The producer of the upcoming Hefner biopic believes the Playboy founder and “consummate optimist” was one of a handful of leaders who made American culture less intolerant and repressive.
Hef was my friend. He was the coolest. And the hippest. And at the same time, the squarest. While he transformed from an Illinois prude to the ultimate urban sophisticate, he never lost the Midwest values on which he was raised. His word was bankable. His heart was a well of emotion, open for all to see. He was the least prejudiced man I ever knew. He had deep pockets and long arms.
I admired him differently at different times. When I was a kid, he was the embodiment of everything I wanted but seemed hopelessly out of reach: beautiful women, a kingly mansion, a bunny-emblazoned DC-9. He smoked a pipe and wore pajamas, both day and night. So did my uncle Mario, but he was a doctor and unfortunately wasn’t dating Barbie Benton.
In those days, Hef’s name was synonymous with sin. For me, like most young American boys, getting my hands on a Playboy was the ultimate forbidden fruit … the joys of living before the internet. But in those days, I thought the interviews with Norman Mailer, the short stories…
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