The Playboy Company
What is Playboy?
Playboy is the leading men's magazine in the world. It contains award-winning fiction and investigative articles, humor, in-depth interviews and pictorials featuring the world's most beautiful women.
Who owns Playboy?
Playboy is owned by Playboy Enterprises, Inc., a global media and lifestyle company. Playboy is one of the most recognized and popular consumer brands in the world. Playboy Enterprises, Inc. (NYSE: PLA, PLA.A) markets the brand through a wide range of media properties and licensing initiatives. The company publishes Playboy magazine in the United States and abroad and creates content for distribution via television networks, websites, mobile platforms and radio. Through licensing agreements, the Playboy brand appears on a wide range of consumer products in more than 150 countries as well as on retail stores and entertainment venues. The company's three business groups are Entertainment, Print/Digital and Licensing.
Who founded Playboy?
The magazine was founded by Hugh Marston Hefner, then 27, in 1953. He is Editor-in-Chief of the magazine. His daughter, Christie Hefner, was the chairman and CEO of Playboy Enterprises from 1988 to 2008.
What is Playboy's circulation?
The magazine's U.S. total paid circulation of 1.5 million is larger than that of Esquire, GQ and Men's Journal. (A.B.C. 12/31/09). Our most widely circulated issue appeared in November 1972 and sold 7,161,561 copies. The largest in size was the Twenty-Fifth Anniversary issue in January 1979, which contained 414 pages.
Where is the magazine located?
Playboy's editorial offices are located in Los Angeles and Chicago. From 1967 until 1990, Playboy headquarters was located in what became known as the Playboy Building at 919 North Michigan Avenue in Chicago. The nine-foot-high letters that spelled out PLAYBOY were a well-known part of the Chicago skyline.
How do I contact Playboy?
The magazine's snail mail address is 680 North Lake Shore Drive, Chicago, Illinois 60611. You can comment on the contents of our current issue through our letters form. The magazine does not accept unsolicited fiction, non-fiction or poetry. For print and online advertising opportunities, click here.
How can I work at Playboy?
Current openings are listed on our corporate website.
Is Playboy pornography?
Playboy covers many subjects that interest men, and naturally women and sex are among those interests. Former Playboy CEO Christie Hefner, who fielded this question often, gave this response: "For those people who enjoy reading Playboy, there's no dichotomy in the fact that the magazine has an erotic component and an intellectual, humorous and celebrity component; that is the world they would like to live in. For people who find sex dangerous, troubling or off-putting, anything with sex in it carries negative connotations."
Does anybody really read Playboy for the articles?
The articles may not be the first part of the magazine most readers turn to, but judging from the letters we get, millions of Playboy readers also enjoy our award-winning journalism, humor and fiction. The only people who can rightfully claim to read it solely for the articles are the thousands of blind readers who peruse our Braille edition, which has been distributed by the Library of Congress since 1970.
Would Playboy sell so well if it didn't have naked women in it?
Probably not. We'll never know.
Subscribing to Playboy
How do I subscribe to Playboy?
You can subscribe at the lowest rate available by completing our online subscription form or by phoning 1-800-999-4438. To subscribe to Playboy's Book of Lingerie, visit Special Editions or phone 1-800-253-4500. Playboy also has a variety of international editions. You also can subscribe to Playboy Digital or order back issues at Zinio.com.
Where do I write to change my subscription address?
To change your address or inquire about your subscription, visit Playboy Customer Service. Typically it takes two to three issues for changes to take effect. To inquire about your Book of Lingerie subscription please email circ@playboy.com .
Does Playboy still offer lifetime subscriptions?
Playboy first offered lifetime subscriptions in 1957, and since that time about 1,400 readers have signed on. For information, write Playboy Magazine, Circulation Department, 680 North Lake Shore Drive, Chicago, Illinois 60611.
Is Playboy available outside North America?
We publish editions in Argentina, Brazil, Bulgaria, Columbia, Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Mexico, The Netherlands, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Ukraine and Venezuela.
Are the international editions translated versions of the North American edition?
Each edition produces original articles and pictorials that reflect the tastes and interests of its readers. Most of our international editions also reprint articles and pictorials from the flagship magazine too.
How do I subscribe to an international edition?
Playboy does not handle subscriptions for our international editions, so you'll need to inquire directly. See Playboy International for addresses. A number of editions offer digital back issues and subscriptions through Zinio.com.
How do I order Playboy Products?
Visit the Playboy Store. We accept international orders, but some items are not available in all countries. You also may phone 1-866-892-6377 to request a print catalog.
The First Issue
When did the first issue of Playboy appear?
Our first issue hit newsstands in December 1953. Seventy thousand copies were printed.
Where did the name Playboy come from?
It was suggested by a friend after the original name Hugh Hefner had chosen, Stag Party, was challenged as a trademark infringement by Stag magazine. Hef asked artist Arv Miller to change his dapper buck mascot into a rabbit.
Why is there no date on the cover?
Hef had so little money, he wasn't sure there would ever be a second issue.
How many copies did the first issue sell?
At 50 cents each, Hef sold 54,175 copies of his first, 44-page issue of Playboy, a phenomenal return for a new magazine that had little advance publicity.
Why did it sell so well?
Largely because of its Centerfold—a nude shot of Marilyn Monroe that Hef purchased from a local calendar printer.
What else did the issue contain?
A Sherlock Holmes story by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, an article on the Dorsey brothers and a feature on desk design for the modern office, "Gentlemen, Be Seated." Hef wrote much of the copy himself and drew all the cartoons.
What did Hefner tell readers in his first issue to expect from Playboy?
On the issue's first page, Hef wrote: "If you're a man between the ages of 18 and 80, Playboy is meant for you. If you like your entertainment served up with humor, sophistication and spice, Playboy will become a very special favorite. We want to make it clear from the very start, we aren't a 'family magazine.' If you're somebody's sister, wife or mother-in-law and picked us up by mistake, please pass us along to the man in your life and get back to your Ladies Home Companion. Within the pages of Playboy you will find articles, fiction, picture stories, cartoons, humor and special features culled from many sources, past and present, to form a pleasure-primer styled to the masculine taste. Most of today's 'magazines for men' spend all their time out-of-doors—thrashing through thorny thickets or splashing about in fast-flowing streams. We'll be out there too, occasionally, but we don't mind telling you in advance—we plan on spending most of our time inside. We like our apartment. We enjoy mixing up cocktails and an hors d'oeuvre or two, putting a little mood music on the phonograph and inviting in a female acquaintance for a quiet discussion on Picasso, Nietzsche, jazz, sex. We believe too, that we are filling a publishing need only slightly less important than the one just taken care of by the Kinsey Report. The magazines now being produced for the city-bred male (there are two—count 'em—two of them) have, of late, placed so much emphasis on fashion, travel and 'how-to-do-it' features on everything from avoiding a hernia to building your own steam bath, that entertainment has been all but pushed from their pages. Playboy will emphasize entertainment."
Why doesn't Hef's name appear in the issue?
If the magazine failed, he felt it would be easier to find another job in the industry. The second issue and every one thereafter has contained his name.
Hugh Hefner
Where does Hef live?
In 1959, Hef purchased the 70-room Playboy Mansion on Chicago's Gold Coast. In 1963, he moved his office from the Playboy headquarters to the Mansion, and for the next decade or so lived and worked there. In 1971, Playboy purchased the Mansion West in Holmby Hills, California, where Hef now resides. The Chicago Mansion was donated to the Art Institute of Chicago in the early 1980s and was later converted into condominiums. You can learn more about the mansions on Hef's home page.
How can I get invited to a Mansion party?
There are three ways to get into the Mansion that won’t get your photo posted in the security office: (1) be a beautiful woman and/or a personal friend of Hef’s, (2) purchase a ticket for a charity event held on the grounds (search Google for the keywords “Playboy Mansion party”), (3) join Playboy Access, which for a $1,500 annual fee provides members with a personal Playmate-led tour of the grounds, invitations to select parties, a visit to a photo shoot, free entry to the -Playboy Club in Las Vegas and discounted tickets to charity benefits, the jazz festival, the Super Bowl party, the golf scramble and other events. For info, email our concierge service at playboy [at] quintessentially.com or phone 800-444-7846..
What was the famous saying on the door of the Chicago Mansion?
A brass plate read, "Si Non Oscillas, Noli Tintinnare," which translates roughly from Latin to "If You Don't Swing, Don't Ring."
Has Hef ever been arrested?
Hef was arrested in June 1963 on obscenity charges by Chicago police after Playboy published a pictorial called "The Nudest Jayne Mansfield." The trial resulted in a hung jury that voted 7-5 for acquittal.
Is it true about all the Pepsi he drinks?
After suffering a mild stroke in 1985, Hef switched to Diet Pepsi. But yes, there's always a supply nearby.
Does he still wear pajamas?
Unless he has to venture outside the Mansion, Hef can usually be found wearing pajamas. In Playboy's early years, Hef worked around the clock getting the magazine out, so he didn't bother getting dressed. During the 1970s, when he was working and living in the Chicago Mansion, he realized there was no need to change at all. He now puts on a fresh pair of pajamas each morning—usually gunfighter black—and changes to another color at night. If he has company, he puts on a smoking jacket.
Have any movies been made about Hef?
Academy Award-winning filmmaker Brigitte Berman will soon complete a new documentary film about Hef, titled Hugh Hefner: Playboy, Activist, and Rebel. In addition, David Lynch and Mark Frost produced a 94-minute documentary about Hef called Once Upon a Time, which includes exclusive home video footage, glimpses of life inside the Mansion, clips from Hef's early TV appearances and interviews with both friends and enemies. Hef was also the subject of a special two-hour episode of A&E's Biography that first aired May 19, 1996.
Is it true that Hef has an animal species named after him?
Yes. As a tribute to Hef, the discoverers of a certain endangered marsh rabbit gave it the scientific classification of Sylvilagus palustris hefneri.
Did Hef ever host a television show?
The one-hour, syndicated Playboy's Penthouse premiered on October 24, 1959. It ran for two seasons, then returned in the fall of 1963 for another short run. The guests included Lenny Bruce, Ella Fitzgerald and Harry Belafonte. Playboy After Dark premiered in fall of 1968 and was also syndicated for two seasons (the complete run is available on a two-DVD set). Hef also hosted Saturday Night Live on October 15, 1977 and has appeared as a guest on Laugh-In, The Tonight Show and many other programs.
What was the Big Bunny?
The Big Bunny was a 119-foot long DC-9 jet that became the most famous private plane in the world. Painted black with a white Rabbit Head on its tail, it carried Hef between his Chicago and Los Angeles homes and around the world. It was equipped with a galley, living room, disco, movie and video equipment, a wet bar and sleeping quarters for 16 guests. The company sold the plane in 1976 after Hef settled in Los Angeles.
Collecting Playboy
Is there a Playboy fan club?
Playboy maintains several active discussion groups on our Club where fans discuss the magazine and Playmates. Many fans are also members of the unofficial Playboy Mailing List.
Are my old Playboys worth anything?
Most dealers are interested only in issues dated before January 1965 (and, more likely, issues dated before January 1956), although some have specific issues from later dates they're looking for in pristine condition or will purchase entire collections or runs if there are enough valuable issues included. The first issue in excellent condition (no tears, folds, tape repair, water marks or discoloring) retails for $2500 to $3500, but very few remain that pristine after so many years. Issues from the first two years (1953-1955) can sell for hundreds of dollars, depending on the date and dealer stock (by 1956 we were printing a million copies a month). Issues from the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s are even more plentiful and usually only worthwhile for a dealer or collector if they are in pristine condition. Even then, they're often worth less than $50 (and more likely less than $10). Production errors, such as duplicate pages, do not increase an issue's worth.
You can get some idea of what issues are currently selling for among collectors by ordering a catalog for $10 (preferably as a cashier's check or money order) from The Centerfold Shop, 1220 23rd Street, Suite 2PB, San Diego, CA 92102. The shop is not affiliated with Playboy, but its owner, Doug Tracy, has been buying and selling back issues for more than 30 years. Another resource is the price guide compiled by Tom Bonner of the Playboy Collectors Association, available for $12 from P.O. Box 653, Phillipsburg, Missouri 65722. Finally, you can peruse the online catalog of dealer Ken Ritchie at pbmags.com, which includes his want list. Always include a self-addressed, stamped envelope when writing to collectors or dealers.
If you have issues that a dealer would like to buy, he will typically pay between 20 and 50 percent of retail, depending on demand. So a magazine offered in a catalog for $100 is worth only $20 to $50 when you're selling it. That's why many people list their back issues online at sites such as eBay. These sites also can be helpful to get an idea of the demand for particular issues. You also may want to contact local magazine or rare book dealers (check the Yellow Pages for "Magazines—Used and Rare" or "Book Dealers—Used and Rare").
Is there a Playboy collectors' club?
The Playboy Collectors Association was founded in 1987 by Tom Bonner to share information on collectible Playboy magazines and memorabilia. For more information, send a self-addressed, stamped envelope to P.O. Box 653, Phillipsburg, Missouri 65722-0653 USA.
Why isn't there a March 1955 issue?
Due to the rapid growth of the magazine, the staff couldn't meet the deadlines for the issue. So the March issue became the April issue. Since the early issues of the magazine had no advertising, there was no ad account or agency complaints to deal with, and all subscriptions were automatically extended one issue. The missing issue was not included in the numbering and so Volume 3, No. 1 appeared in January 1956 instead of December 1955.
What are the stars on the cover of some issues?
Urban legend has it that the stars represent either the number of times Hef had slept with the Playmate of the Month or his rating of how good she was in bed. The actual explanation is less titillating. Except for a six-month period in 1976, the stars appeared on our covers from 1955 until 1979. The star system changed over the years, but it ranged from zero to 12 at its peak. The number of stars indicated the domestic or international advertising region for that edition of the magazine. The regions included a military edition, Canada, the United Kingdom, Chicago, Los Angeles metro, New York metro, eastern United States, southwestern United States, etc.
When was the last issue to have staples?
The last issue with a stapled Centerfold was September 1985. Playboy began using a glued binding after that issue.
Where can I buy back issues?
There are several sources. Zinio.com has downloadable digital copies from October 2005 to present, while the Playboy Store stocks print copies. For older issues, contact the dealers listed under "Are my old Playboys worth anything?" (above) or search at eBay.
The Rabbit Head
What is the origin of the famous Playboy Rabbit Head?
Designed by Art Paul, the magazine's first art director, the Rabbit Head has appeared on the cover of every issue of the magazine since the second. Why a rabbit? Hef once explained, "I selected a rabbit as the symbol for the magazine because of the humorous sexual connotation, and because he offered an image that was frisky and playful. I put him in a tuxedo to add the idea of sophistication. There was another editorial consideration, too. Since both The New Yorker and Esquire use men as their symbols, I felt the rabbit would be distinctive; and the notion of a rabbit dressed up in formal evening attire struck me as charming, amusing and right." Added Art Paul, "If I had any idea how important that little Rabbit was going to be, I probably would have redrawn him a dozen times to make certain I was doing him justice, and I suppose none of those versions would have turned out as well as the original. As it was, I did one drawing and that was it. I probably spent all of half an hour on it." The Rabbit was so well known that in 1959 a New York reader was able to send Playboy a letter with the Rabbit Head as the only address.
Why is a Rabbit Head always hidden on the cover?
The tradition began in the 1960s as a lighthearted way to challenge readers.
What should I do if I can't find the Rabbit Head on the cover?
Because Playboy was receiving so many calls from stymied readers, the editors decided in 1976 to begin providing clues to its whereabouts on the contents page of each issue.
Where can I buy those Rabbit Head car air fresheners?
The Rabbit Head air fresheners are no longer made, although if you search long enough, you may find one in the forgotten corner of a local auto parts store. Fortunately there are many other products available from the Playboy Store—from T-shirts to playing cards to cuff links (the first item we ever offered)—emblazoned with the Rabbit Head.
The Playboy Interview
When was the first Playboy Interview?
Alex Haley interviewed jazz musician Miles Davis for the first Playboy Interview, which appeared in our September 1962 issue. The second interview was with Peter Sellers and the third with Jackie Gleason.
Has anyone been interviewed more than once?
Muhammad Ali (once as Cassius Clay), Mel Brooks, Fidel Castro, Cher, Bill Cosby, Bob Dylan, Jackie Gleason, Jimmy Hoffa, Jesse Jackson, Steve Martin, Ralph Nader, Paul Newman, Ted Turner, Gore Vidal, Masters and Johnson, John Travolta, Chevy Chase, Daniel Ortega, Lorne Michaels, Paul McCartney, John Lennon and Robin Williams are among the people who have sat for the Interview twice.
Which people have been interviewed as part of a group?
Siskel and Ebert, Rowan and Martin, Cheech and Chong, Masters and Johnson, MacNeil and Lehrer and John, Paul, George and Ringo are among the famous partners who have sat together for the Interview. Among the couples have been Jane Fonda and Tom Hayden, John Lennon and Yoko Ono, Julie Andrews and Blake Edwards, Paul and Linda McCartney and Imelda and Ferdinand Marcos. We have also gathered groups such as the casts of Saturday Night Live, Hill Street Blues, 60 Minutes, and thirtysomething, and political organizations such as the Sandinistas and the Irish Republican Army.
What did Jimmy Carter say that created such a stir?
Carter took a lot of heat for admitting to Playboy's Barry Golson and Robert Scheer that he "lusted in his heart" in our November 1976 issue. Asked about his religious beliefs, Carter replied, "Christ said, 'I tell you that anyone who looks on a woman with lust has in his heart already committed adultery.' I've looked on a lot of women with lust. I've committed adultery in my heart many times. This is something that God recognizes I will do—and I have done it—and God forgives me for it. But that doesn't mean that I condemn someone who not only looks on a woman with lust but who leaves his wife and shacks up with somebody out of wedlock. Christ says, Don't consider yourself better than someone else because one guy screws a whole bunch of women while the other guy is loyal to his wife."
Have the Interviews ever been collected in one place?
Many of our past Interviews and 20Q are on the site. We also have published a number of books that collect select Interviews, available at the Playboy Store, including those with directors, athletes and comedians.
- TAGS:
- Advice
- Special Features
Jul 29, 2010
