【1996 Archives】

People996 Archivessharing on Twitter tributes to Hugh Hefner, the Playboy founder who just died, aged 91, at his Playboy Mansion in Los Angeles.

SEE ALSO: 'Playboy' founder Hugh Hefner dies at 91

Many people paid tribute mentioning Marilyn Monroe, who famously appeared on the very first cover of the first issue of Playboymagazine in December 1953.

However, a picture circulating on social media allegedly showing Hefner lighting a cigarette for Monroe in 1957 is a fake:

This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.

This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.

This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.

The photograph actually shows English actor and director Laurence Olivier lighting a cigarette for Monroe during a press conference for the 1957 movie Prince and the Showgirl:

Mashable Top Stories Stay connected with the hottest stories of the day and the latest entertainment news. Sign up for Mashable's Top Stories newsletter By clicking Sign Me Up, you confirm you are 16+ and agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Thanks for signing up!

'Prince and the Showgirl' press conference in 1957, with Marilyn Monroe and Laurence Olivier. Credit: SNAP/REX/Shutterstock

Also, Hefner never met Monroe in person, as he himself admitted on a 2011 interview with Piers Morgan on CNN:

Piers: Did you know Marilyn Monroe?

Hefner: She was actually in my brother’s acting class in New York. But the reality is that I never met her. I talked to her once on the phone, but I never met her. She was gone, sadly, before I came out here.

Despite that, Hefner did purchase the space next to Monroe's vault at the Westwood Village Memorial Park, the celebrities' cemetery in Los Angeles, for $75,000 in 1992, according to Reutersand the BBC.

Credit: Getty Images

The first issue of Playboy, which came out in December 1953,was 48 pages long and featured inside a nude 1949 calendar shot of Monroe, which Hefner bought for $200. All 70,000 copies of the magazine sold out within a few weeks.

Monroe died on 5 August 1962 in her Brentwood home of a drug overdose.

---

Featured Video For You

---

The physics behind NASCAR, according to Neil deGrasse Tyson

---

• Shopping
• Tech
• Games
• Life
• Entertainment
• Science
• Digital Culture
• Deals

• New panda mom doesn't know she has twins thanks to sneaky zookeepers
• The Vanishing
• Small Worlds
• Working on Ourselves
• Mac Mini M2 Desktop deal: Save $100 at Best Buy
• Bombs Away
• Trash the Polls
• Class Carpetbagger
• New panda mom doesn't know she has twins thanks to sneaky zookeepers
• Law and Disorder

• That 1997 'Cinderella' with Whitney Houston and Brandy is the best live
• When you marry a sheriff, you don't get invited to the wedding. You get summoned.
• These cute little succulents look like bunnies throwing up the peace sign
• Emma Watson and Amanda Seyfried's personal pictures stolen in celebrity photo hack
• BBC Dad's kids are your new IDGAF heroes
• Twitter made a big deal out of SXSW for the first time since launching here
• The forgotten Trump
• Of course Snoop Dogg has no time for Donald Trump's weird tweets
• Samsung's fancy Galaxy Tab S3 costs just as much as an iPad Pro, but it comes with the S
• Google opens up to kids under 13 with Family Link

• Barcelona Open 2025 livestream: Watch live tennis for free
• Power of Attorney
• A Work in Progress
• Law and Disorder
• NYT Connections hints and answers for April 14: Tips to solve 'Connections' #673.
• The Financialized Family
• Factory Blues
• The Vanishing
• Tennessee vs. Kentucky 2025 livestream: How to watch March Madness for free
• Lies, Damned Lies, and Recycling

• 'Severance' Season 2, episode 7, explained: What is happening to Gemma at Lumon?
• Mad Dogs and Medical Bills
• That’s so Craven
• A Work in Progress
• A Typical Wall Street Republican
• Ghost in the Machine
• Lying in State
• Impossible Contradictions
• Fritz vs. Ruud 2025 livestream: Watch Madrid Open for free
• The $849 M4 MacBook Air is back for Memorial Day at Amazon