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Playboy Founder Hugh Hefner Celebrates 80th Birthday with Weekend Long Festivities at Playboy Mansion
Happy 80th Hef! Playboy Founder Hugh Hefner Celebrates 80th Birthday with Weekend Long Festivities at Playboy Mansion; Announces Celebratory Seven-City Tour Throughout Europe Hugh M. Hefner celebrated his 80th birthday with a full weekend of activities at the Playboy Mansion and announced plans to continue the festivities in Europe as he and his girlfriends will embark on a two-week, seven-city tour in May. "This is the most rewarding time of my life," Hefner said. "With Playboy's global popularity, it seems only fitting to bring the celebration to Europe. We will also be shooting season two of our highly rated reality show 'The Girls Next Door.'" Hef and his girlfriends Holly Madison, Bridget Marquardt and Kendra Wilkinson, stars of E!'s "The Girls Next Door," will visit London, Cannes, Paris, Barcelona, Munich, Rome and Venice. Hefner's birthday festivities began on Friday, April 7 when Hef and a few dozen friends donned their white dinner jackets for an evening of champagne and caviar by candlelight as the Playboy Mansion converted to Rick's Cafe and guests enjoyed a special screening of "Casablanca." As Hef's all-time favorite movie, "Casablanca Night" has been an annual tradition during Hef's birthday weekend since 1993. On Saturday, April 8, the Playboy Mansion hosted a glamorous pajama and lingerie celebration as Playboy Playmates, celebrities and nearly 1,000 partygoers wished Hef a happy 80th birthday. Oscar-winning artist Three 6 Mafia electrified the crowd with a special musical performance and then led guests in a birthday song for Hef. "The Girls Next Door" co-star and Hefner girlfriend Bridget Marquardt surprised Hef with a classic burlesque striptease after popping out of a giant pink cake. Celebrity guests in attendance included: Donald Trump George Maloof Willie Gault Ivanka Trump Travis Barker Farrah Fawcett Paris Hilton Oliver Stone Mekhi Phifer Nikki Hilton Rob Schneider Shane West Owen Wilson Reggie Miller John Elway Ryan Cabrerra Adam Levine Michael Vartan Simon Cowell Michael Bay Kevin Connelly Ryan Seacrest John Lovitz Mario Lopez Randy Jackson Bill Maher Jimmy Connors Steve Valentine Dick Van Patten Michael Andretti Jose Canseco Jerry Buss Mark Hamill Brian Grazer Garry Marshall John Favreau Craig Ferguson Johnathan Silverman Julie Newmar John Leguizamo Thora Birch Judd Nelson James Caan On Hef's birthday, Sunday, April 9, a customized "Playboy Racing" helicopter flew him to the Long Beach Grand Prix where he made an appearance on behalf of Playboy Racing (from the Grand Am Series). This twin-engine helicopter took the Playboy founder and his girlfriends to the Queen Mary in Long Beach where they made their way to the race site by police escort. In a special birthday surprise just after noon, thousands of race fans joined together to sing "Happy Birthday" to Hef. The recipient of numerous awards for his contributions to society and the publishing industry in particular, Hefner received the 1996 International Publishing Award from the International Press Directory in London and was inducted into the Hall of Fame of the American Society of Magazine Editors at its 1998 ceremonies in New York. January of 2002 brought Mr. Hefner to New York again where he received the Henry Johnson Fisher Award, the highest honor of the Magazine Publishers of America. In March 2002, Hef was inducted as an honorary member of the Harvard Lampoon, which named him "Harvard Lampoon's Best Life-Form In The History Of The Universe." This 80th Birthday celebration finds the Playboy brand and Hefner hotter than ever. E! Entertainment's "The Girls Next Door" is the network's highest-rated original programming, this June the Playboy Jazz Festival marks its 28th consecutive year at the Hollywood Bowl and this fall, the company will open a new Playboy Club-Casino at the Palms Hotel in Las Vegas. Hefner founded Playboy in December 1953 in Chicago, where the company still maintains its corporate headquarters. It has grown its operations to Los Angeles and New York and the Playboy empire now includes 27 television networks, a global home video and DVD operation, a highly popular web destination, licensed products sold in more than 130 countries, a magazine that reaches 10 million Americans per month along with foreign editions published in 20 countries outside the U.S. Source: Playboy Enterprises, Inc. LOS ANGELES, April 10, 2006 /PRNewswire/ -- |