Hugh Hefner

Hugh Marston Hefner was born April 9, 1926, and built his name as founder and editor-in-chief of Playboy magazine, a publication that paired revealing photographs with quality articles, fiction, and lengthy interviews with politicians, musicians, artists, and writers. He extended the brand into a world network of Playboy Clubs, turning a magazine into an empire. Hefner then made himself the product: he lived in luxury mansions where Playboy Playmates shared his partying lifestyle, and the media interest never quit. He died September 27, 2017, having spent decades as both the architect and the inhabitant of his own constructed world.