Who I Was Then...

The editor of a magazine does not become an international celebrity by accident. By 1959, Playboy was hot, but we weren't selling ads. So I committed to doing a TV show that appeared to be a party?with guests like Nat Cole and Lenny Bruce. [Highlights from the series Playboy's Penthouse and Playboy After Dark are on DVD.] I reinvented myself as the prototype of the man who reads Playboy. You know, you start out as the person your parents and peers think you ought to be, then you become the persona you want to be. Around 1966, I started taking better care of myself. I put in an order with McDonnell Douglas for a DC-9, which we painted black and called the Big Bunny. We'd fly to L.A. and tape there. After the shoot, we'd go back to the Mansion — and really party.