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The Playboy Mansion, also known as the Playboy Mansion West, is the former home of ''
Playboy ''Playboy'' (stylized in all caps) is an American men's Lifestyle journalism, lifestyle and entertainment magazine, available both online and in print. It was founded in Chicago in 1953 by Hugh Hefner and his associates, funded in part by a $ ...
'' magazine founder
Hugh Hefner Hugh Marston Hefner (April 9, 1926 – September 27, 2017) was an American magazine publisher. He was the founder and editor-in-chief of ''Playboy'' magazine, a publication with revealing photographs and articles. Hefner extended the ''Playboy ...
, who lived there from 1971 until his death in 2017. Barbi Benton convinced Hefner to buy the home located in
Holmby Hills Holmby Hills is a neighborhood on the Westside of Los Angeles, California, United States. The neighborhood was developed in the early 20th century by the Janss Investment Company, which developed the rest of Westwood, Los Angeles as well as oth ...
,
Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
,
California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...
, near
Beverly Hills Beverly Hills is a city located in Los Angeles County, California, United States. A notable and historic suburb of Los Angeles, it is located just southwest of the Hollywood Hills, approximately northwest of downtown Los Angeles. Beverly Hil ...
. From the 1970s onward, the mansion became the location of lavish parties held by Hefner which were often attended by celebrities and socialites. It is currently owned by Daren Metropoulos, the son of billionaire investor
Dean Metropoulos Charles Dean Metropoulos (; born May 1946 in Tripoli, Greece) is a Greek-American billionaire investor and businessman. He was the owner of Pabst Brewing Company, which was founded by Jacob Best in 1844. On the ''Forbes'' 2020 list of the world ...
, and is used for corporate activities. It also serves as a location for television production, magazine photography, charitable events, and civic functions. Hefner established the original Playboy Mansion in 1959. It was a brick and limestone residence in Chicago's Gold Coast, which had been built in 1899. Hefner had founded ''Playboy'' in Chicago in 1953. After he permanently relocated to California in 1975, his company eventually leased the mansion for a nominal rent to the
School of the Art Institute of Chicago The School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC) is a Private university, private art school associated with the Art Institute of Chicago (AIC) in Chicago, Illinois. Tracing its history to an art students' cooperative founded in 1866, which gr ...
and then donated it to the school outright. The school later sold the mansion, which was then redeveloped for luxury condominiums. Following Hefner's death in 2017, allegations of drug and sexual abuse began to emerge at the Playboy Mansion during Hefner's lifetime.


History

The house is described as being in the "
Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, a Germanic people **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Gothic alphabet, an alphabet used to write the Gothic language ** Gothic ( ...
- Tudor" style of architecture by ''
Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine founded by B. C. Forbes in 1917. It has been owned by the Hong Kong–based investment group Integrated Whale Media Investments since 2014. Its chairman and editor-in-chief is Steve Forbes. The co ...
'' magazine, and sits on . It was designed by Arthur R. Kelly in 1927 as Holmby House for Arthur Letts Jr., son of
The Broadway The Broadway was a mid-level department store chain headquartered in Los Angeles, California. Founded in 1896 by English-born Arthur Letts Sr., and named after what was once the city's main shopping street, the Broadway became a dominant reta ...
department store founder
Arthur Letts Arthur Letts Sr. (June 17, 1862 – May 18, 1923) was an immigrant from England who made his fortune in Los Angeles, California, in the early years of the 20th century. He built his wealth by transforming a small, bankrupt dry goods store in Down ...
. The estate was acquired by
Playboy Enterprises PLBY Group, Inc. is an American global media and lifestyle company founded by Hugh Hefner as Playboy Enterprises, Inc. to oversee the ''Playboy'' magazine and related assets. Its headquarters are in Los Angeles, California. The company is focus ...
(as with the earlier Chicago Mansion, Hefner nominally rented his living accommodations from the company, which also designated the homes as promotional facilities) in 1971 for $1.05 million (equivalent to $8.2 million in 2024). Its previous owner was Louis D. Statham (1908–1983), a foundational
biomedical engineer Biomedicine (also referred to as Western medicine, mainstream medicine or conventional medicine)
and prominent
chess Chess is a board game for two players. It is an abstract strategy game that involves Perfect information, no hidden information and no elements of game of chance, chance. It is played on a square chessboard, board consisting of 64 squares arran ...
aficionado who had divested the property in the broader context of his divorce from his first wife, having largely relocated to
Lone Pine, California Lone Pine is a census-designated place (CDP) in Inyo County, California, United States, located south-southeast of Independence. The population was 2,035 at the 2010 census, up from 1,655 at the 2000 census. The town is located in the Owens ...
(where he would host and endow the annual
Lone Pine International Lone Pine International was a series of chess tournaments held annually in March or April from 1971 through 1981 in Lone Pine, California. The tournaments were formally known as the Louis D. Statham Masters, named after sponsor Louis D. Statham (1 ...
chess tournament over the next decade).Playboy Enterprises Annual Report
. Accessed July 9, 2014.
In early 2011, it was valued at $54 million. It sits close to the northwestern corner of the
Los Angeles Country Club The Los Angeles Country Club is a golf and country club in Los Angeles, California, United States. The club is noted for being very exclusive. It hosted the 2023 U.S. Open on its North Course. History In the fall of 1897, a group of Los Ang ...
, near the
University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school the ...
and the
Bel-Air Country Club The Bel-Air Country Club is a social club located in Bel Air, Los Angeles, California. The property includes an 18-hole golf course and tennis courts. The golf course is the home course for the UCLA Bruins The UCLA Bruins are the athletic tea ...
. Following the company's acquisition of the property, $15 million was invested in renovation and expansion. Although greatly augmented, much of the Statham-era staff (including more than a dozen gardeners and property superintendent Dick Hall, who would emerge as an integral project-management stakeholder throughout the estate's 1970s renovations) was retained by Playboy Enterprises, often for decades. During Hefner's 46 years in residence, the main house encompassed 29 rooms, including five guest bedrooms (routinely housing such "Rabbit Pack" mainstays as
James Caan James Edmund Caan ( ; March 26, 1940 – July 6, 2022) was an American actor. He came to prominence playing Sonny Corleone in ''The Godfather'' (1972), for which he was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, Academy Award an ...
,
Bill Cosby William Henry Cosby Jr. ( ; born July 12, 1937) is an American retired comedian, actor, and media personality. Often cited as a trailblazer for African Americans in the entertainment industry, Cosby was a film, television, and stand-up comedy ...
,
Tony Curtis Tony Curtis (born Bernard Schwartz; June 3, 1925September 29, 2010) was an American actor with a career that spanned six decades, achieving the height of his popularity in the 1950s and early 1960s. He acted in more than 100 films, in roles co ...
,
Max Lerner Max Lerner (December 20, 1902 – June 5, 1992) was a Russia-born American journalist and educator known for his syndicated column. Background Maxwell Alan Lerner was born on December 20, 1902, in Minsk, then in the Russian Empire, the son of B ...
and Hefner's best friend John Dante for indefinite nd typically extendedperiods throughout the 1970s and 1980s, these bedrooms later domiciled Hefner's retinue of girlfriends in the 2000s; by this juncture, corporate controls ensured that the publisher was required to pay tens of thousands of dollars of rent per month to Playboy Enterprises for their accommodations); the two-story Great Hall (with 22-foot ceilings and staircases leading directly from the entrance area to the second floor); a catering kitchen (with walk-in refrigerator and freezer), butler's pantry,
Regency era The Regency era of British history is commonly understood as the years between and 1837, although the official regency for which it is named only spanned the years 1811 to 1820. King George III first suffered debilitating illness in the lat ...
-inspired dining room and adjacent, breakfast-oriented Mediterranean Room (alternatively known as the "Med Room"; while Hefner continued to hew to the Chicago Mansion's tradition of 24-hour food service at Playboy Mansion West, non-menu orders at the latter facility were explicitly contingent on available resources); a wine cellar (with a
Prohibition Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcoholic b ...
-era secret door); a library (frequently utilized as a formal meeting room and
backgammon Backgammon is a two-player board game played with counters and dice on tables boards. It is the most widespread Western member of the large family of tables games, whose ancestors date back at least 1,600 years. The earliest record of backgammo ...
/''
Monopoly A monopoly (from Greek language, Greek and ) is a market in which one person or company is the only supplier of a particular good or service. A monopoly is characterized by a lack of economic Competition (economics), competition to produce ...
''-oriented gaming space by Hefner, who instead stored the preponderance of his media collections in his suite/office); and a living room with a built-in
pipe organ The pipe organ is a musical instrument that produces sound by driving pressurised air (called ''wind'') through the organ pipes selected from a Musical keyboard, keyboard. Because each pipe produces a single tone and pitch, the pipes are provide ...
that increasingly functioned as a dedicated screening room (replete with projection facilities added by Hefner, who continued his Chicago-era tradition of showing first-release films during a Sunday evening buffet dinner alongside similar events oriented around other films and major boxing matches) throughout Playboy's era of ownership. The house also contained six full bathrooms and two half-bathrooms, some of which were en suite in Hefner's bedroom and the other guest bedrooms. The
servants' quarters Servants' quarters, also known as staff's quarters, are those parts of a building, traditionally in a private house, which contain the domestic worker, domestic offices and employee, staff accommodation. From the late 17th century until the ea ...
in the west wing were reconfigured to house various administrative offices, including several on the second floor that were occupied by longtime Hefner majordomo Mary O'Connor, social secretary/former Playmate Joni Mattis and other key members of Hefner's personal staff. In addition, the estate featured several outbuildings and external amenities, including an
aviary An aviary is a large enclosure for confining birds, although bats may also be considered for display. Unlike birdcages, aviaries allow birds a larger living space where Bird flight, they can fly; hence, aviaries are also sometimes known as flig ...
(featuring an array of birds, lizards and exotic flora alongside tropical aquaria) derived from the property's original trio of greenhouses (the main aviary was the principal greenhouse, which housed a rare
orchid Orchids are plants that belong to the family Orchidaceae (), a diverse and widespread group of flowering plants with blooms that are often colourful and fragrant. Orchids are cosmopolitan plants that are found in almost every habitat on Eart ...
collection maintained by Statham's ex-wife); one of the only private licensed zoos in the United States (replete with several primate enclosures and reportedly envisioned in part by Hefner to rankle the members and guests of the adjacent Los Angeles Country Club hich had refused to admit him following his migration to the West Coast it was completed in the early 1980s after a decade of more improvisatory post-licensing accommodations in the aviary, backyard and redwood forest; a four-bedroom guest house that was initially decorated by Barbi Benton in an early Americana motif (originally offering comparatively minimalistic,
Holiday Inn Holiday Inn by IHG is a chain of hotels based in Atlanta, Georgia and a brand of IHG Hotels & Resorts. The chain was founded in 1952 by Kemmons Wilson (1913–2003), who opened the first location in Memphis, Tennessee. The chain was a division ...
-style rooms for visiting models and various figures in Hefner's extended social orbit, it was later remodeled by Holly Madison in a ''Playboy''-centric theme exemplified by decorated bedrooms inspired by the likes of
Marilyn Monroe Marilyn Monroe ( ; born Norma Jeane Mortenson; June 1, 1926 August 4, 1962) was an American actress and model. Known for playing comic "Blonde stereotype#Blonde bombshell, blonde bombshell" characters, she became one of the most popular sex ...
and
Pamela Anderson Pamela Denise Anderson (born July 1, 1967) is a Canadian-American actress, model and media personality. She rose to prominence after being selected as the February 1990 ''Playboy'' Playmate of the Month. She went on to make regular appearan ...
); a Hefner-stipulated sunken
tennis court A tennis court is the venue where the sport of tennis is played. It is a firm rectangular surface with a low net stretched across the centre. The same surface can be used to play both Types of tennis match, doubles and singles matches. A variet ...
with a stone-adorned,
chaise longue A chaise longue (; , ) is an upholstered sofa in the shape of a chair that is long enough to support the legs of the sitter. In modern French, the term ''chaise longue'' refers to any long reclining chair, such as a deckchair. In English, ...
-suffused bar/lounge area (completed by the spring of 1972 but no longer extant in its original form, the court itself was long favored by
Timothy Leary Timothy Francis Leary (October 22, 1920 – May 31, 1996) was an American psychologist and author known for his strong advocacy of psychedelic drugs. Evaluations of Leary are polarized, ranging from "bold oracle" to "publicity hound". Accordin ...
for practicing
yoga Yoga (UK: , US: ; 'yoga' ; ) is a group of physical, mental, and spiritual practices or disciplines that originated with its own philosophy in ancient India, aimed at controlling body and mind to attain various salvation goals, as pra ...
, while longtime Playboy Enterprises architect Ron Dirsmith assessed the bar/lounge area as his favorite part of the Hefner-era estate, in part due to its optimal vantage for sunsets and relative tranquility amid the bustle of the main house and immediately adjacent amenities) and then-atypical wind-minimizing landscaping (attracting frequent Hollywood-oriented charitable events and visits from such venerable talents as
Pancho Gonzales Ricardo Alonso "Pancho" González (May 9, 1928 – July 3, 1995), known sometimes as Richard Gonzales, was an American tennis player. He won 15 major singles titles, including two U.S. National Championships in 1948 and 1949, and 13 Professi ...
, it also was frequently employed as an ad hoc
roller rink A roller rink is a hard surface usually consisting of hardwood or concrete, used for roller skating or inline skating. This includes roller hockey, speed skating, roller derby, and individual recreational skating. Roller rinks can be located in ...
/
basketball court In basketball, the basketball court is the playing surface, consisting of a rectangular floor, with baskets at each end. Indoor basketball courts are almost always made of polished wood, usually maple, with -high rims on each basket. Outdoor ...
/miscellaneous event space by the late 1970s); the backyard's celebrated waterfall/swimming pool area (finished by Dirsmith's team in early September 1971 upon adhering to a four month deadline spontaneously imposed by Hefner, it included large stone outcroppings alongside a patio and outdoor kitchen/barbecue area facing the pool; embedded alongside the outcroppings, a publicly surreptitious
grotto A grotto or grot is a natural or artificial cave or covered recess. Naturally occurring grottoes are often small caves near water that are usually flooded or often flooded at high tide. Sometimes, artificial grottoes are used as garden fea ...
connected the pool to several then-au courant
hot tub A hot tub is a large tub full of water used for hydrotherapy, relaxation or pleasure. Some have powerful jets for massage purposes. Hot tubs are sometimes also known as "spas" or by the trade name Jacuzzi. Hot tubs may be located outdoors or ...
s with unprecedented "
hydrotherapy Hydrotherapy, formerly called hydropathy and also called water cure, is a branch of alternative medicine (particularly naturopathy), occupational therapy, and Physical therapy, physiotherapy, that involves the use of water for pain relief and ...
" capabilities in a diaphanously lit environment germane to Hefner's epochal
group sex Group sex is sexual activity involving more than two people. Participants in group sex can be of any sexual orientation or gender. Any form of sexual activity can be adopted to involve more than two participants, but some forms have their own na ...
preoccupations; while a 1980s-era basement gym was added (likely to appease Hefner's then-partner Carrie Leigh) below the
bathhouse Bathhouse may refer to: * Public baths, public facilities for bathing * Gay bathhouse A gay bathhouse, also known as a gay sauna or a gay steambath, is a public bath targeted towards Gay men, gay and Bisexuality, bisexual men. In gay slang, a ...
, which included several dressing rooms with stone-encased showers, an oversized sauna, tanning beds and a lounging area). Extensive landscaping shielded the property from the adjacent Los Angeles Country Club and was exemplified by the likes of a large
koi pond Koi ponds are ponds used for holding koi carp, usually as part of a garden. Koi ponds can be designed specifically to promote health and growth of the Nishikigoi or Japanese Ornamental Carp. Koi ponds or lakes are a traditional feature of Ja ...
with an artificial stream, a small citrus orchard and two well-established forests of tree ferns and redwoods (the latter was ultimately developed with nearly a mile of walkways). Initially coterminous with the main bedroom and bathroom, Hefner's personal suite retained the
Queen Anne style furniture The Queen Anne style of furniture design developed before, during, and after the time of Anne, Queen of Great Britain, Queen Anne, who reigned from 1702 to 1714. History and characteristics Queen Anne furniture is "somewhat smaller, lighter, and ...
and floridly verdant color schemes effectuated by Statham's ex-wife during much of his "bicoastal" period; however, it was gradually redecorated in a more masculine style and had been outfitted with large
CRT projector A CRT projector is a video projector that uses a small, high-brightness cathode-ray tube (CRT) as the image generating element. The image is then focused and enlarged onto a screen using a lens kept in front of the CRT face. The first color CRT ...
televisions (alongside the customary array of secondary televisions and advanced video and stereo equipment) by early 1975. A finished attic added thousands of square feet of personal office and storage space in the half-decade thereafter, culminating in the addition of an extensive and painstakingly developed carved-oak decor in the office and bedroom installed circa 1980. Otherwise, the mansion proper was maintained in its original Gothic Revival furnishings for the most part. The pipe organ was extensively restored in the last decade. These features and others have been shown on television. Located on the north side of the property, the game house outbuilding was favored by many Mansion West visitors and habitués, often functioning as a relatively isolate oasis of sexual ribaldry and drug use among "Rabbit Pack" or "Gang List" affiliates during protracted formal events and Hefner family visits. There were two sidewalks from the fountain in front of the main entrance, running past a wishing well. A path on the right led to the game house and ran past a duplicate
Hollywood Walk of Fame The Hollywood Walk of Fame is a landmark which consists of 2,813 five-pointed terrazzo-and-brass stars embedded in the sidewalks along 15 blocks of Hollywood Boulevard and three blocks of Vine Street in the Hollywood, Los Angeles, Hollywood dist ...
star of Hefner. Its front entrance opened to a game room with a pool table in the center (the table was once employed by erstwhile Hefner friend
Al Goldstein Alvin Goldstein (January 10, 1936December 19, 2013) was an American pornographer best known for helping normalize hardcore pornography in the United States. Background Goldstein was born in Williamsburg, Brooklyn to a Jewish family. He attende ...
for a notable 1980s-era assignation, also reportedly serving as the emplacement where
Harry Reems Herbert John Streicher (August 27, 1947 – March 19, 2013), better known by his professional pseudonym Harry Reems, was an Americans, American pornographic actor, later working as a real estate agent. His most famous roles were as Doctor Y ...
anally penetrated Hefner during a
threesome In human sexuality, a threesome is "a sexual interaction between three people whereby at least one engages in physical sexual behaviour with both the other individuals". While the term ''threesome'' typically refers to sexual activity involvin ...
with
Sondra Theodore Sondra Theodore (born December 12, 1956) is an American model and actress. She was ''Playboy'' magazine's Playmate of the Month for its July 1977 issue. Her centerfold was photographed by Ken Marcus. Her Playmate pictorial was the first to inclu ...
in the late 1970s). Ostensibly patterned after the Chicago Mansion's game room (an area in fact distinguished by its relative dearth of sexual activity amid Hefner's stringently styled,
dextroamphetamine Dextroamphetamine (international nonproprietary name, INN: dexamfetamine) is a potent central nervous system (CNS) stimulant and enantiomer of amphetamine that is used in the treatment of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and narc ...
-adjacent gaming interludes of the late 1960s and early 1970s), it contained vintage and modern
arcade game An arcade game or coin-op game is a coin-operated entertainment machine typically installed in public businesses such as restaurants, bars and amusement arcades. Most arcade games are presented as primarily game of skill, games of skill and in ...
s and
pinball machine Pinball games are a family of games in which a ball is propelled into a specially designed table where it bounces off various obstacles, scoring points either en route or when it comes to rest. Historically the board was studded with nails call ...
s (including some that were originally housed at the Chicago Mansion) in addition to a
player piano A player piano is a self-playing piano with a pneumatic or electromechanical mechanism that operates the piano action using perforated paper or metallic rolls. Modern versions use MIDI. The player piano gained popularity as mass-produced home ...
,
jukebox A jukebox is a partially automated music-playing device, usually a coin-operated machine, that plays a user-selected song from a self-contained media library. Traditional jukeboxes contain records, compact discs, or digital files, and allow user ...
, television, stereo, and couch. The remainder of the outbuilding was devoted to several small bedrooms which frequently hosted impromptu sexual encounters. The left wing contained a sexually propitious "alcove room" (later primarily characterized as the "van room" due to its resemblance to an internally customized
Dodge Ram Van The Dodge Ram Van (originally the Dodge Bseries) is a range of full-size vans that were produced by Chrysler, Chrysler Corporation from the 1971 to 2003 model years. The Bseries replaced the forward control Dodge A100, transitioning to a front-e ...
of the 1970s) with a television, en suite bathroom and a soft-cushioned floor (possibly of vanguard construction in the 1970s, 2000s-era visitors reported its abject lack of comfortability during extended "scenes") surrounded by unabashedly voyeuristic wall-to-wall mirrors. The right wing of the game house has a smaller restroom and entrance to a bedroom. This bedroom was connected to another bedroom (both featured sprawling ceiling mirrors and were frequently employed for ephemeral trysts during parties), which had an exit that faced a rear yard maintained with lounge chairs and gates on both sides. In 2006, Hefner's former girlfriend,
Izabella St. James Izabella St. James (born 25 September 1975) is a television personality and a former girlfriend of Hugh Hefner, editor/publisher of ''Playboy'' magazine. She is best known as the author of a memoir entitled ''Bunny Tales: Behind Closed Doors at ...
, wrote in her memoir, ''Bunny Tales'', that the main house had been severely neglected in the decades since Playboy Enterprises's halcyon years in the publishing, hospitality and gambling industries and required extensive renovations: "Everything in the Mansion felt old and stale, and Archie the house dog would regularly relieve himself on the hallway curtains, adding a powerful whiff of urine to the general scent of decay." She also observed: "Each bedroom had mismatched, random pieces of furniture. It was as if someone had gone to a charity shop and bought the basics for each room", and that: "The mattresses on our beds were disgusting – old, worn and stained. The sheets were past their best, too." During Hefner's marriage to Kimberly Conrad, the Mansion adopted a more conservative atmosphere, with many
lingerie Lingerie (, , ) is a category of primarily women's clothing including undergarments (mainly brassieres), sleepwear, and lightweight robes. The choice of the word is often motivated by an intention to imply that the garments are alluring, fashio ...
-foregrounded events (including the annual New Year's Eve party) transitioning to a
black tie Black tie is a semi-formal Western dress code for evening events, originating in British and North American conventions for attire in the 19th century. In British English, the dress code is often referred to synecdochically by its principal ...
dress code for the duration of their relationship. The mansion next door is a
mirror image A mirror image (in a plane mirror) is a reflection (physics), reflected duplication of an object that appears almost identical, but is reversed in the direction perpendicular to the mirror surface. As an optical phenomenon, optical effect, it r ...
of the Playboy Mansion layout, only smaller, and was purchased by Hefner in 1996, which would eventually serve as the home for Conrad and their children, Marston and Cooper, when she and Hefner separated. Hefner and Conrad married in 1989 and separated in 1998. In March 2009, Hefner and Conrad put the property up for sale for the asking price of $28 million. In August 2009, the property was purchased by Daren Metropoulos for $18 million. In 2002, Hefner purchased a house across and down the street from the mansion for use by Playmates and other guests who would prefer to stay further from the busy activity of the Mansion proper. That residence was commonly referred to as the Bunny House. In April 2013, the Bunny House was listed for sale for the asking price of $11 million. In September 2017, the property was sold to an unidentified buyer for $17.25 million. In February 2019, 2 episodes of ''Million Dollar Listing Los Angeles'' (S11.E8–E9) aired which documented an attempt to purchase the Bunny House & the neighboring Mommie Dearest Home by a developer with the goal of forming a large compound/development. In the episode the sale went through and it is suspected that this was the sale referenced in ''New York Post'' based on 2/3 of the same real estates mentioned being involved in the on-screen sale.


Sale of Playboy Mansion

In January 2016, the Playboy Mansion was listed for sale by Playboy Enterprises, Inc. for the asking price of $200 million, subject to the condition Hefner be allowed to continue to rent the mansion for life. In August 2016, the Playboy Mansion was bought for $100 million by Daren Metropoulos, the co-owner of
Hostess Brands Hostess Brands Inc. is an American bakery company formed in 2013. Its main operating subsidiaries are Hostess Brands, LLC, and Voortman Cookies Limited. The company owns several bakeries in the United States that produce snack cakes under the ...
and a principal in the investment firm C. Dean Metropoulos & Co. Metropoulos intends to renovate and restore the mansion to its original form. In 2009, Metropoulos bought the mansion next door to the Playboy Mansion from Hefner and his ex-wife Kimberly Conrad, and ultimately now wants to join the two properties. The Playboy Mansion and the mansion next door owned by Metropoulos were both designed by American architect Arthur Rolland Kelly and each estate has a common boundary with the Los Angeles Country Club. In May 2016,
Eugena Washington Eugena Washington is an American model and actress. She came third on season 7 of ''America's Next Top Model''. She was a ''Playboy'' Playmate of the Year, and was the last one to be announced by Hugh Hefner at the Playboy Mansion. Early life W ...
was the last Playmate of the Year to be announced by Hefner at the Playboy Mansion.


Permanent protection covenant

In March 2018, Daren Metropoulos, the owner of the Playboy Mansion, entered into an agreement with the City of Los Angeles which permanently protects the mansion from demolition. The agreement between Metropoulos and the City of Los Angeles, referred to between the parties as a "permanent protection covenant," is binding on all future owners. The agreement protects the mansion from demolition, but still allows Metropoulos to make modernizations and substantial renovations and repairs to the property "following a long period of deferred maintenance while under Playboy ownership." Under the permanent protection covenant, Metropoulos has further agreed to restore the house and facade to "its original grandeur." The compromise agreement reversed a move in November 2017 by Los Angeles City Councilmember
Paul Koretz Paul Koretz (born April 3, 1955) is an American politician, who served as a member of the Los Angeles City Council for the 5th district from 2009 until he was term-limited in 2022. He was previously a member of the California State Assembly and ...
to seek landmark status for the mansion in the hope of protecting the architectural integrity of the estate for what he called "an excellent example of a Gothic-Tudor." If designated a historic landmark, Metropoulos would have faced a lengthy process for permitting and review for the rehabilitation of the property. The permanent protection covenant avoided a potentially drawn out and contentious legal action between the City of Los Angeles and Metropoulos for the City of Los Angeles seeking the formal designation of the mansion as a historic landmark.


Original Chicago Mansion

The original Playboy Mansion was a 54-room classical brick and limestone residence in
Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...
's Gold Coast district at 1340 North State Parkway which had been built in 1899 (or 1903) for $100,000 (equivalent to $3.07 million in 2024). Its original owner was Dr. George Swift Isham, a prominent surgeon whose social circle included
Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Jr. (October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), also known as Teddy or T.R., was the 26th president of the United States, serving from 1901 to 1909. Roosevelt previously was involved in New York (state), New York politics, incl ...
and
Robert Peary Robert Edwin Peary Sr. (; May 6, 1856 – February 20, 1920) was an American explorer and officer in the United States Navy who made several expeditions to the Arctic in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He was long credited as being ...
. The building was designed by architect
James Gamble Rogers James Gamble Rogers (March 3, 1867 – October 1, 1947) was an American architect. A proponent of what came to be known as Collegiate Gothic architecture, he is best known for his academic commissions at Yale University, Columbia Univer ...
, best known for his work at
Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...
and
Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...
.


Acquisition by Playboy

In December 1959, the building was acquired by Playboy Enterprises in a $370,000 (equivalent to $3.9 million in 2024) cash transaction. Initially dominated by the house's garage, the Chicago Mansion's basement was renovated upon occupancy to encompass a swimming pool with a glass wall and a
Tiki culture Tiki culture is an American-originated art, music, and entertainment movement inspired by Polynesian, Melanesian, and Micronesian cultures, and by Oceanian art. Influential cultures to Tiki culture include Australasia, Melanesia, Micronesia ...
-themed attached bar; a putatively secluded nook adjacent to the pool was designated as the Woo Grotto (presaging the later amenity at Playboy Mansion West) and "could only be entered by swimming through a waterfall softly splashing between the thatched huts and fake palm trees" that constituted the prevalent decor, although a secret button in the upstairs ballroom "lifted a trap door in the floor of the ballroom above the Woo Grotto" as a reification of "Hefner’s little joke: couples canoodling on the grotto’s plastic cushions would suddenly find a square hole, rimmed by leering faces, had appeared in the roof." In addition to other basement facilities (including a six-car garage, steam rooms, a tanning room and an exercise/game room), a large ballroom dominated the first two stories of the house. Although this capacious area was employed most prominently during Hefner's residency as the center of the house's weekly Friday parties, open to most of the media company's staff; more occasional major fundraisers for political and charitable causes, particularly after 1968; and semiweekly buffets accompanied by film screenings that were attended by Hefner's closest friends and various employees, it also served as a ''de facto'' corporate meeting space, media room (in the context of
press conference A press conference, also called news conference or press briefing, is a media event in which notable individuals or organizations invite journalism, journalists to hear them speak and ask questions. Press conferences are often held by politicia ...
s) and
living room In Western architecture, a living room, also called a lounge room (Australian English), lounge (British English), sitting room (British English), or drawing room, is a room for relaxing and socializing in a Dwelling, residential house or apa ...
for Hefner, particularly amid the protracted
board game A board game is a type of tabletop game that involves small objects () that are placed and moved in particular ways on a specially designed patterned game board, potentially including other components, e.g. dice. The earliest known uses of the ...
sessions that occupied much of his time in the early 1970s. Alongside a restaurant-type kitchen, the residence contained a top-floor dormitory for Bunnies employed at the Chicago Playboy Club, up to six discrete apartments and seven deluxe furnished guest rooms. Most notable in contemporaneous press accounts were the luxurious Blue Room and Red Room, which were immediately accessible from the ballroom (sharing a common bathroom) and were frequently occupied by Hefner's closest associates. These ranged from Playmates completing protracted photo shoots to visiting ''Playboy'' contributors like
Norman Mailer Nachem Malech Mailer (January 31, 1923 – November 10, 2007), known by his pen name Norman Kingsley Mailer, was an American writer, journalist and filmmaker. In a career spanning more than six decades, Mailer had 11 best-selling books, at least ...
and peripatetic cartoonist-songwriter
Shel Silverstein Sheldon Allan Silverstein (; September 25, 1930 – May 10, 1999) was an American writer, cartoonist, songwriter, and musician. Born and raised in Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, Silverstein briefly attended university before being drafted into ...
, a lifelong Hefner confidante who lived in the Red Room during extended stays in their mutual hometown until the mothballing of the Chicago Mansion in 1975. Longtime Hefner aide Bobbie Arnstein also resided consecutively in two of the house's apartments throughout much of her tenure, while Hefner's best friend John Dante (a onetime Chicago nightclub owner who worked for Playboy Enterprises in various capacities anging from head Bunny recruiter to Chicago Mansion house managerduring the 1960s and early 1970s) lived in a three-and-a-half room apartment at the house from the mid-1960s until circa early 1974. Located on the second floor of the building, Hefner's personal suite (containing a three-room apartment and bathroom) was prominently connected to the Roman Bath, an "elaborate bathing/sleeping area" designed for marathon
group sex Group sex is sexual activity involving more than two people. Participants in group sex can be of any sexual orientation or gender. Any form of sexual activity can be adopted to involve more than two participants, but some forms have their own na ...
sessions that almost always encompassed Hefner, Dante and their respective paramours; installed circa 1970, it contained "baroque gold spigots and faucets that sprayed and showered" alongside "a tub with chest-high water" and a mirrored alcove with an early (and
mink Mink are dark-colored, semiaquatic, carnivorous mammals of the genera ''Neogale'' and '' Mustela'' and part of the family Mustelidae, which also includes weasels, otters, and ferrets. There are two extant species referred to as "mink": the A ...
-covered)
waterbed A waterbed, water mattress, or flotation mattress is a bed or mattress filled with water. Waterbeds intended for medical therapies appear in various reports through the 19th century. The modern version, invented in San Francisco and patented in ...
. Hefner's suite also was connected to three additional rooms that were employed as the publisher's nominal office (notwithstanding his oft-publicized penchant for working in his bedroom's metonymous round rotating/vibrating bed). The Chicago Mansion also boasted a brass plate on the door—gifted to Hefner by A. C. Spectorsky, the magazine's influential editorial director—with the Latin inscription ''Si Non Oscillas, Noli Tintinnare'' ("If you don't swing, don't ring").


Expansion

An adjacent 20-room townhouse at 1336 North State Parkway (originally built with a connection to 1340 North State Parkway as a residence for Isham's daughter in 1914) was reincorporated into the complex in 1970; acquired in cash for $550,000 (equivalent to $4.3 million in 2024), it contained a board room, ancillary offices and bedrooms (including an addition to the Bunny dormitory, which could now accommodate more than 30 boarders). In addition, a single-lane
bowling alley A bowling alley (also known as a bowling center, bowling lounge, bowling arena, or historically bowling club) is a facility where the sport of bowling is played. It can be a dedicated facility or part of another, such as a clubhouse or dwelling ...
(possibly built for
Christie Hefner Christie Ann Hefner (born November 8, 1952) is an American businesswoman. She was chairman and CEO of Playboy Enterprises from 1988 to 2009, and is the daughter of ''Playboy'' magazine founder Hugh Hefner. Early life Hefner was born in Chicago, ...
and featuring a gold-plated ball for the elder Hefner, who largely eschewed the sport after proving to be a middling bowler) was furnished in the annex's basement; following nearly two years of "planning, remodeling, and building," the facility opened in July 1972.


Hefner's declining Chicago presence

From 1971 until mid-1974 (while generally adhering to an every-other-week pattern of residency that had been established in the context of his earlier Sunset Boulevard apartment since August 1968), Hefner divided his time relatively evenly between the Chicago Mansion and the Playboy Mansion West, although he was ensconced in Chicago for extended periods in 1971-72 (as the initial renovation phases at Playboy Mansion West were completed) and again in mid-1973 amid business difficulties and an intensifying romantic relationship. Thereafter, he moved his legal permanent residence to Los Angeles at an indeterminate juncture in 1975 and continued to utilize his Chicago Mansion apartment as an irregular
pied-à-terre A ''pied-à-terre'' (, plural: ''pieds-à-terre''; French for "foot on the ground") is a small living unit, e.g., apartment or condominium, often located in a large city and not used as an individual's primary residence. The term implies use ...
for several weeks of the year until late 1976. According to a 1979
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government, created in the aftermath of the Wall Street crash of 1929. Its primary purpose is to enforce laws against market m ...
decision, the publisher spent as much as 71% of his time (8.5 months) at the Chicago Mansion in 1972, a metric that dwindled to approximately 55% (6.6 months) in 1973 and approximately 40% (4.8 months) in 1974. These tabulations were slightly attenuated by as much as a month in practice because they also encompassed Hefner's most frenetic period of non-Los Angeles business and leisure travel, including stays in such locales as
Nashville, Tennessee Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...
(where Benton was partially based during the period),
New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
,
Miami Beach, Florida Miami Beach is a coastal resort city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. It is part of the Miami metropolitan area of South Florida. The municipality is located on natural and human-made barrier islands between the Atlantic Ocean ...
(by virtue of the ill-fated Playboy Plaza Hotel venture), the state of
Hawaii Hawaii ( ; ) is an island U.S. state, state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two Non-contiguous United States, non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only sta ...
and
Walt Disney World The Walt Disney World Resort is an destination resort, entertainment resort complex located about southwest of Orlando, Florida, United States. Opened on October 1, 1971, the resort is operated by Disney Experiences, a division of the Wa ...
. Although Playboy Enterprises remained headquartered in Chicago until 2012, Hefner's aforementioned 1975 designation of the Mansion West as his primary residence followed the criminal conviction and ensuing apparent suicide of Bobbie Arnstein, the culmination of an "investigation of drug use in Hefner's mansion" by
U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 contiguous ...
(and future
Governor of Illinois The governor of Illinois is the head of government of Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its we ...
) James R. Thompson that attracted significant publicity after Arnstein's March 21, 1974 indictment. Arnstein's apparent suicide (which occurred at the Maryland Hotel, situated in the immediate vicinity of the Chicago Mansion) followed the high-profile September 1973 death of Adrienne Pollack—a 23-year-old Bunny and former dormitory resident who may have been involved in drug trafficking at the Chicago Mansion—from a
methaqualone Methaqualone is a hypnotic sedative. It was sold under the brand names Quaalude ( ) and Sopor among others, which contained 300 mg of methaqualone, and sold as a combination drug under the brand name Mandrax, which contained 250 mg me ...
overdose. Hefner's use of the Chicago Mansion had already declined precipitously following his circa mid-April 1974 breakup with Playmate
Karen Christy __NOTOC__ The following is a list of Playboy Playmates of 1971. ''Playboy'' magazine names its Playmate of the Month each month throughout the year. January Liv Lindeland (born 7 December 1945, Norway) is a Norwegian model and actress. She is ' ...
, who had been domiciled there as his primary companion in the city (Barbi Benton seldom visited Chicago after the acquisition of the Mansion West) since 1971. Attorneys also had likely advised Hefner to keep a professional distance from Arnstein (who was in the early stages of preparing to move to Los Angeles—under the stipulation of not residing at the Playboy Mansion West as a condition of maintaining her role with the company—at the time of her death) for the duration of her legal proceedings, prompting him to spend even more of his time at the Mansion West no later than August 1974 (as inferred from the dates of newspapers that remained in Hefner's Chicago Mansion apartment for much of the next decade). Additionally, the December 1974 resignation of Robert J. Adelman (then chairman of the
Rubloff Company Rubloff Company was one of the largest and oldest real estate companies in the U.S. city of Chicago. History The company was established in 1930 by Arthur Rubloff, who was responsible for some of the most notable and successful real estate dev ...
, an influential Chicago real estate conglomerate) from Playboy Enterprises's board in the aftermath of the Arnstein conviction appears to have further estranged Hefner from the local business community, which was long circumspect of his lifestyle. "Things were very different here n Los Angelesfrom Chicago," Hefner later recalled. " Tom Bradley, the mayor, attended the opening of the Playboy Club and was a frequent guest at the parties and so was
Jerry Brown Edmund Gerald Brown Jr. (born April 7, 1938) is an American lawyer, author, and politician who served as the 34th and 39th governor of California from 1975 to 1983 and 2011 to 2019. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic P ...
, the governor." According to Hefner friend and fellow pornographer
Suze Randall Suze Randall (born 18 May 1946) is an English model, photographer, and pornographer. After giving up modelling, she devoted her time to erotic photography and became the first woman to shoot Page 3 for ''The Sun'' newspaper. She was the first ...
, the Chicago Mansion "had for some time been hired out for large business meetings" (such as a January 1975 convention for the
Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...
food industry that coincided with Arnstein's apparent suicide and a Randall business trip) "in an attempt to make it pay its way" as a profitable event space. During a thwarted attempt to sell the property amid Playboy Enterprises' financial difficulties in July 1975, Senior Vice President
Victor Lownes Victor Aubrey Lownes III (April 17, 1928 – January 11, 2017) was an executive for HMH Publishing Company Inc., later known as Playboy Enterprises, from 1955 through the early 1980s. Soon after he met Hugh Hefner in 1954, Hefner founded ''Playbo ...
estimated that the publisher only spent three weeks at the Chicago Mansion (including several short business trips, a visit centered around Arnstein's funeral and a similar stay for a May 1975
backgammon Backgammon is a two-player board game played with counters and dice on tables boards. It is the most widespread Western member of the large family of tables games, whose ancestors date back at least 1,600 years. The earliest record of backgammo ...
tournament) during the previous year. "After rnsteindied, there really wasn't a lot of reason for going back o the Chicago Mansion" Hefner recalled in 2009. "There really wasn't anything left for me there." Unbeknownst to the public at the time, the decision to officially "mothball" the Chicago Mansion in September 1975 also coincided with a substantial increase (from $7,800 to $36,000 per year) in the fair rental value of the publisher's Chicago accommodations—likely in anticipation of 1978 disputes with the
Internal Revenue Service The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is the revenue service for the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government, which is responsible for collecting Taxation in the United States, U.S. federal taxes and administerin ...
and a shareholder group concerning Hefner's potential
embezzlement Embezzlement (from Anglo-Norman, from Old French ''besillier'' ("to torment, etc."), of unknown origin) is a type of financial crime, usually involving theft of money from a business or employer. It often involves a trusted individual taking ...
of corporate assets through the Mansion lease agreements—prompting the publisher to only renew his Playboy Mansion West lease thereafter. Indeed, sources told Larry Ingrassia of the ''
Chicago Sun-Times The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily nonprofit newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has long held the second largest circulation among Chicago newspaper ...
'' that a skeleton staff had already been effectively instituted at the Chicago Mansion in the weeks immediately following Arnstein's death, but operating costs for the complex remained in the vicinity of $600,000 per year even in such a relatively quiescent state; while a full closure would have reduced operating expenses to $48,000 per year pending its sale, Hefner's voluble nostalgia for the house (buttressed perhaps by the tacitly political factors that spurred his relocation) precluded the seemingly inevitable drawdown for nearly a decade. The contemporaneous sale of the Big Bunny (the company's heavily modified 1970
McDonnell Douglas DC-9 The McDonnell Douglas DC-9 is an American five-abreast, single-aisle aircraft designed by the Douglas Aircraft Company. It was initially produced as the Douglas DC-9 prior to August 1967, after which point the company had merged with McDonnell ...
business jet A business jet, private jet, or bizjet is a jet aircraft designed for transporting small groups of people, typically business executives and high-ranking coworker, associates. Business jets are generally designed for faster air travel and more ...
, which was either employed for commutation purposes by Hefner and his immediate entourage or flown under the auspices of lengthy
Ozark Air Lines Ozark Air Lines was a local service carrier (originally known as a feeder airline) in the United States that operated from 1950 until 1986, when it was purchased by Trans World Airlines (TWA). Ozark got a second chance to be an airline when t ...
-operated, Playboy-serviced
air charter Air charter is the business of renting an entire aircraft (i.e., chartering) as opposed to individual aircraft seats (i.e., purchasing a ticket through a traditional airline). Regulation Charter – also called air taxi or ad hoc – flight ...
s retained by the likes of
Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977) was an American singer and actor. Referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one of the most significant cultural figures of the ...
and
Sonny & Cher Sonny & Cher were an American pop and entertainment duo in the 1960s and 1970s, made up of spouses Sonny Bono and Cher. The couple started their career in the mid-1960s as rhythm and blues, R&B backing singers for record producer Phil Spector. ...
, in addition to the requisite patina of a philanthropic mien, such as an April 1975 excursion during
Operation Babylift Operation Babylift was the name given to the mass evacuation of children from South Vietnam to the United States and other Western countries (including Australia, France, West Germany, and Canada) at the end of the Vietnam War (see also the Fall ...
) would largely render his previous lifestyle untenable due to his disdain of
commercial aviation Commercial aviation is the part of civil aviation that involves operating aircraft for remuneration or hire, as opposed to private aviation. Definition Commercial aviation is not a rigorously defined category. All commercial air transport and ae ...
.


"Mothballing" and later visits

Beginning in the summer of 1975, the Chicago Mansion was maintained with a "skeleton staff" of approximately 10 to 12 security and maintenance employees (having previously burgeoned to a height of 50 staff members during the facility's 1960s heyday, approximately 15 full-time staffers remained when Lownes instituted layoffs in mid-1975) and primarily opened thereafter to the public for "occasional charity benefits and business functions" following the concomitant closure of the Bunny dormitory. The oft-publicized "hutch"'s population had already dwindled to 20 (against a total capacity of 36 berths following the acquisition of the 1336 North State Parkway annex; residents included 12 Bunnies assigned to the Chicago Playboy Club and eight "Jet Bunnies" who proffered
flight attendant A flight attendant is a member of the aircrew whose primary responsibility is ensure the safety of passengers in the cabin of an aircraft across all stages of flight. Their secondary duty is to see to the comfort of passengers. Flight attenda ...
service on Big Bunny flights in addition to their Club duties) by September 1973 due to onerously restrictive on-site visitation policies and paternalistic provisions governing the boarders'
alcohol Alcohol may refer to: Common uses * Alcohol (chemistry), a class of compounds * Ethanol, one of several alcohols, commonly known as alcohol in everyday life ** Alcohol (drug), intoxicant found in alcoholic beverages ** Alcoholic beverage, an alco ...
use at the Mansion. Although these restrictions were offset by an egalitarian $50/month berth rent (equivalent to $350/month in 2024), daily maid service and inexpensive, a la carte 24-hour room service from the Mansion kitchen, only six Bunnies lived in the dormitory by mid-1975. During this period, Derick Daniels (who served as president and chief operating officer of Playboy Enterprises from 1976 to 1982) lived in a Chicago Mansion apartment throughout his first year with the company. While Hefner vowed to "spend more time" in the city amid various meetings (and a lengthy press conference) at the Chicago Mansion following the controversial dismissal of Anthony Jackson (a recruiter then characterized as Playboy's highest-ranking Black executive) in August 1975, his few documented visits to the Chicago Mansion thereafter consisted of October and November 1975 stays referenced in subsequent press reports, at least four spring-to-autumn 1976 trips (most notably a July visit centered around the stark juxtaposition of his father's funeral and an escapist awards luncheon for
Elton John Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, songwriter and pianist. His music and showmanship have had a significant, lasting impact on the music industry, and his songwriting partnership with l ...
) that effectively ceased after Daniels assumed his role as president in September, a December 1978 holiday jaunt coinciding with one of the magazine's 25th anniversary parties (with a guest list that ran the gamut from Hefner's
polyamorous Polyamory () is the practice of, or the desire for, romantic relationships with more than one partner at the same time, with the informed consent of all partners involved. Some people who identify as polyamorous believe in consensual non-mono ...
Los Angeles circle to onetime Chicago Mansion stalwarts like Shel Silverstein) and a November 1979 trip in conjunction with his longstanding support of the
Chicago International Film Festival The Chicago International Film Festival is an annual film festival held every fall. Founded in 1964 by Michael Kutza, it is the longest-running competitive film festival in North America. Its logo is a stark, black and white close up of the comp ...
; actor
Harry Reems Herbert John Streicher (August 27, 1947 – March 19, 2013), better known by his professional pseudonym Harry Reems, was an Americans, American pornographic actor, later working as a real estate agent. His most famous roles were as Doctor Y ...
(alleged by contemporaneous Mansion butler Stefan Tetenbaum to have engaged in distinct sexual assignations during this period with both Hefner and his longtime executive assistant, Mary O'Connor) accompanied the publisher on the visit en route to a
New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
theatrical engagement. (In place of external caterers or temporary employees, Mansion West staff accompanied Hefner on the latter two stays to supervise house operations.)


Sale and conversion

Although the complex had been put on sale for $2.3 million (equivalent to $12.3 million in 2024) by late 1976 (increased to $2.5 million quivalent to $12.5 million in 2024a year later), Hefner's apartment and office (including many of his remaining personal effects) remained virtually untouched during the ensuing interregnum. When no buyers manifested, the main building was leased for $10 per year as a dormitory (under the imprimatur of Hefner Hall) for the
School of the Art Institute of Chicago The School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC) is a Private university, private art school associated with the Art Institute of Chicago (AIC) in Chicago, Illinois. Tracing its history to an art students' cooperative founded in 1866, which gr ...
in August 1984; as part of the agreement, the School purchased 1336 North State Parkway outright for $500,000 (equivalent to $1.5 million in 2024), while Playboy Enterprises formally deeded 1340 North State Parkway to the Art Institute when the agreement lapsed in 1989. In 1993, the Chicago Mansion was sold to developer Bruce Abrams and converted into seven high-price luxury
condo A condominium (or condo for short) is an ownership regime in which a building (or group of buildings) is divided into multiple units that are either each separately owned, or owned in common with exclusive rights of occupation by individual own ...
s. In 2011, one condominium was placed for sale at an asking price of $6.7 million.


In popular culture and media appearances


Film and television

* The Mansion appears in the 1966 film ''
Madame X ''Madame X'' (original title ''La Femme X'') is a 1908 Play (theatre), play by French playwright Alexandre Bisson (1848–1912). It was novelized in English and adapted for the American stage; it was also adapted for the screen sixteen times ...
'', prior to its purchase by Playboy the following decade. * It was used as a filming location in ''
Beverly Hills Cop II ''Beverly Hills Cop II'' is a 1987 American buddy cop action comedy film directed by Tony Scott, written by Larry Ferguson and Warren Skaaren, and starring Eddie Murphy. It is the sequel to the 1984 film '' Beverly Hills Cop'' and the second ...
'', in which Hefner makes a cameo appearance as himself. * The Mansion served as the Starting Line for the 12th season of CBS's long-running reality competition series ''
The Amazing Race ''The Amazing Race'' is an adventure reality competition franchise in which teams of two people race around the world in competition with other teams. ''The Amazing Race'' is split into legs, with teams tasked to deduce clues, navigate themselv ...
''. * The property appears as a party venue in the first season of the television series ''
Entourage An entourage () is an informal group or band of people who are closely associated with a (usually) famous, notorious, or otherwise notable individual. The word can also refer to: Arts and entertainment * L'entourage, French hip hop / rap collecti ...
''. * The Mansion and Hefner were prominently featured in the 2005 episode "The Smoking Jacket" of ''
Curb Your Enthusiasm ''Curb Your Enthusiasm'', also known colloquially simply as ''Curb'', is an American television comedy of manners created by Larry David that premiered on HBO with an hour-long special in October 17, 1999, followed by 12 seasons broadcast from Oc ...
''. * The Mansion was a central setting in the 2008 film ''
The House Bunny ''The House Bunny'' is a 2008 American comedy film directed by Fred Wolf written by Karen McCullah Lutz and Kirsten Smith, and produced by Adam Sandler, Jack Giarraputo, Anna Faris, Allen Covert, and Heather Parry. The film stars Faris, Colin ...
'', with Hefner again portraying himself. * In the 2011 film '' Hop'', the Mansion's front gate is featured in a scene in which the character EB attempts to gain entry. Hefner, in a voice-only cameo, declines the request. Later, during a separate scene, Hefner again appears over the entry phone before the Pink Berets destroy the camera. * The Mansion is also featured briefly in the 2019 film ''
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood ''Once Upon a Time...in Hollywood'' is a 2019 comedy-drama film written and directed by Quentin Tarantino. Produced by Columbia Pictures in association with Bona Film Group, Heyday Films, and Visiona Romantica, and distributed by Sony Pict ...
''.


Music and video games

* Despite its location in Holmby Hills, the Mansion served as the setting for the 2005 music video to "
Beverly Hills Beverly Hills is a city located in Los Angeles County, California, United States. A notable and historic suburb of Los Angeles, it is located just southwest of the Hollywood Hills, approximately northwest of downtown Los Angeles. Beverly Hil ...
" by the band
Weezer Weezer is an American rock band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1992. Since 2001, the band has consisted of Rivers Cuomo (lead vocals, guitar, keyboards), Patrick Wilson (drums, backing vocals), Brian Bell (guitar, keyboards, backing ...
. * A property modeled on the Playboy Mansion appears in the 2013 video game ''
Grand Theft Auto V ''Grand Theft Auto V'' is a 2013 action-adventure game developed by Rockstar North and published by Rockstar Games. It is the seventh main entry in the Grand Theft Auto, ''Grand Theft Auto'' series, following 2008's ''Grand Theft Auto IV'', and ...
''.


Other appearances

* The Mansion is briefly mentioned in the last panel of the ''
Big Nate ''Big Nate'' (stylized as ''big NATE'' in the List of Big Nate collections, comic collections and ''BiG NATE'' in the Big Nate#Book series, books) is an American comic strip written and illustrated by Lincoln Peirce, syndicated since January ...
'' comic strip October10, 2016 edition, which depicts Mr.Galvin denying Nate permission to interview him for the school newspaper, as the last time Nate wrote about him he included a
photoshopped Photograph manipulation involves the transformation or alteration of a photograph. Some photograph manipulations are considered to be skillful artwork, while others are considered to be unethical practices, especially when used to deceive. Mot ...
image of Mr.Galvin's head on
Leonardo DiCaprio Leonardo Wilhelm DiCaprio (; ; born November 11, 1974) is an American actor and film producer. Known for Leonardo DiCaprio filmography, his work in biographical and period films, he is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received ...
's body at the Playboy Mansion, leading readers to begin to view Mr.Galvin as a "philandering party animal."


Financial

According to Playboy Enterprises'
SEC filings The SEC filing is a financial statements, financial statement or other formal document submitted to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Public company, Public companies, certain insiders, and broker-dealers are required to make regu ...
, Hefner paid Playboy rent for "that portion of the Playboy Mansion used exclusively for him and his personal guests' residence as well as the per-unit value of non-business meals, beverages and other benefits received by him and his personal guests". This amount was $1.3 million in 2002, $1.4 million in 2003, and $1.3 million in 2004. Playboy paid for the Mansion's operating expenses (including depreciation and taxes), which were $3.6 million in 2002, $2.3 million in 2003, and $3.0 million in 2004, net of rent received from Hefner.


Charity events

The Playboy Mansion has hosted charity events, including Karma Foundation, the Celebrity Poker Tournament, a fundraising party for the
Marijuana Policy Project The Marijuana Policy Project (MPP) is the largest organization working solely on marijuana policy reform in the United States in terms of its budget, number of members, and staff. Its stated aims are to: (1) increase public support for non-pu ...
, and an event to benefit research into autism.


2011 bacterial outbreak

In February 2011, 123 people complained of fever and respiratory illness after attending a DomainFest Global conference event held at the Playboy Mansion. After an investigation in response to the reported illnesses of the DomainFest attendees, epidemiologists from the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health disclosed their findings at a
Centers for Disease Control The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is the national public health agency of the United States. It is a United States federal agency under the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), and is headquartered in Atlanta, ...
conference. The disease outbreak was traced to a hot tub in the mansion's famed grotto, where they found ''
Legionella pneumophila ''Legionella pneumophila'', the primary causative agent for Legionnaires' disease, Legionnaire's disease, is an Aerobic organism, aerobic, pleomorphic, Flagellum, flagellated, non-spore-forming, Gram-negative bacteria, Gram-negative bacterium. ' ...
'', which causes
Legionnaires' disease Legionnaires' disease is a form of atypical pneumonia caused by any species of ''Legionella'' bacteria, quite often ''Legionella pneumophila''. Signs and symptoms include cough, shortness of breath, high fever, myalgia, muscle pains, and headach ...
.


Abuse allegations

The 2022 A&E documentary series ''Secrets of Playboy'' featured interviews with former Playboy employees who alleged numerous acts of sexual and drug abuse took place at the mansion during Hefner's lifetime. Before the first episode of the documentary series aired on January 24, 2022, ''Playboy'' released a statement which dissociated itself from Hefner. On June 21, 2022, a California civil trial jury found that comedian
Bill Cosby William Henry Cosby Jr. ( ; born July 12, 1937) is an American retired comedian, actor, and media personality. Often cited as a trailblazer for African Americans in the entertainment industry, Cosby was a film, television, and stand-up comedy ...
sexually assaulted 16-year-old Judith Huth at the Playboy Mansion in 1975. In response to
Sondra Theodore Sondra Theodore (born December 12, 1956) is an American model and actress. She was ''Playboy'' magazine's Playmate of the Month for its July 1977 issue. Her centerfold was photographed by Ken Marcus. Her Playmate pictorial was the first to inclu ...
's later claim that Hefner manipulated her into an orgy and hosted prostitution sex parties known as "Pig Nights" during the time she lived at the Playboy Mansion, a spokesperson for ''Playboy'' issued a statement to Fox News Digital in August 2022 saying that "Today's Playboy is not Hugh Hefner's Playboy," and that "We trust and validate these women and their stories, and we strongly support those individuals who have come forward to share their experiences. As a brand with sex positivity at its core, we believe safety, security and accountability are paramount." Soon afterwards, renowned Playmate
Jenny McCarthy Jennifer Ann McCarthy-Wahlberg (' McCarthy; born November 1, 1972) is an American actress, model, television personality, and anti-vaccine activist. She began her career in 1993 as a nude model for ''Playboy'' magazine and was later named thei ...
, who was affiliated with Playboy in later time in 1993 and 1994, claimed to Fox News that she did not experience the claims described in ''Secrets of Playboy'' and that the mansion had become "almost like Catholic school" by the time she was living there, but also did not speak out against the claims made by the ''Secrets Of Playboy'' accusers, stating "I think I went in there in a window of time that was kind of safe, but hearing some of these girls' stories was really rough." In 2024, Hefner's widow
Crystal A crystal or crystalline solid is a solid material whose constituents (such as atoms, molecules, or ions) are arranged in a highly ordered microscopic structure, forming a crystal lattice that extends in all directions. In addition, macros ...
would publish a memoir backing allegations that the Mansion was an environment of sexual abuse, and also describing it as a place where she felt "imprisoned." Crystal also told ''The Guardian'' that "Hef was on the extreme side of narcissism" and "I had to play mind games to survive."


See also

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Stocks House Stocks Manor House is a large Georgian mansion, built in 1773. It is the largest property in the village of Aldbury, Hertfordshire. Stocks House and its manorial farm is an estate surrounded by of National Trust Ashridge Forest and the ...


References


External links


World of Playboy: ''Inside the Mansion''
{{Authority control 1927 establishments in California Houses completed in 1927 Playboy Mansion, The Playboy Mansion, The Playboy Mansion, The Holmby Hills, Los Angeles Gothic Revival architecture in California Tudor Revival architecture in California