Author(s): Hugh M. Hefner

Photography

In celebration of Playboy magazine's 50th anniversary, TASCHEN brings you this ultimate Playboy Playmate tribute featuring each and every Playmate of the Month since issue number one. Beginning with Marilyn Monroe herself and including such favorites as Pamela Anderson, Anna Nicole Smith, and Jenny McCarthy, this chronological look at the history of Playboy centerfolds includes photos of the Playmates as well as updated personal information about their lives to this day - just enough to spark your memory or pique your interest and surely leaving you yearning for more... Hugh Marston Hefner was born in Chicago on April 9, 1926. The first issue of Playboy magazine, featuring the now-famous calendar photo of Marilyn Monroe, was produced in 1953 on a card table in his South Side apartment. Playboy grew at a phenomenal rate and by the end of the decade, the magazine was selling more than a million copies a month. At the start of the Sixties, Hef began to live out the "Good Life" depicted in the pages of his publication. He hosted a popular syndicated television show called Playboy?s Penthouse, purchased the Playboy Mansion, and opened the first Playboy Club on the Near North Side of Chi magazine?s editor-in-chief.