Hugh Heffner, most famous for being the founder of Playboy Magazine, died of cardiac arrest and respiratory failure after contracting a blood infection called septicemia and drug-resistant e. coli. He was laid to rest next to Hollywood icon Marilyn Monroe. He is survived by his wife Crystal Harris.
The role of Playboy founder Hugh Hefner in a biopic by Rush Hour director Brett Ratner will be tackled by Suicide Squad actor Jared Leto. Originally, his life story was to be played by Robert Downey Jr, but after rights to Hefner’s life story went up for grabs upon the death of producer Jerry Weintraub, the film is being set up by Ratner’s RatPac Entertainment. Hefner’s recent death at the age of 91 re-opened debate about the Playboy founder’s legacy.
Many view him as a progressive figure while others argue he was a misogynist who commodified women. Hefner, famous for being clad in silk pajamas and a smoking jacket, began building his empire in the 1950s with the founding of Playboy Magazine, the influential monthly featured top drawer literature, alongside photos of naked models.
The first issue of Playboy was issued in 1953 and became the most successful men’s magazine in the world.
Eventually, the magazine’s popularity faded, when people were able to be just one click away from viewing nudity and pornography on the internet. The movie will most likely detail Hefner’s controversial life, marriages and actions.
