06-11-2007 18:14

With Hugh Hefner

Rencontre avec le créateur de Playboy (en anglais)

At 81, Hugh Hefner is impressive and imposing. A bit jet-lagged, he settles himself comfortably on the couch and beckons me to sit near him. “I’m old, so a bit hard of hearing. Come and sit here,” he says. I acquiesce and feel intimidated by this legendary figure who created one of the most popular magazines of all time over half a century ago. Never short of ideas nor girlfriends – he has three: Holly, Kendra and Bridget – Hugh Hefner has turned Playboy into an institution, a popular brand and unforgettable logo. But the new stars are Holly, Kendra and Bridget, whose reality show, The Girls of Playboy, has become the highest-rated show on the E! channel. Their sugar daddy tells us more.

When you first started out, did you think that Playboy would become such a lasting institution?

When I started, as you know, I had just enough money for one issue - I didn’t put any date on the first issue – so I was very pleased when I lasted the first year. What I could not have imagined is celebrity entered into the pop culture. And we had an incredible run during half a century. That the brand would be so hot again now, no, no one could have imagined. I’m 81… Unreal.  

I remember when you celebrated your 80^th birthday in Cannes, you said, “80 is the new 40!”

Yes! For me, in many ways it is and on many levels – in my personal life and also in Playboy itself. We went through a difficult period in the 1980s. It was a more conservative time in America, politically, socially and sexually. What I could never have imagined was the television show was hugely popular with young women. So the brand is very, very hot with women and to me is so satisfying. I always had a feeling, quite frankly, the sexual revolution was for both of us. To say it was just for guys, it’s just ridiculous. There was a puritan element within the women’s movement that was embraced by the media who viewed the sexual revolution in Playboy as chauvinist. I always believed it was for both.  

Playboy has always maintained a certain class without ever drifting into porn. Does that account for its success with women?

Thank you, that was my intention from the very beginning – not to create a sex magazine but to put sex back in the natural part of life.  

Do you think America is still hypocritical about sex?

To some degree, yes, without question. America is hypocritical of a lot of things! (Laughs) But that is a part of who we are. See, I’m an eleventh generation descendant of William Bradford who came over on the Mayflower along with the Puritan forefathers. And my parents were repressive and puritan. The Puritans came over from England to escape religious persecution and turned around and stated persecuting the people who didn’t agree with them! I understand that. What other non-Muslim country would wind up with prohibition? That’s very Puritan.  

For the cover of your first issue, you had Marilyn Monroe…

A good beginning!  

Yeah, a very good start! Does she still incarnate the ultimate sex symbol? What is it that she had?

I think it was a combination of sexuality and vulnerability. I think that the public lived out, as in the tabloid world that we live in today. We do that with a lot of celebrities, but with Marilyn Monroe, it was an early example of how the public identified with her, not simply in her film roles but also in her public life. And it was the combination of sexuality and vulnerability. You saw it very much not just in the roles she played but especially in her life. But I think she is probably the major sex celebrity of the 20^th century.  

What does it take to be a Bunny?

It is the girl next door! Pin-up pictures and photography were very popular before Playboy, when I served during World War II. There were no centerfolds – that began with Playboy. The notion in terms of Playmate of the Month was that beauty is everywhere. Look around you – she’s the girl down the street, she lives on the college campus, in your office, she’s the girl next door. What we look for is that wholesome, fresh, very natural kind of beauty.  

With no plastic surgery done?

Well, I wouldn’t say that. I’ve certainly seen a number of it! (Laughs) Cosmetic surgery, like science, is there to be used with discretion. Often, cosmetic surgery is used for more than the physical repair. It’s used to make a person feel better about themselves. There’s nothing wrong with that.  

Is there anyone you’d like so see pose in your magazine?

Oh yes, lots. We’d like to see the ones that the readers would like to see! It’s always that same list. It is whoever – in film, music or whatever it may be – that captures the readers’ fancy at a given time.  

Are there any unwritten rules for entry and exit at the Mansion?

Well, I would say that what makes the Playboy magazine special is the fact that it is kind of like a private club, so people tend to behave themselves there. I think that in a very real way, women rule. In other words, people leave the game-playing at the gate when they come in. Nobody gets out of line. It’s a very free and liberated place, but people behave themselves otherwise they don’t get invited back.  

How can one obtain an invitation?

It helps if you’re a celebrity, a beautiful woman or representing a media!  

OK, so I’ll come over next time I’m in LA.

OK, absolutely! It’ a deal!  

People often forget that you’re also a major player in the publishing world, that while so many others folded, you maintained a certain quality – you’ve had some of the best writers.

Well, for me it was never a business. I tried to make a magazine that I myself would enjoy very much as a reader. After World War II, most of the men’s magazines were not indoor magazines, they were not sophisticated magazines. They were magazines devoted to outdoor adventure, connected to the buddy thing that came out of the war – hunting, fishing, bowling. I was just interested in a more romantic interconnection between the opposite sexes from the male point of view and living life with a little style. I felt from the beginning that there was more to life than just sitting in front of your television set with a couple of buddies drinking a beer. Life should be lived with a little style.  

How did you take all the criticism at first? What did your parents think?

That was a very mixed thing, because I don’t think on a certain level, my parents really every fully approved or truly understood what I was trying to do. At one point during an interview, an interviewer asked my mother whether she was proud of me and she said, “Oh yea, but of course I would’ve been just as happy if he’d been a missionary.” A lot of members of my family were missionaries. I said, “Mom, I was.” I don’t think she fully understood or appreciated that, but when I was trying to start the magazine in the summer of 1953 and had no money, literally, I went to everybody – friends, relatives, anybody – to see if I could get them to invest. And I went to my dad and asked if he would loan me some money or invest. He was a CPA and didn’t think it would be a good business investment, so he declined. My mother took me aside – she was working during the War and had a little money saved on her own – and gave me a check for a thousand dollars. So she didn’t really understand, but she did approve in that sense. And my dad eventually came to work for me and became the treasurer of the company.  

It’s become a family venture because your daughter and brother also work for you.

My daughter runs the business and my brother came to work for me early on for the Playboy Club business in the 60s. He created the stylized Bunny service, the Bunny dip and all that.      

How did you explain to your children the nature of your business when they were little?

That was easy! (Laughs) They thought it was wonderful! My children from both marriages grew up with the magazine. There was never any taboo. As a matter of fact, they recognize the kinds of liberal things that the magazine stands for and that I stand for and they believe in it.  

Will you remarry?

That’s a tough one. I’m in a very good relationship. I have three wonderful girlfriends, but the Number One girl is Holly. She would love to get married. It’s very hard to say because I don’t want to screw up the relationship. It’s the best relationship I’ve ever had and I have not been very lucky with marriages! And anyway, I think we’re going to be together for the rest of my life.  

Are there any catfights at the Mansion?

There have been historically, of course. But the three girls get on very, very well. One of my concerns about doing the television show –and Holly was concerned too – was that it would inject something that would change things in the relationship in a negative way. And it hasn’t. Quite the contrary. It really is a delightful surprise. Unlike most reality shows, this one is real. Most reality shows are game shows or they’re scripted and very phony. What you get with the Girls Next Floor is really just a portion of our lives, with comedy thrown in.  

The show is quite popular…

It’s beyond just popular. It has, particularly with young women and mothers and daughters, a cult following. Really remarkable. It is the highest rated show on the E! channel. Sixty-some percent of the audience is young and female.  

Because so many girls can relate to them. It’s their fantasy.

It’s a girls’ fantasy, absolutely! It’s like a romance novel.  

I don’t think the Playgirl version of the show would have the same impact!

(Laughs) No, I don’t think so!  

They’re also a lot smarter than people think!

Absolutely! Even Kendra, who often seems to be the one that isn’t quite smart. It doesn’t have a lot to do with education – it’s very street-smart. She has already invested in a condo for investment purposes and has just signed a very nice contract to be the face of a line of women’s clothing. She’s doing very well.  

So the show has also given them the opportunity to do other things.

All three of them are pursuing career aspirations.  

And what has been your greatest achievement?

I think I have had some positive impact on the changing social values of my time. I’ secure in that and feel very good about that. When you mix religion and politics, whether it’s in America, Iraq or Iran, it’s a very dangerous business. But I understand that. That’s who Americans are. That’s who a lot of us are. We al have very mixed feelings about sexuality. We’re fascinated by it and, at the same time, feel guilt and shame.  

Do you have any regrets?

In my life? Not in any real way. Certainly there have been decisions that I’ve made that in hindsight, I might do it differently in terms of business and personal decisions. But that’s a very dangerous game, because overall, what an incredible half a century. I know how lucky I am.  

Will you ever retire?

I don’t think so, not if I’m healthy because quite frankly, that’s kid of the beginning of the end.  

You had a stroke in 1985. Did that change you?

At that time, I felt much older than I do today. The middle of the 1980s was a difficult period.  

Did it give you a new perspective on life?

Oh yes! I changed my lifestyle dramatically in both work and play. I stopped smoking the pipe and started working round the clock.  

Is there anything you would like to do that you’ve never had the time to?

I think by and large, quite frankly, all that I’m looking for is more of the same. I’m very happy with my life and the way things are going.