Hugh Hefner on his 88th Birthday reflects back on life as a Playboy

HUGH HEFNER CHANGES AMERICA Hefner grew up in the mid west and majored in psychology at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. In 1949, Hefner wrote a term paper examining U.S. sex laws in light of the newly published Kinsey Institute research on male human sexuality. After serving as a copywriter for Esquire, he left in 1952 after being denied a $5 raise. He then took his biggest gamble by raising $10,000 from 45 investors - including $1,000 from his mother to launch Playboy. At its peak, Playboy sold more than 1,200,000 issues each month. Hefner's concept exploded as a variety of different avenues opened up. A late-night television program, "Playboy's Penthouse," premiered; The Playboy Jazz Festival took place in Rhode Island, and in 1960, Hefner opened up the first Playboy Club in Chicago. In less than two years, the number of clubs had expanded to 12, with over 125,000 patrons paying either $25 for a charter membership or $50 for a lifetime membership.