I would contend that if you actually read Playboy, particularly after the mid-60s, then you read it absolutely for the articles.  Yes, there were nekkid girls.  But you could find more nekkid girls for less money in other magazines.  So if you were buying Playboy, yeah, there were the pictorials...but the actual selling point was the articles and the air of sophistication.  

I guess I'd better bag and board those 90's Playboys I have.

How many Playboys do you have?


If embarrassed send me a PM!

I think this was a coming of age thing among men moving from home because i did the same thing because it was Playboy nudes and articles and the parents wouldn't allow. Of course dropped after initial subscription as the rate goes up and then in 4-5 years Playboy would always dig through the subscription records and offer a great deal if subscribe again so another years worth and then dropped. So on and so forth through the 80's and occasionally an issue in the early 90's and 2000's just to see how much the magazine may have changed and nothing for the last 15 years or so. Think i took my boxes off to a used book store and sold the whole group around 10 years ago. Kept a few special issues for remembrance and articles though.

I'll second that.  I mean, this is a guy who inaugurated Playboy by publishing a nude photo of Marilyn Monroe without her consent.  Hefner paid for the photo so what he didn't certainly wasn't illegal, but it was far from ethical.  What's even creepier is the fact that Hefner arranged to be buried next to Monroe who he never even met.  

Hefner was a complex individual, as are most people.  he had his good and bad points.  He and his magazine did help to bring mature discussion of sexual relations out in the open, along with things like the Kinsey Report and similar writings.  At the same time, he built the success of the magazine on nude photos of women.  Those photos were generally of better technical quality than most men's magazines and there was a higher level of writing within the magazine.  There was also a single male fantasy lifestyle perpetuated within, that was both economically and socially out of the reach of most of the readership.  he championed minority performers in his nightclubs, while at the same time objectifying the waitresses.  Still, those clubs had strict rules about fraternization and conduct, though I suspect that didn't necessarily hold true for all clientele.

Hefner led a hedonistic lifestyle and his later days were like some ridiculous soft porn fantasy, with a harem of attendants who may have been window dressing, concubines, nurses or whatever label fits.  He was also a great philanthropist. 

No one is perfect; but, he was far from evil and he set higher standards than the bulk of his competitors, especially people like Larry Flint.  Whether or not that is a plus is in your own perspective.

Hef is not that different than some of his critics. To me, he always cam across as an intelligent man that was insecure in interpersonal relationships, probably due to a combination of his upbringing and his wife's admission of an affair, while he was in the army.  He has spoken of how devastating it was to him.  That probably helped shape a lot of what he built.  There is both positive and negative within his life and legacy and you can't celebrate one without discussing the other; but, you also can't condemn the one without highlighting the other.  I've seen some fairly balanced pieces on him, in the wake of his death, which pretty much detail both sides.

My Mom and Dad were on the "Let's Make a Deal" show and dressed in Costumes and they weren't selected in the show; but after show they went around an offer deals like this one that was offered to my Mom. Monty came to her about 10 minutes after the show and go into your purse and open up your wallet and I'll pay you $10.00 for every dollar bill that's inside your wallet. To be fair to Monty; Monty took out all her cash and separate the bills and gave back the 2 $5 and a $20 back to her.

Then, Monty counted seven #1.00 bills inside your wallet; and he said to my Mom, You Keep your $1.00 bills and I'll pay you $10 for every $1.00 bill that you have. She walked away with $70.00 all in Alexander Hamilton's Face on and got out of the Studio with $70.00 richer.

We were on Vacation and the whole family was and while they were inside "Let's Make a Deal" studio; me and my three older brothers were entertained me and my three older brothers went to a taping of the "Brady Bunch" for kicks. The year was 1970 when we did this together; I was 11 years of age back then.