The Time I Went To The Playboy Mansion

As you may have heard by now, Hugh Hefner died on Wednesday, September 27 at the age of 91. It goes without saying that Hefner lived an incredible life. At a time when nudity was extremely taboo, he took $600 of his own money and $1000 borrowed from his mother and launched a magazine that proudly displayed photos of naked women. A magazine that would eventually inspire the sexual revolution of the 1960s and 70s, almost single-handedly. And over time, Hefner and Playboy evolved into so much more than nudity. Over the decades, Playboy became a staunch advocate of freedom of speech, minority rights, female rights and the rights of the LGBTQ community.

Hefner was also an amazing host of countless parties. And I actually know this from personal experience.

Back in June 2008, I was working for a website called HolyTaco. For some reason, Playboy invited me and my co-editor Justin to a party that was being thrown at the mansion. It was an open-bar party that featured tons of extremely famous people and Brendan Fraser. That night I met Katy Perry, Seth MacFarlane, McLovin, Jeremy Piven… just to name a few. I also got to meet Hef. Actually I got to interview him briefly on a red carpet lineup they had for nerdy press people like me. When it was my turn to ask Hef a question, here's what I came up with:

"So Hugh, you've lived a life that most men would kill for. You are easily one of the most admirable men of all time. Who are some men you admire?"

His reply:

"Everyone I admire is dead."

And then he kind of shuffled away. Whelp see you later. Here's a pic of him shuffling to the next person (I'm the goofy guy in the foreground with the recording device):

Ok so my interview wasn't exactly a resounding success, but once it was done we could stop working and start enjoying ourselves and the open bar. I changed clothes and hit the bar.

Here's a photo of me with a couple of bunnies:

Here's a photo of McLovin:

Here's a photo me after like 8 drinks giving the double middle fingers to my friend Matt who was also at the party:

Here's a photo of me 10 drinks deep enjoying an amazing chicken nugget AND realizing that the Playboy mansion wifi network was open and called "Bunnies":

And finally, here's a photo of me after like 16 drinks realizing that I'm having the best night of my life:

Rest in peace Hef. Thank you for the party, the magazine, and generally being a pretty amazing dude.