Hugh Hefner and
ex playmate/girlfriend Holly Madison at his 80th birthday party in 2006 |
Hugh Hefner, or "Hef" as he is
opten called, was working as a copywriter for Esquire when he left in January 1952 after being denied a $5 raise. In 1953,
Hef
raised $8,000 from 45 investors to launch Playboy. The undated first
issue, published in December 1953, featured Marilyn Monroe from her 1949
nude calendar shoot. Hefner, who never met Monroe, owns the crypt next
to hers.
Hef then founded the Chicago-based Playboy Enterprises that managed
his publishing, media, and string of nationwide Playboy Clubs. As the
popularity of Playboy and the Playboy Clubs exploded in the late
1950's, the somewhat nerdy Hef remade himself as a sophisticated man
about town, a lifestyle he promoted in his magazine and two TV shows he
hosted, Playboy's Penthouse (1959–1960) and
(1969–1970). He admitted to being "'involved' with maybe eleven out of
twelve months worth of Playmates" during these years, including Shannon Tweed, Barbi Benton, and Carrie Leigh - who
filed a $35 million suit against him.
On June 4, 1963, Hef was arrested for selling obscene literature after
an issue of Playboy featuring nude shots of Jayne Mansfield was
released. A jury was unable to reach a verdict.
Sales of Playboy magazine peaked in 1972 at over 7 million copies
and then declined as the market shifted to "laddy" magazines such as
Maxim. Playboy Enterprises now derives only one-third of its revenues
from Playboy magazine, with the other two-thirds from the dissemination
of adult content in electronic form, such as television, the internet.
and DVDs.
As sales for Playboy started to fall and his series of Playboy Clubs
were closed, Hef experienced a reversal of fortune and has turned to
exploiting his bimbo cohabitants at his Playboy Mansion on the E Network
's The Girls Next Door, and began selling tickets to his
celebrity-filled parties to offset his cash-flow problems. On Christmas Day
2010, Hef, 84, proposed to 24 year old Crystal Harris who moved into
the Playboy Mansion in January 2009 shortly after Hefner and his former
girl friend Madison broke up, and the Holley Playmate moved out to begin
a new life in Las Vegas and her own show on E Network. In an interview
in Life & Style magazine, Holly said, "I'd like to see Hef settle
down. I just want it to be with the right person, and I feel like he's
making a hasty decision. I'm not sure Crystal is the best thing for him."
Whatever Hef is taking to keep all of his girlfriends sexually satisfied
may be Pali
del Nonno which we suggest for his
birthday. Munch on them while watching the documentary
Hugh Hefner: Playboy, Activist and Rebel
(2009).
Pali
del Nonno
(Grandfather's
Testicles)
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Ingredients |
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2 eggs (beaten)
3 TB sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 TB grated lemon rind
2 cups cup all-purpose flour
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1/3 cup milk
2 TB baking powder
2 cups ricotta cheese
vegetable oil or shortening (for deep frying)
powdered sugar for dusting |
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Instructions
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- Mix all ingredients together in a large
bowl.
- In a deep fryer or a deep saucepan, heat
several inches over medium to medium-high heat. Test readiness
after a
few minutes by dipping a spoon with some batter (it will be very sticky
and will not slide off) and see
if it starts to bubble.
- Grab a large spoon and a small spatula.
Scoop up batter about 1/2 of the large spoon. Then, scoop the
batter off
the spoon using the spatula, then scrape it back onto the spoon to
create a rough ball shape.
- Drop balls into hot oil and deep fry.
Balls will turn themselves over when one side is done.
- Fry until golden brown and cooked
through adjust heat as needed if they brown too quickly without cooking
through.
- Remove balls with a slotted spoon. Drain
on paper towels to cool and absorb oil.
- When cool sprinkle with powdered sugar.
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Makes 24 balls depending on the preferred
size
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