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Sondra Theodore (born December 12, 1956 in San Bernardino, California) is an American model and actress. She was Playboy magazine's Playmate of the Month for its July 1977 issue.^[1] Her centerfold was photographed by Ken Marcus.^[1] Her Playmate pictorial was the first to include the Data Sheets that Playmates had been filling out since 1959.

A former Sunday school teacher, Theodore became the girlfriend of Playboy publisher Hugh Hefner for several years, living alongside him at the Playboy Mansion.^[2] She can be seen on the famous Playboy pinball machine alongside Hefner and fellow Playmate Patti McGuire. During this time she sang with the "Singing Playmates".

References[link]

External links[link]

• Sondra Theodore at Playboy.com
• Sondra Theodore at the Internet Movie Database
• Bally Playboy pinball machine

Hugh Hefner
Hugh Hefner attending Glamourcon #50, Long Beach, CA on November 13, 2010
Born	Hugh Marston Hefner (1926-04-09) April 9, 1926 (age 86) Chicago, Illinois
Residence	Playboy Mansion, Holmby Hills, Los Angeles, California
Nationality	American
Education	Steinmetz High School
Alma mater	University of Illinois (B.A.) Northwestern University
Known for	Editor-in-chief of Playboy magazine, Chief Creative Officer of Playboy Enterprises
Home town	Chicago, Illinois
Political party	Independent
Board member of	Playboy Enterprises
Spouse	Mildred Williams (m.1949–1959; divorced) Kimberley Conrad (m.1989–2010; divorced)
Partner	Barbi Benton (1969–1976) Brande Roderick (2000–2001) Tina Marie Jordan (2001–2002) Holly Madison (2003–2008) Crystal Harris (2009–2011)
Children	Christie Hefner (born 1952) David Hefner (born 1955) Marston Hefner (born 1990) Cooper Hefner (born 1991)
Website
Playboy.com

Hugh Marston "Hef" Hefner (born April 9, 1926) is an American magazine publisher, founder and Chief Creative Officer of Playboy Enterprises.^[1]

Early life[link]

Hefner was born in Chicago, Illinois, being the elder of two sons born to Grace Caroline (née Swanson; 1895–1997) and Glenn Lucius Hefner (1896–1976), both teachers.^[2][3] Hefner's mother was of Swedish descent and his father had German and English ancestry.^[4][5] On his father's side, Hefner is a direct descendant of Plymouth governor William Bradford.^[6][7] He has described his family as "conservative, Midwest, Methodist."^[8] He went to Sayre Elementary School and Steinmetz High School, then served as a writer for a military newspaper in the U.S. Army from 1944 to 1946. He later graduated from the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign with a B.A. in psychology with a double minor in creative writing and art in 1949, earning his degree in two and a half years. After graduation, he took a semester of graduate courses in sociology at Northwestern University but dropped out soon after.^[9]

Career[link]

Working as a copywriter for Esquire, he left in January 1952 after being denied a $5 raise. In 1953, he mortgaged his furniture, generating a bank loan of $600 (or $800 — he cannot recall which) and raised $8,000 from 45 investors — including $1,000 from his mother ("Not because she believed in the venture," he told E! in 2006, "but because she believed in her son.") — to launch Playboy, which was initially going to be called Stag Party. The undated first issue, published in December 1953, featured Marilyn Monroe from her 1949 nude calendar shoot and sold over 50,000 copies.^[10] (Hefner, who never met Monroe, bought the crypt next to hers at the Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery.^[11][12])

After it was rejected by Esquire magazine in 1955, Hefner agreed to publish in Playboy the Charles Beaumont science fiction short story, "The Crooked Man", about straight men being persecuted in a world where homosexuality was the norm. After receiving angry letters to the magazine, Hefner wrote a response to criticism where he said, "If it was wrong to persecute heterosexuals in a homosexual society then the reverse was wrong, too."

On June 4, 1963, Hefner was arrested for selling obscene literature after an issue of Playboy featuring nude shots of Jayne Mansfield was released.^{[citation needed]} A jury was unable to reach a verdict.^[13]

His former secretary, Bobbie Arnstein, was found dead in a Chicago hotel room after an overdose of drugs in January 1975. Hefner called a press conference to allege that she had been driven to suicide by narcotics agents and federal officers. Hefner further claimed the government was out to get him because of Playboy's philosophy and its advocacy of more liberal drug laws.^[14][15]

He has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for television and has made several movie appearances as himself. In 2009, he received a "worst supporting actor" nomination for a Razzie award for his performance in Miss March.

A documentary by Brigitte Berman, Hugh Hefner: Playboy, Activist and Rebel, was released on July 30, 2010. He had previously granted full access to documentary filmmaker and television producer Kevin Burns for the A&E Biography special Hugh Hefner: American Playboy in 1996.^[16]

Hefner and Burns later collaborated on numerous other television projects, most notably on The Girls Next Door, a reality series that ran for six seasons (2005–2009) and 90 episodes.

In 1999, Hefner financed the Clara Bow documentary, Discovering the It Girl. "Nobody has what Clara had. She defined an era and made her mark on the nation," he stated.^[17]

Personal life[link]

Hefner married Northwestern University student Mildred Williams (born March 10, 1926) in 1949. They had two children, Christie (born November 8, 1952) and David (born August 30, 1955).^[18] Before the wedding, Mildred confessed that she had had an affair while he was away in the Army. He called the admission "the most devastating moment of my life." A 2006 E! True Hollywood Story profile of Hefner revealed that Mildred allowed him to sleep with other women, out of guilt for her infidelity and in the hopes that it would preserve their marriage. They divorced in 1959.^{[citation needed]}

Hefner remade himself as a bon viveur and man about town, a lifestyle he promoted in his magazine and two TV shows he hosted, Playboy's Penthouse (1959–1960) and Playboy After Dark (1969–1970). He admitted to being "'involved' with maybe eleven out of twelve months' worth of Playmates" during some of these years.^[19] Donna Michelle, Marilyn Cole, Lillian Müller, Shannon Tweed, Brande Roderick, Barbi Benton, Karen Christy, Sondra Theodore, and Carrie Leigh — who filed a $35 million palimony suit against him — were a few of his many lovers. In 1971, he acknowledged that he experimented in bisexuality.^[20] He moved from Chicago to Los Angeles.

Hefner had a minor stroke in 1985 at age 59. After re-evaluating his lifestyle, he made several changes. The wild, all-night parties were toned down significantly and in 1988, daughter Christie began to run the Playboy empire. The following year, he married Playmate of the Year Kimberley Conrad. The couple had two sons, Marston Glenn (born April 9, 1990) and Cooper Bradford (born September 4, 1991).^[21] The E! True Hollywood Story profile noted that the notorious Playboy Mansion had been transformed into a family-friendly homestead. After he and Conrad separated in 1998, Conrad moved into a house next door to the mansion.

Hefner then began to move an ever-changing coterie of young women into the mansion, even dating up to seven girls at once, among them, Brande Roderick, Izabella St. James, Tina Marie Jordan, Holly Madison, Bridget Marquardt, and Kendra Wilkinson. The reality television series The Girls Next Door depicted the lives of Madison, Wilkinson and Marquardt at the Playboy Mansion.^[22] In October 2008, all three girls made the choice to leave the mansion. Hefner was quick to rebound and soon began dating his new "Number One" girlfriend, Crystal Harris,^[23] along with 20-year-old identical twin and models Kristina and Karissa Shannon.^[24] The relationship with the twins ended in January 2010.^[25] After an 11-year separation, Hefner filed for divorce from Conrad stating irreconcilable differences.^[26] Hefner has said that he only remained married to her for the sake of his children,^[27] and his youngest child had just turned 18.^[21] The divorce was finalized in March 2010.^[28] On December 24, 2010, Hefner presented an engagement ring to Crystal Harris, publicly announcing the proposal the following day.^[11] Hefner and Harris had planned to marry June 18, 2011.^[29][30] Harris called off the wedding just 5 days before they were due to be wed.^[31]

Politics and philanthropy[link]

The Hugh Hefner First Amendment Award was created by Christie Hefner "to honor individuals who have made significant contributions in the vital effort to protect and enhance First Amendment rights for Americans."^[32]

He has donated and raised money for the Democratic Party.^[33] However, he has more recently referred to himself as an Independent due to disillusionment with both the Democratic and Republican Parties.^[34]

In 1978, Hefner helped organize fund-raising efforts that led to the restoration of the Hollywood Sign. He hosted a gala fundraiser at the Playboy Mansion and personally contributed $27,000 (or 1/9 of the total restoration costs) by purchasing the letter Y in a ceremonial auction.^[35][36]

Hefner donated $100,000 to the University of Southern California's School of Cinematic Arts to create a course called "Censorship in Cinema," and $2 million to endow a chair for the study of American film.^[37]

Both through his charitable foundation and individually, Hefner also contributes to charities outside the sphere of politics and publishing, throwing fundraiser events for Much Love Animal Rescue as well as Generation Rescue,^[38] a controversial autism campaign organization supported by Jenny McCarthy.

On April 26, 2010, Hefner donated the last $900,000 sought by a conservation group for a land purchase needed to stop the development of the famed vista of the Hollywood Sign.^[35]

Sylvilagus palustris hefneri, an endangered species of Marsh rabbit, is named after him in honor of financial support that he provided.^[39][40]

References[link]

Further reading[link]

• Watts, Steven (2008). Mr. Playboy: Hugh Hefner and the American Dream. Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 0-471-69059-7.
• Miller, Russell (1985). Bunny: The Real Story of Playboy. London: Corgi. ISBN 0-03-063748-1.
• St. James, Izabella (2006). Bunny Tales: Behind Closed Doors at the Playboy Mansion. Philadelphia: Running Press. ISBN 0-7624-2739-6
• Hefner, Veronika and Jurij Toplak (2009). Hefner, Hugh. In: Vile, John R., Hudson, David L., and Schultz, David Andrew (Eds.). Encyclopedia of the First Amendment. Washington, D.C.: CQ Press, p. 564.

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Hugh Hefner

• Hugh M. Hefner Foundation
• Hugh Hefner at the Internet Movie Database
• Hugh Hefner on Twitter
• Hugh Hefner: The Ultimate Lifestyle Entrepreneur (About.com Entrepreneurs)
• "Hugh Hefner". Salon.com. December 28, 1999.
• Hugh Hefner interview from 1966

v t e Playboy Enterprises Key people Christie Hefner (former Chairman and CEO) · Hugh Hefner (Editor-in-Chief, CCO and Founder) Business groups Playboy Publishing Playboy Magazine · Playboy Special Edition Playboy Entertainment Playboy TV · My Ex-Girlfriends · Playboy Radio · Spice Networks · Playboy Online · Playboy Cyber Club · ClubJenna · Indigo Entertainment Playboy Licensing   Miscellaneous Playboy Clubs · Playboy Mansion · Victor Lownes · The Playboy Club (TV series) Annual Revenue: $215 million USD (FY 2010) · Employees: 547 (full time) · Stock Symbol: NYSE: PLA, PLAA · Website: PlayboyEnterprises.com

Tobias Picker (born New York City, July 18, 1954)^[1] is an American composer. Picker began composing at the age of eight and studied at the Manhattan School of Music, The Juilliard School and Princeton University, where his principal teachers were Charles Wuorinen, Elliott Carter and Milton Babbitt. He received his first commissions while still in his late teens and quickly became established as one of America's most sought after young composers.

By the age of thirty, Picker had earned numerous awards and honors including the Joseph H. Bearns Prize (Columbia University), a Charles Ives Scholarship and a Guggenheim Fellowship. In 1992, he received the prestigious Award in Music from the American Academy of Arts and Letters. From 1985–1990 Picker was the first composer-in-residence of the Houston Symphony. He has also served as composer-in-residence for such major international festivals as the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival and the Pacific Music Festival. Tobias Picker will be inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Letters in May 2012.^[2]

Tobias Picker’s music is published exclusively by Schott Music Corporation.^[3]

Works[link]

Instrumental music[link]

Picker’s symphonic music, including the tone poem Old and Lost Rivers, has been performed by major orchestras such as the New York Philharmonic, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the Cleveland Orchestra, the Philadelphia Orchestra, the BBC Philharmonic, The Munich Philharmonic, the Tonhalle Orchester Zurich, and the Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra. His piano concerto Keys to the City (written for the Centenary of the Brooklyn Bridge) is recorded on Chandos with his cello concerto and the orchestral work And Suddenly It’s Evening. Following this Chandos release, BBC Music Magazine proclaimed Picker’s recent music “one of the glories of the current musical scene.”^{[citation needed]} The Encantadas (for narrator and orchestra) features texts drawn from Herman Melville’s poetic descriptions of the Galápagos Islands and was recorded on Virgin Classics by the Houston Symphony Orchestra with narration by Sir John Gielgud. Other works include Tres sonetos de amor, settings of Neruda love poems in versions for baritone and orchestra and voice and piano, and The Blue Hula, a work for chamber ensemble. Picker’s complete orchestral catalogue includes three symphonies, four piano concertos and concertos for violin, viola, cello and oboe.

Picker has also composed numerous chamber works. In 2009, the American String Quartet commissioned and premiered his String Quartet No. 2 at Merkin Concert Hall in New York.^[4] In that same year, the pianist Ursula Oppens premiered Picker's Four Etudes for Ursula and Three Nocturnes for Ursula at Baisly Powell Elebash Recital Hall, also in New York.^[5] In 2011, Picker was featured in a Miller Theatre Composer Portrait Concert, featuring the Signal Ensemble, Sarah Rothenberg, and the Brentano String Quartet, who premiered his Piano Quintet "Live Oaks".^[6]

Operas[link]

• Emmeline (1996): The Santa Fe Opera gave the world premiere of Picker’s first opera, which was subsequently broadcast nationally on public television’s Great Performances series. The premiere recording was released by Albany Records.
• Fantastic Mr. Fox (1998): His second opera was an adaptation of Roald Dahl’s book commissioned and premiered by the Los Angeles Opera. Picker has written two more versions of this work: a version for Chamber Ensemble of seven instuments, premiered by Opera Holland Park in 2010.^[7] A version with reduced orchestration was written for the English Touring Opera, also in 2010.^[8]
• Thérèse Raquin (1999/2000): Picker's third opera (libretto by Gene Scheer) was commissioned by a consortium of companies including The Dallas Opera San Diego Opera, and the Opéra de Montréal. Picker then received a new commission from Opera Theatre Europe for a reduced-scale version of Thérèse Raquin, which was performed in March 2006 at the Linbury Studio of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden.
• An American Tragedy (2005/2006):^[9] Based on the novel by Theodore Dreiser, with a libretto by Gene Scheer, Picker's fourth opera was commissioned by the Metropolitan Opera.^[10] The world premiere took place on December 2, 2005 and featured Patricia Racette, Nathan Gunn, Susan Graham, and Dolora Zajick in principal roles. The production was directed by Francesca Zambello and conducted by James Conlon.^[11]
• Dolores Claiborne In 2013, the San Francisco Opera will premiere a new opera by Picker, Dolores Claiborne, based on the novel by Stephen King with a libretto by J.D. McClatchy.^[12]

Stage Works[link]

Picker completed his first ballet, Awakenings, inspired by the novel by Dr. Oliver Sacks and commissioned by the Rambert Dance Company, in 2010. The piece was premiered by Rambert in Salford, UK in September 2010. Rambert toured the work around the UK with over 50 performances in the 2010-11 season.^[13]

Select Discography[link]

• Keys to the City (Wergo, 2008)
• Old and Lost Rivers (Virgin Classics)
• Songs and Encores (Bridge Records, 2006)
• Symphony No. 2, String Quartet No. 1 (First Edition, 2004)
• Keys to the City, And Suddenly It's Evening, and Cello Concerto (Chandos, 2003)
• Thérèse Raquin (Chandos, 2001)
• Emmeline (Albany Records, 1998)
• The Encantadas (Virgin Records, 1998)

Additional recordings of the composer’s music are available on Sony Classics, Virgin, Nonesuch Records, Ondine, Bridge and First Edition, among others.

Personal life[link]

Picker is diagnosed with Tourette's syndrome, and has mentioned that there are "tourettic" elements to his music. He also appeared in a BBC Horizon television documentary, titled Mad But Glad, about the link between Tourette's syndrome and creativity.^[14] He has been involved in mentoring programs for children with Tourette's.^[15][16]

Picker's partner since 1980 has been Lambda Literary award-winning author and neuroradiologist Aryeh Lev Stollman.^[10]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Tobias Picker's official website
• Tobias Picker at Schott Music
• Tobias Picker featured in Opera News
• Review of An American Tragedy (opera) by Alex Ross