ORDINARY LIFE. MIGUEL, GOOD MORNING.
>> Reporter: GOOD MORNING. ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THIS FENCE
IS PERHAPS ONE OF THE MOST ICONIC HOMES IN ALL OF AMERICA.
THE PLAYBOY MANSION. IT IS WHERE HUGH HEFNER DIED OF
NATURAL CAUSES AT THE AGE OF 91. HE STARTED PLAYBOY IN THE 1950s,
TURNED IT INTO A WORLDWIDE BRAND AND QUICKLY REALIZED SEX SELLS.
HE WAS THE ORIGINAL PLAYBOY. >> I HAD WILD DREAMS BUT NEVER
AS WILD AS WHAT I ACTUALLY HAVE. >> Reporter: HIS LIFE AND HIS
WORK, A BLEND OF SEX, SWAGGER AND SOPHISTICATION.
BUT HIS SUCCESS STARTED OUT AS A LONG SHOT.
THE SON OF CONSERVATIVE CHICAGO SCHOOLTEACHERS.
HEFNER WAS A WORLD WAR II VET, WORKING AT ESQUIRE WHEN HE
LAUNCHED THE MAGAZINE THAT WOULD MAKE HIM A HOUSEHOLD NAME.
WITH SEVERAL THOUSAND DOLLARS, HE PUBLISHED THE FIRST PLAYBOY
IN 1953 FROM HIS KITCHEN. ON THE COVER, A CAPTIVATING,
YOUNG BLONDE NAMED MARILYN MONROE, WHO WAS ALSO NUDE IN THE
MAGAZINE'S CENTER FOLD. IT WAS A BLEND OF SEX APPEAL AND
EDGY, EDITORIAL CONTENT, INCLUDING WORK FROM THE ERA'S
CELEBRATED WRITERS, AND INTERVIEWS WITH EVERYONE FROM
JOHN LENNON TO JIMMY CARTER. CRITICS CALLED IT VULGAR AND
EXPLOITED, BUT HEFNER SAYS HE HELPED LOOSEN UP BUTTONED DOWN
AMERICA. >> PLAYBOY WAS THERE, MAKING A
CASE FOR THE SEXUAL REVOLUTION, BEFORE ALMOST ANYBODY ELSE.
I TAKE PRIDE IN THAT. >> Reporter: HEFNER TURNED
PLAYBOY INTO A MEDIA EMPIRE, OPENING A STRING OF EXCLUSIVE
CLUBS IN THE '60s AND '70s THAT INTRODUCED THE WORLD TO PLAYBOY
BUNNIES. LATER EXPANDING THE MAGAZINE'S
REACH THROUGH SHREWD MERCHANDISING, MOVIES AND TV.
HE ALSO CREATED ONE OF THE MOST FAMOUS RSIDENCES IN THE WORLD,
THE PLAYBOY MANSION, KNOWN FOR HOSTING CELEBRITIES AND
ALL-NIGHT PARTIES. HE REVELLED IN THE SUCCESS.
RARELY SHEDDING HIS TRADEMARK SILK PAJAMAS AND SMOKING JACKET,
AND SURROUNDING HIMSELF WITH AN ENDLESS BEVY OF BEAUTIES.
>> WELCOME TO PLAYBOY'S PENTHOUSE.
>> Reporter: THERE WERE TOUGH TIMES, INCLUDING TWO DIVORCES
AND FINANCIAL STRUGGLES AS PLAYBOY'S SALES PLUMMETED WITH
THE DAWN OF THE DIGITAL ERA. HE WAS AN ICON TO SOME.
A PEDDLER TO OTHERS. BUT HE NEVER APOLOGIZED.
>> I HAVE NO MAJOR REGRETS. YOU KNOW, WE ONLY GET ONE TIME
AROUND, SO I FEEL I'M ONE OF THE FORTUNATE FEW.
>> Reporter: OVERNIGHT, CELEBRITIES SENT CONDOLENCES VIA
SOCIAL MEDIA. LARRY KING TWEETING, HUGH HEFNER
WAS A GIANT IN PUBLISHING, JOURNALISM, FREE SPEECH AND
CIVIL RIGHTS. HE WAS A TRUE ORIGINAL, AND HE
WAS MY FRIEND. REST WELL, HEF.
AND ACTRESS AND FORMER PLAY MATE JENNY McCARTHY WRITING, RIP,
REF. THANK YOU FOR BEING A
REVOLUTIONARY AND CHANGING SO MANY PEOPLE'S LIVES, ESPECIALLY
MINE. I HOPE I MADE YOU PROUD.
THE MAN WHO WAS ONCE QUOTED AS SAYING, LIFE IS TOO SHORT TO BE
LIVING SOMEONE ELSE'S DREAM, DIED AFTER LIVING OUT HIS OWN.
GUYS, ONE WRITER THIS MORNING PUTS IT THIS WAY, HUGH HEFNER
DID FOR SEX WHAT THE FOUNDER, ROY CROCK OF McDONALD'S, DID FOR
ROADSIDE FOOD, HE CLEANED IT UP FOR THE RISING MIDDLE CLASS.
>> THAT PERSON HAS A WAY WITH WORDS.
MIGUEL, THANK YOU. >> YOU WANT TO GET INTO A
DISAGREEMENT AT A COCKTAIL PARTY, BRING UP THE NAME HUGH
HEFNER, BUT YOU HAVE TO GO BACK TO 1953 WHEN HE CREATED THIS
MAGAZINE AND THIS MOVEMENT. AND REALIZE HOW REVOLUTIONARY IT
WAS AND HOW CONTROVERSIAL IT WOULD BE.
>> RIGHT. LOVE HIM OR HATE HIM, THERE'S NO
QUESTION, HE CHANGED OUR CULTURE.