Playboy creator Hugh M. Hefner is in the middle of an interview about his 80th birthday (which was yesterday) when a TV cameraman asks him to move a statue of former girlfriend Barbi Benton from the shelf behind him. The statue's nude breasts were in the shot and that might not pass muster with TV decency standards.

"As much as things change, they stay the same," Hefner remarks, disappointment in his voice. "There is still controversy about, maybe even more than before, not just nudity - a nude statue." That is Hefner's point - that Playboy with its mission of sexual liberation is as relevant as ever in these days of federal government crackdowns on television content that some consider indecent. "Attitudes toward nudity and Playboy have changed, in many ways, very little," says the man who gave the world the Playboy centerfold. "In some ways it is even more political than it was in the '50s and '60s."

"Maybe to some extent 80 is the new 40," he says, smiling. "I truly believe that age - if you're healthy - age is just a number. On many levels I feel younger today than I did 10, 15 years ago." Hef has a lot to make him feel young. He lives with three young, blonde girlfriends in his ornate mansion in Holmby Hills. Their life is being documented in a hit reality TV show on the E! channel, "The Girls Next Door."

Any regrets? "Certainly it is a life well-lived and I wouldn't trade places with anybody," he said. "My life has been so rewarding and so satisfying, I would be hesitant to change anything."

Source: AP

---

Posted by Lawren at April 10, 2006 06:51 AM | Trackbacks (0)

You Said

Happy B-Day Hef!

Says: The Rev at April 10, 2006 07:42 AM

---

Dude creeps me out.

Says: Sheryl at April 10, 2006 08:28 AM

---

Cheers! We love you, Hef.

Signed,
The Male Population

Says: Iceman at April 10, 2006 08:52 AM

---