, Illinois in 1926, the eldest of two sons born to Grace Caroline (née Swanson) (1895-1997) and Glenn Lucius Hefner (1896-1976). He went to Sayre Elementary School and Steinmetz High School, then served in the U.S. Army. He graduated from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Working as a copywriter for Esquire, he left in January 1952 after being denied a $5 raise. In 1953, he lent his furniture for $600 and raised $8,000 from 45 investors - including $1,000 from his mother ("Not because she believed in the venture," he told E! in 2006. "But because she believed in her son") - to launch Playboy, which was initially going to be called Stag Party. The undated first issue, published in December 1953, featured Marilyn Monroe from her 1949 nude calendar shoot. Hefner, who never met Monroe, owns the crypt next to hers.
|
