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Bidders at the two-day auction conducted by
Julien's Auctions included comedian Jim Belushi, who purchased a
leather-bound script for a 1977 Saturday Night Live show that
Hefner hosted for $3,125, the auction house said.
The highest grossing item was the typewriter, which he used to
write copy for the magazine's first issue in 1953. It went for
$162,500, while his personal copy of the issue itself, featuring
Marylin Monroe, sold for $31,250.
Hefner, who helped usher in the 1960s sexual revolution with his
magazine and nightclubs, died in September 2017 at age 91. He
left his property to his foundation, which put some of the items
up for sale.
Among the more unusual items was a gold ring with a compartment
holding a blue viagra pill, the medication that allows men with
to maintain an erection when they otherwise might not be able
to. That sold for $22,400.
Hefner's complete set of bound volumes of the magazine, from
1953 to 2013, sold for $76,800.
His white captain's hat went for $19,200. A 1962 letter from
future feminist leader Gloria Steinem, who took an undercover
job as a playboy bunny at Hefner's New York nightclub and wrote
about it for Show magazine, sold for $22,400.
The proceeds from the Nov. 30-Dec. 1 auction will go to Hefner’s
foundation, which was set up in 1964 to advocate for civil
liberties, including LGBT rights and the legalization of medical
marijuana, the auction house said.
(Reporting by Sharon Bernstein in Sacramento, California;
Editing by Robert Birsel)
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