Hugh Hefner Will Be Buried Right Next to His Favourite Playmate, Naturally

Hugh Hefner, that pyjama-wearing lecher who founded Playboy magazine and helped steer nudity into the mainstream, died Wednesday — on a hump day, no less — at the age of 91. Founded in 1953 and known for its mixture of short stories (contributors included Vladimir Nabokov, Kurt Vonnegut, and John Updike), high-profile interviews (with Malcom X, Miles Davis, and Stanley Kubrick, among others), and, of course, naked ladies, his publication was credited with setting off a sexual revolution in America.

But just as iconic as the magazine was its founder — a bona fide playboy himself. Branded a proponent of free speech by some, a chauvinist pig by others, he was known for hosting lavish parties full of younger, well-toned women, many of whom he dated (and even married) well into his geriatric years. Seldom was he seen without a head turner by his side — so it’s fitting that he’d want it that way even in his death.

In 1992, Hefner paid a cool $75,000 for a burial plot at Westwood Memorial park in L.A. right next to his most beloved Playmate, Marilyn Monroe. The legendary actress and sex symbol, who died in 1962, graced the cover of the first-ever Playboy in December 1953.

monroe

The Hef famously pulled together $8,000 to buy pictures of the biggest starlet of the ’50s for his mag’s debut issue, which went on to sell millions of copies. He attributed much of the immediate success of Playboy to the inclusion of a nude photo of Monroe. As a result, the two went on to form a very close bond.

A spot near Monroe is some prime graveyard real estate. The crypt directly above her once belonged to Richard Poncher, a businessman who instructed his wife to bury him above Monroe, reportedly telling her: “If I croak, if you don’t put me upside down over Marilyn, I’ll haunt you for the rest of my life.” (It beats us how he could haunt her for the rest of his life when he’s already dead, but that’s besides the point.) He stayed in the spot for 23 years until 2009, when his widow auctioned it off for a staggering $4.6 million. For $75,000, Hef got a pretty good deal. And you know what? He deserved it.

R.I.P. Hugh Hefner. We’d say you’re in a better place now, but we’d be lying.

 

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Hugh Hefner,Playboy