2012
Playboy reopens its global headquarters in Beverly Hills, California.
2012
Playboy Club Cologne opens.
2011
Playboy Club returns to London.
Playboy is taken private.
2010
Playboy Club Cancun opens.
Playboy celebrates its 50th Anniversary of the Playboy Bunny and the Playboy Club with 50 parties in 50 cities around the world, all in one night.
2009
Scott Flanders becomes CEO of PEI. Hugh Hefner continues as the Editor-in-Chief and the Chief Creative Officer of Playboy Magazine.
2005
The Girls Next Door launches on E!
2003
Playboy’s 50th Anniversary celebration includes a special collectors’ issue of the magazine, release of limited-edition Playboy products, and lavish, exclusive parties at the Mansion and New York Armory as well as public parties nationwide.
2002
Playboy Fashion debuts in Asia with its first free-standing boutique. The boutique’s success prompts Playboy to continue opening stores throughout the world.
1999
Playboy Fashion makes its global debut spreading its fun-loving style across the world.
1994
Playboy TV expands to 24-hour programming.
Playboy becomes the first national magazine to launch its own website, and Playboy.com rapidly becomes a leading entertainment and lifestyle destination for men online.
1988
Christie Hefner becomes Chairman of the Board and CEO of Playboy Enterprises, Inc. Hugh Hefner remains Editor-in-Chief of Playboy Magazine and Chairman Emeritus of the corporation.
1982
Playboy launches a national pay cable television service.
1979
As part of Playboy’s 25th Anniversary, Christie Hefner founds the Playboy Foundation’s Hugh M. Hefner First Amendment Awards to honor individuals who have made significant contributions to protect and enhance First Amendment rights for Americans.
1976
Membership in the Playboy Clubs reaches an all-time high of 230,000 keyholders.
1972
Playboy formalizes its international product licensing business, signing an agreement to distribute Playboy products throughout Japan.
Playboy’s November 1972 issue sells over 7.16 million copies, making it the biggest
selling issue of Playboy ever.
1972
Playboy launches its first foreign edition in Germany. Today, there are 29 editions of Playboy published in more than 50 countries.
1971
Playboy Enterprises, Inc. (PLA) goes public with listings on the New York and Pacific Stock exchanges.
1971
Playboy purchases Playboy Mansion West in Los Angeles’ Holmby Hills. Hugh Hefner travels back and forth between Chicago and Los Angeles until the mid-70’s, at which point he makes Los Angeles his home.
1969
The Big Bunny, Playboy’s extravagant jet, is delivered to Playboy Enterprises.
Playboy Productions, a new motion picture and television division of the company, opens in Los Angeles.
1968
Shooting begins on a new television series, “Playboy After Dark.” Similar in format
to “Playboy’s Penthouse,” the show features performances by such musical greats as
Sonny and Cher, James Brown and Marvin Gaye.
1966
Playboy Clubs reach overseas to London with a club and casino that attracts 20,000 keyholders before its official opening; it rapidly becomes the most successful operation of its kind in Great Britain.
1962
Playboy introduces the Playboy Philosophy, written by Hugh Hefner in 25 installments in response to criticism of the magazine’s principles. The Playboy Foundation is established as the activist arms of the Playboy Philosophy.
1962
The “Playboy Interview” is born, commencing with jazz musician Miles Davis.
1961
The first issue of VIP, the magazine for Club keyholders, debuts.
1961
Hugh Hefner and a bevy of Bunnies fly on a press junket from Hollywood to Jamaica, an event dubbed the “Big Bunny Hop.”
1960
The Playboy Club and the Playboy Bunny are born. Selling “keyholder” memberships for $25 and charging $1.50 for drinks, cigarettes and meals, the first Playboy Club in Chicago is an instant hit.
1960
The world is introduced to James Bond, the fictional super spy in British writer and former intelligence agent Ian Fleming’s The Hildebrand Rarity.
1959
Hugh Hefner purchases the Playboy Mansion at 1340 North State Parkway on Chicago’s Gold Coast, and begins living the good life reflected in his magazine.
1959
The first Playboy Jazz Festival sells out Chicago Stadium and includes performances by jazz legends Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington and Ella Fitzgerald.
1959
Hugh Hefner hosts Playboy’s Penthouse, the company’s first foray into television. A variety show set in a bachelor pad, Playboy’s Penthouse runs for two seasons and features such cultural icons as Ella Fitzgerald, Carl Sandburg and Lenny Bruce.
1956
The Playmate feature is expanded from a double-page spread to a triple-page centerfold. Opening up the pinup picture in the center of the magazine becomes a familiar ritual referenced in popular culture, and the term “centerfold” enters the language as a generic
term for pinup photography.
1955
The company begins marketing cufflinks, the first of many licensed products that help the Rabbit head logo become one of the world’s most recognized symbols.
1955
After almost two years of struggle with the often-censorious Post Office, Hugh Hefner takes them to court and successfully wins second-class mailing privileges.
1953
Playboy’s first art director, Art Paul, reportedly designs the Playboy logo in about 10 minutes. Today, it is one of the most recognized trademarks in the world.
1953
Hugh Hefner incorporates HMH Publishing Co., Inc. in Delaware on October 1, 1953, and publishes Playboy Magazine in December 1953.
The first issue features Marilyn Monroe on the cover, and sells more than 50,000 copies.
