HUGH HEFNER

Hugh Hefner was born on April 9, 1926, in Chicago, Illinois to Glenn and Grace Hefner. As a child, he attended Sayre Elementary School and Steinmetz High on the West Side of Chicago. He wasn't a gifted student, just your run of the mill average joe who was getting by in school.Following graduation from high school in January 1944, Hef (a nickname that he's preferred since youth) joined the US Army, serving as an Infantry Clerk and drawing cartoons for various Army newspapers.After his discharge from the service in 1946, he began taking art classes (anatomy, of course) at the Chicago Art Institute, enrolling that fall at the University of Illinois in Champaign/Urbana.Hef received his bachelor's degree in two and a half years by doubling up on classes while drawing cartoons for the Daily Illinois and editing the campus humor magazine Shaft, where he initially introduced a newfeature entitled "Coed of the Month" (very clever!). His future seemed bleak when he landed a job as a promotion copywriter at Esquire in 1951. When the magazine moved its offices to New York, he chose to remain behind and start a magazine of his own. From that point on, the rest, as they say, is history. Hitting newsstands in December 1953, it carried no cover date because Hefner was not sure when or if he would be able to produce another. But the first issue sold more than 50,000 copies -- enough to pay for the costs and finance another issue. Thus began the impressive life of Hef and his globally notorious magazine. In his tenure so far, Hefner has done some amazing things. From putting on what is considered "the greatest single weekend in the history of jazz" at the first ever Jazz Festival at Chicago Stadium, to organizing Hollywood's stars to refurbish "Hollywood's Eiffel Tower" of the Hollywood sign, Hefner is truly a man worthy of admiration.Get Your Own! | View SlideshowGet Your Own! | View SlideshowGet Your Own! | View Slideshow