Hugh Hefner will be buried next to Marilyn Monroe, who he credited for making Playboy magazine such a success.
The Playboy founder who died at his infamous mansion on Wednesday, aged 91, purchased the vault next to Marilyn’s in the Westwood Village Memorial Park, LA, for $75,000 (£56,000), in 1992, writes The Independent.
Monroe was the cover-girl and centrefold of the first ever issue of Playboy in December 1953.
Hugh credited the naked picture of Monroe for making the magazine such a success, with the issue completely selling out.
Playboy was founded with $600 of Hugh’s own money and $1,000 borrowed from his mother.
In a statement by Playboy Enterprises, Cooper Hefner, the company’s CEO and Hugh’s son, said:
My father lived an exceptional and impactful life as a media and cultural pioneer and a leading voice behind some of the most significant social and cultural movements of our time in advocating free speech, civil rights and sexual freedom.
He defined a lifestyle and ethos that lie at the heart of the Playboy brand, one of the most recognizable and enduring in history.
Hefner was known to enjoy a bit of sexytimes and revealed he had to pop Viagra pills in order to maintain said lifestyle choices, which left him with a serious side effect.
The pills have been linked to sudden sensorineural hearing loss, and left Heff almost completely deaf.
Hugh’s former lovers Karissa and Kristina Shannon revealed as much to The Sun last year.
They also revealed that Heff was completely okay with his loss of hearing, saying he’d told them he’d rather maintain his sex life than his hearing.
Despite the controversies there have been surrounding Hef’s life, he took care of the people he knew, and those he didn’t, through his philanthropy.
Hefner’s final few tweets were focused on the victims of Hurricanes Harvey and Irma, encouraging people to think of them and donate.
The American businessman’s Twitter is an accolade to his loved ones, his philanthropic ventures, and his political views.
Throughout his life, the millionaire donated and raised money for the Democratic party, the restoration of the Hollywood Sign (he purchased the letter Y for $27k), and he donated $100k and created a course called ‘Censorship in Cinema’ at the University of Southern California’s School of Cinematic Arts.
Outside the political and publishing spheres, Hefner organised fundraisers for Much Love Animal Rescue and an endangered subspecies of marsh rabbit is named after him in honour of the financial support he provided.
He was presented with the Founder’s Hero of the Heart Award by the Children of the Night for his unwavering dedication, commitment and generosity.
As well as supporting charities, Hefner was a political activist and supported legalising same-sex marriage, saying gay marriage was ‘a fight for all our rights. Without it, we will turn back the sexual revolution and return to an earlier, puritanical time’.
Hefner is survived by his wife Crystal and four children – Christie, who served as CEO of Playboy Enterprise for more than 20 years, David, Marston and Cooper.
Rest in peace.
