April 09

Hugh Marston Hefner's Birthday
 

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)
Ingredients
2 eggs (beaten) 3 TB sugar 1 tsp vanilla 1 TB grated lemon rind 2 cups cup all-purpose flour	1/3 cup milk 2 TB baking powder 2 cups ricotta cheese vegetable oil or shortening (for deep frying) powdered sugar for dusting
Instructions
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.

Makes 24 balls depending on the preferred size