activism

In 2011 I had the opportunity to interview Hugh Hefner in advance of the documentary release: Hugh Hefner: Playboy, Activist, Rebel. It was, and still is, one of my favorite interviews I have conducted. Mr. Hefner was surprisingly present, erudite and on task to promote the film. This was in contrast to his public persona of the absent-minded, pajama wearing, man of wealth and means hedonist that most people identified him with. More in contrast was the film itself. A lot people can say a lot of things about Mr. Hefner: and they would be right. However, as a social activist he was quiet and fierce. He championed men and women charged with unreasonable blue laws, fought against Jim Crow racism in the South, and even (at the urging of Yul Brenner) used the Playboy jet to transport a group of orphans across the country. I came away from the interview acknowledging there are many sides to all of us, that no person is any one thing regardless of reputation.

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