18 interesting facts about Playboy
- Playboy's first issue went on sale in December 1953, selling 54,175 copies at 50 cents each. The maiden magazine contained 44 pages.
- The first edition featured a nude photo of Marilyn Monroe that Hefner bought from a local calendar printer, as well as a Sherlock Holmes story by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.
- The magazine's original name was Stag Party, and instead of a rabbit, its mascot was a buck. Hugh Hefner changed the name to Playboy at a friend's suggestion after the name Stag Party was challenged in a trademark infringement case.
- Playboy's use of "tasteful" nude photos is classified as "softcore" in contrast to the more "hardcore" pornographic magazines that started to appear in the 1970s in response to the success of Playboy's more explicit rival, Penthouse.
- The first centerfold was Marian Stafford, who appeared in the March 1956 issue.
- Today, Playboy is actually one of the nation's largest producers of hardcore pornography via its 2006 acquisition of ClubJenna Inc.
- The famous Playboy rabbit logo has appeared on every cover since the second edition in January 1954.
- The first issue, published in December 1953, did not carry a date, as Hefner was unsure whether there would be a second issue. It was produced in Hefner's Hyde Park kitchen.
- US actress Pamela Anderson has been featured on Playboy's cover more than any other model, appearing 10 times between October 1989 and July 2001.
- The best-selling Playboy edition was the November 1972 edition, which sold 7,161,561 copies. One-quarter (1/4) of all American college men were buying the magazine every month. On the cover was model Pam Rawlings, photographed by Rowland Scherman.
- Spy author Ian Fleming's James Bond character was introduced in a short story the author wrote for Playboy's March 1960 issue.
- The magazine celebrated its 50th Anniversary with the January 2004 issue. Celebrations were held at Las Vegas, Los Angeles, New York, and Moscow during the year to commemorate this event.
- As of the December 2003 issue, 602 women have been Playmates.
- Today, Playboy is still the largest selling men's magazine, selling about three million copies a month in the U.S.
- Seven men have appeared on the cover of Playboy: Peter Sellers in April 1964; Burt Reynolds in October 1979; Steve Martin in January 1980; Donald Trump in March 1990; Dan Aykroyd in August 1993; Jerry Seinfeld in October 1993; and Leslie Nielsen in February 1996.
- Hefner married former Playboy "Playmate of the Year" Kimberley Conrad in 1989. The couple had two sons, Marston Glenn (born 1990), and Cooper Bradford, (born 1991) . Hugh Hefner and his second wife separated in 1999.
- Playboy launched into the television business in 1982.
- There are 18 international editions of Playboy around the world, with the magazines printed in Brazil, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Japan, Mexico, the Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Russia, Slovenia, Spain and Taiwan.
- In 1982, Hefner's daughter Christie took over as president of Playboy Enterprises Incorporated.
- At 82 years old, Hugh Hefner has settled down considerably. The playboy still has sex "several times a week". He enjoys watching movies. An interesting fact about Hugh Hefner of Playboy fame is, that his private collection contains over 4,000 films.
