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52-667: In March 1998, Shane Tritsch published an article in Chicago titled Bull Marketing: Debunking the Myth of the Beardstown Ladies and Their Spectacular Stock Market Gains . The article noted that the club included a disclaimer in its books that the published returns included fees that were charged to members. After an audit by PricewaterhouseCoopers , the club noted that it had made a computer formula error in calculating its returns, and its actual annual returns were 9.1%, which were below those of

104-646: A reverse merger deal with Mountain Crest Acquisition Corp.—a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC). In February 2021, the stock of a combined company, PLBY Group, began trading on the Nasdaq exchange as "PLBY". In 1971, Playboy had a circulation rate base of seven million, which was its high point. The best-selling individual issue was the November 1972 edition, which sold 7,161,561 copies. One-quarter of all American college men were buying or subscribing to

156-520: A bunny. Joyful, joking. Consider the girl we made popular: the Playmate of the Month . She is never sophisticated, a girl you cannot really have. She is a young, healthy, simple girl - the girl next door ... we are not interested in the mysterious, difficult woman, the femme fatale , who wears elegant underwear, with lace, and she is sad, and somehow mentally filthy. The Playboy girl has no lace, no underwear, she

208-489: A cover photo representing gender and sexual fluidity. In March 2020, Ben Kohn, CEO of Playboy Enterprises, announced that the spring 2020 issue would be the last regularly scheduled printed issue and that the magazine would publish its content online. The decision to close the print edition was attributed in part to the COVID-19 pandemic , which interfered with the distribution of the magazine. In autumn 2020, Playboy announced

260-495: A former cartoonist, reportedly resisted dropping the cartoons more than the nudity, but ultimately obliged. Playboy ' s plans were to market itself as a competitor to Vanity Fair , as opposed to more traditional competitors GQ and Maxim . Playboy announced in February 2017, however, that the dropping of nudity had been a mistake. Furthermore, for its March/April issue, it reestablished some of its franchises, including

312-472: A less inappropriate image in India and China, where the brand is a popular item on apparel and thus generates significant revenue. Other changes to the magazine included ending the popular jokes section and the various cartoons that appeared throughout the magazine. The redesign eliminated the use of jump copy (articles continuing on non-consecutive pages), eliminating most of the space for cartoons. Hefner, himself

364-583: A lesson on the importance of vetting investment claims. In 2010, a member of the club stated that only 4 or 5 of the original members remained in the club; the rest had died. In 2016, the club was still active, with over $ 400,000 invested and 75% of the members being descendants of the original club members. Chicago (magazine) Chicago is a monthly magazine published by Tribune Publishing . It concentrates on lifestyle and human interest stories, and on reviewing restaurants, travel, fashion, and theatre from or nearby Chicago . Its circulation in 2004

416-663: A liberal editorial stance, although it often interviews conservative celebrities. After a year-long removal of most nude photos in Playboy magazine, the March–April 2017 issue brought back nudity. By spring 1953, Hugh Hefner—a 1949 University of Illinois psychology graduate who had worked in Chicago for Esquire magazine writing promotional copy; Publisher's Development Corporation in sales and marketing; and Children's Activities magazine as circulation promotions manager —had planned out

468-483: A new name, considering "Top Hat", "Gentleman", "Sir'", "Satyr", "Pan", and "Bachelor" before Sellers suggested "Playboy". Published in December 1953, the first issue was undated, as Hefner was unsure there would be a second. He produced it in his Hyde Park kitchen. The first centerfold was Marilyn Monroe , although the picture used initially was taken for a calendar rather than for Playboy . Hefner chose what he deemed

520-764: A regular display of full-page color cartoons, it became a showcase for cartoonists such as Jack Cole , Eldon Dedini , Jules Feiffer , Harvey Kurtzman , Shel Silverstein , Doug Sneyd , Erich Sokol, Roy Raymonde , Gahan Wilson , and Rowland B. Wilson . Art Paul designed the bunny logo. Leroy Neiman drew the Femlin characters for Playboy jokes. Patrick Nagel painted the headers for Playboy Forum and other sections. Playboy features monthly interviews of public figures, such as artists, architects, economists, composers, conductors, film directors, journalists, novelists, playwrights, religious figures, politicians, athletes, and race car drivers. The magazine generally reflects

572-464: A six-month gap in 1976), the "P" in Playboy had stars printed in or around the letter. Urban legend stated that this was either a rating that Hefner gave to the Playmate according to how attractive she was, the number of times that Hefner had slept with her, or how good she was in bed. In truth, stars, between zero and 12, indicated the domestic or international advertising region for that printing. In

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624-413: A spin-off of Playboy ) and Gallery in the 1970s; later from pornographic videos ; and more recently from lad mags such as Maxim , FHM , and Stuff . In response, Playboy attempted to re-assert its hold on the 18–35-year-old male demographic through slight changes to the content and focusing on issues and personalities more appropriate to its audience—such as hip-hop artists being featured in

676-564: A time, and hit the newsstands with its new name and format in September 1973. The Chicagoan was sold to National Textbook Company and S. William Pattis in the spring of 1974 and Pattis turned around and sold the Chicagoan to the Chicago Guide in September 1974. The circulation of the two magazines was combined with the November 1974 issue of the Chicago Guide . ) Chicago Guide magazine

728-484: Is naked, well washed with soap and water, and she is happy. The jaunty rabbit quickly became a popular symbol of extroverted male culture, becoming a lucrative source of merchandizing revenue for the company. In the 1950s, it was adopted as the military aircraft insignia for the US Navy's Air Test and Evaluation Squadron Four (VX-4). Besides its centerfold, a major part of Playboy for much of its existence has been

780-548: The Playboy Interview, an extensive (usually several-thousand-word) discussion between a publicly known individual and an interviewer. Writer Alex Haley served as a Playboy interviewer on a few occasions; one of his interviews was with Martin Luther King Jr. ; he also interviewed Malcolm X and American Nazi Party founder George Lincoln Rockwell . The magazine interviewed then-presidential candidate Jimmy Carter in

832-623: The Playboy Mansion in Los Angeles) for $ 18 m ($ 10 m less than the reported asking price) to another American, Daren Metropoulos, the President and co-owner of Pabst Blue Ribbon , and that due to significant losses in the company's value (down from $ 1 billion in 2000 to $ 84 million in 2009), the Playboy publishing empire was for sale for $ 300 million. In December 2009, the publication schedule

884-466: The S&;P 500 Index during the same time period. The club issued an apology and a disclaimer on all of its books, but by that time, it had sold over 1.1 million. This revelation led to a class action lawsuit against publisher Hyperion , a division of The Walt Disney Company , which settled the case by offering to swap the Beardstown Ladies books for other Hyperion books. The experience provided many with

936-639: The sexual revolution and remains one of the world's best-known brands, with a presence in nearly every medium. In addition to the flagship magazine in the United States, special nation-specific versions of Playboy are published worldwide, including those by licensees, such as Dirk Steenekamp's DHS Media Group. The magazine has a long history of publishing short stories by novelists such as Arthur C. Clarke , Ian Fleming , Vladimir Nabokov , Saul Bellow , Chuck Palahniuk , P. G. Wodehouse , Roald Dahl , Haruki Murakami , and Margaret Atwood . With

988-494: The " Playboy Interview". In February 1974, Ratna Assan became the first women of Indonesian descent to be featured, shortly after a positively received role in the film Papillon (1973). Christie Hefner , daughter of founder Hugh Hefner, joined Playboy in 1975 and became head of the company in 1988. She announced in December 2008 that she would be stepping down from leading the company, effective in January 2009. She said that

1040-402: The "sexiest" image, a previously unused nude study of Monroe stretched with an upraised arm on a red velvet background with closed eyes and mouth open. The heavy promotion centered on Monroe's nudity on the already-famous calendar, together with the teasers in marketing, made the new Playboy magazine a success. The first issue sold out in weeks. Known circulation was 53,991. The cover price

1092-570: The 1960s, the magazine added "The Playboy Philosophy" column. Early topics included gay rights, women's rights, censorship, and the First Amendment. Playboy was an early proponent of cannabis reform and provided founding support to the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws in 1970. From 1966 to 1976, Robie Macauley was the fiction editor at Playboy . During this period

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1144-491: The July/August 2018 issue a reader asked if the print magazine would discontinue, and Playboy responded that it was not going anywhere. Following Hefner's death and his family's financial stake in the company, the magazine changed direction. In 2019, Playboy was relaunched as a quarterly publication without adverts. Topics covered included an interview with Tarana Burke , a profile of Pete Buttigieg , coverage of BDSM , and

1196-483: The November 1976 issue, in which he stated "I've committed adultery in my heart many times." David Sheff 's interview with John Lennon and Yoko Ono appeared in the January 1981 issue, which was on newsstands at the time of Lennon's murder; the interview was later published in book format. Another interview-type section, entitled "20Q" (a play on the game of Twenty Questions ), was added in October 1978. Cheryl Tiegs

1248-593: The Playboy Philosophy and Party Jokes, but dropped the subtitle "Entertainment for Men", inasmuch as gender roles have evolved. The company's chief creative officer made the announcement on Twitter with the hashtag #NakedIsNormal. In early 2018, and according to Jim Puzzanghera of the Los Angeles Times , Playboy was reportedly "considering killing the print magazine", as the publication "has lost as much as $ 7 million annually in recent years". However, in

1300-407: The United States. The 1975 average circulation was 5.6 million; by 1981, it was 5.2 million and by 1982 down to 4.9 million. Its decline continued in later decades and reached about 800,000 copies per issue in late 2015, and 400,000 copies by December 2017. In 1970, Playboy became the first gentleman's magazine printed in braille . It is also one of the few magazines whose microfilm format

1352-416: The decision. The redesigned Playboy , however, would still feature a Playmate of the Month and pictures of women. Still, they would be rated as not appropriate for children under 13. The move would not affect PlayboyPlus.com (which features nudity at a paid subscription). Josh Horwitz of Quartz argued that the motivation for the decision to remove nudity from the magazine was to give Playboy Licensing

1404-411: The election of Barack Obama as the next President had inspired her to give more time to charitable work and that the decision to step down was her own. "Just as this country is embracing change in the form of new leadership, I have decided that now is the time to make changes in my own life as well", she said. Hefner was succeeded by company director and media veteran Jerome H. Kern as interim CEO, who

1456-501: The elements of his magazine, that he would call Stag Party . He formed HMH Publishing Corporation, and recruited his friend Eldon Sellers to find investors. Hefner eventually raised just over $ 8,000, including from his brother and mother. However, the publisher of an unrelated men's adventure magazine, Stag , contacted Hefner and informed him it would file suit to protect their trademark if he were to launch his magazine with that name. Hefner, his wife Millie, and Sellers met to seek

1508-556: The feminist Miss America protest , symbolically feminine products were thrown into a "Freedom Trash Can". These included copies of Playboy and Cosmopolitan magazines. One of the key pamphlets produced by the protesters was "No More Miss America!", by Robin Morgan , which listed ten characteristics of the Miss America pageant that the authors believed degraded women; it compared the pageant to Playboy ' s centerfold as sisters under

1560-591: The magazine after he was passed over for the top editorial post there. In 2012, longtime Chicago magazine senior writer Marcia Froelke Coburn left Chicago magazine to join Time Out Chicago as a contributing writer. Also in 2012, longtime Chicago magazine senior editor Nora O'Donnell left the magazine to join Playboy magazine in southern California as senior editor and research chief. In March 2014, Chicago magazine's No. 2 editor, Cassie Walker Burke, left

1612-414: The magazine every month. On the cover was model Pam Rawlings, photographed by Rowland Scherman . Perhaps coincidentally, a cropped image of the issue's centerfold (which featured Lena Söderberg ) became a de facto standard image for testing image processing algorithms. It is known simply as the " Lenna " (also "Lena") image in that field. In 1972, Playboy was the ninth highest circulation magazine in

Beardstown Ladies - Misplaced Pages Continue

1664-442: The magazine in 1990. Primedia bought the magazine in 1995. Tribune bought the magazine from Primedia in 2002. Chicago magazine celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2020. Chicago magazine's first editor was Allen Kelson, who previously had been named editor-in-chief of WFMT Guide in 1968. Kelson later became editor-in-chief, and then publisher. In 1984, Don Gold, the former managing editor of Playboy magazine, became

1716-513: The magazine laid off longtime literary editor Christine Newman. In December 2009, it was announced that longtime Chicago restaurant critic Dennis Ray Wheaton would be leaving his position and that Jeff Ruby would replace him. In April 2011, Richard Babcock stepped down as Chicago ' s editor after exactly 20 years in the job. In August 2011, the magazine named Beth Fenner to replace Babcock. In December 2011, Chicago magazine's managing editor, Shane Tritsch, resigned after 18 years with

1768-495: The magazine published fiction by Saul Bellow , Seán Ó Faoláin , John Updike , James Dickey , John Cheever , Doris Lessing , Joyce Carol Oates , Vladimir Nabokov , Michael Crichton , John le Carré , Irwin Shaw , Jean Shepherd , Arthur Koestler , Isaac Bashevis Singer , Bernard Malamud , John Irving , Anne Sexton , Nadine Gordimer , Kurt Vonnegut and J. P. Donleavy , as well as poetry by Yevgeny Yevtushenko . In 1968, at

1820-454: The magazine to join Crain's Chicago Business as an assistant managing editor. In November 2015, Chicago magazine's award-winning features editor, David Bernstein, took a buyout and left the company. In March 2016, the magazine's editor, Beth Fenner, was fired after more than four years, and the magazine's publisher, Tom Conradi, also was removed from his post. In their places, Susanna Homan

1872-449: The magazine's editorial director, in a new position created between editor-in-chief Allen Kelson and editor John Fink. From 1986 until 1991, Hillel Levin served as the magazine's editor. He left in early 1991 to join other investors in buying a Miami-based and Caribbean media group. Levin was succeeded by Richard Babcock, who up to that point had been assistant managing editor of Rupert Murdoch 's New York magazine. In April 2009,

1924-437: The magazine. On July 15, Penthouse owner FriendFinder Networks Inc. offered $ 210 million (the company is valued at $ 185 million). However, Hefner, who already owned 70 percent of voting stock, did not want to sell. In January 2011, the publisher of Playboy magazine agreed to an offer by Hefner to take the company private for $ 6.15 per share, an 18 percent premium over the price of the last previous day of trading. The buyout

1976-594: The most popular was its annual ranking of the top "party schools" among all U.S. universities and colleges. In 2009, the magazine used five criteria—bikini, brains, campus, sex, and sports—to develop its list. The top-ranked party school by Playboy for 2009 was the University of Miami . In June 2009, the magazine reduced its publication schedule to 11 yearly issues, with a combined July/August issue. On August 11, 2009, London's Daily Telegraph newspaper reported that Hugh Hefner had sold his English manor house (next door to

2028-583: The rabbit for its "humorous sexual connotation" and because the image was "frisky and playful". In an interview, Hefner explained his choice of a rabbit as Playboy ' s logo to the Italian journalist Oriana Fallaci : The rabbit, the bunny, in America has a sexual meaning; and I chose it because it's a fresh animal, shy, vivacious, jumping - sexy. First it smells you then it escapes, then it comes back, and you feel like caressing it, playing with it. A girl resembles

2080-403: The skin, describing this as "The Unbeatable Madonna–Whore Combination". Macauley contributed all of the popular Ribald Classics series published between January 1978 and March 1984. After reaching its peak in the 1970s, Playboy saw a decline in circulation and cultural relevance due to competition in the field it founded—first from Penthouse , then from Oui (which was published as

2132-489: The years. This list is only a small portion of those who have posed. Some of them are: Film: Music: Sports: Television: The success of Playboy magazine has led PEI to market other versions of the magazine, the Special Edition s (formerly called Newsstand Special s), such as Playboy's College Girls and Playboy's Book of Lingerie , as well as the Playboy video collection. The National Library Service for

Beardstown Ladies - Misplaced Pages Continue

2184-516: Was 165,000, larger than People in its market. Also in 2004, it received the National Magazine Award for General Excellence. It is a member of the City and Regional Magazine Association (CRMA). In the second half of the 20th century, several magazines bore the name Chicago magazine. The current one also has the longest history. It was established in 1952 as the monthly WFMT Guide and

2236-449: Was 50¢. Copies of the first issue in mint to near-mint condition sold for over $ 5,000 in 2002. The novel Fahrenheit 451 , by Ray Bradbury , was published in 1953 and serialized in the March, April and May 1954 issues of Playboy . An urban legend started about Hefner and the Playmate of the Month because of markings on the front covers of the magazine. From 1955 to 1979 (except for

2288-488: Was a quarterly magazine that was published by the New Chicago Foundation from 1964 until 1973 and had Richard P. Frisbie as its editor, from 1971 until 1973. (Starting in late 1973, the formerly New Chicago Foundation-published Chicago magazine changed its name to the Chicagoan , and was published by the husband-and-wife duo of Jon Anderson and Abra Prentice Wilkin , had Richard Christiansen as its editor for

2340-639: Was completed in March 2011. This is what I always intended Playboy Magazine to look like. — Hugh Hefner , when asked about ending nudity in Playboy In October 2015, Playboy announced the magazine would no longer feature full-frontal nudity beginning with the March 2016 issue. Company CEO Scott Flanders acknowledged the magazine's inability to compete with freely available internet pornography and nudity; according to him, "You're now one click away from every sex act imaginable for free. And so it's just passé at this juncture". Hefner agreed with

2392-530: Was founded as the programming guide for the classical radio station WFMT . Starting in October 1970, the WFMT Guide began accepting paid advertising. The WFMT Guide changed its name to Chicago Guide with the December 1970 issue and became a full-sized magazine. Two other magazines titled Chicago magazine existed between the 1950s and the 1970s. One, published by founding editor Maurice English , published from 1954 until 1957 or 1958. The other version

2444-416: Was in color, not black and white. Playboy ' s enduring mascot, a stylized silhouette of a rabbit wearing a tuxedo bow tie , was created by Playboy art director Art Paul for the second issue as an endnote , but was adopted as the official logo and has appeared ever since. A running joke in the magazine involves hiding the logo somewhere in the cover art or photograph. Hefner said he chose

2496-581: Was in turn succeeded by publisher Scott Flanders . The magazine celebrated its 50th anniversary with the January 2004 issue. Celebrations were held at Las Vegas , Los Angeles, New York, and Moscow during the year to commemorate this event. Playboy also launched limited-edition products designed by fashion houses such as Versace , Vivienne Westwood and Sean John . As a homage to the magazine's 50th anniversary, MAC Cosmetics released two limited-edition products: lipstick and glitter cream. The printed magazine ran several annual features and ratings. One of

2548-513: Was named editor and publisher. In October 2017, the magazine's longtime dining editor, Penny Pollack, retired. Playboy Playboy (stylized in all caps) is an American men's lifestyle and entertainment magazine, formerly in print and online since 2020. It was founded in Chicago in 1953 by Hugh Hefner and his associates, funded in part by a $ 1,000 loan from Hefner's mother. Known for its centerfolds of nude and semi-nude models ( Playmates ), Playboy played an important role in

2600-454: Was reduced to 10 issues per year, with a combined January/February issue. On July 12, 2010, Playboy Enterprises Inc. announced Hefner's $ 5.50 per share offer ($ 122.5 million based on shares outstanding on April 30 and the closing price on July 9) to buy the portion of the company he did not already own and take the company private with the help of Rizvi Traverse Management LLC. The company derived much of its income from licensing rather than from

2652-659: Was renamed Chicago magazine at the start of 1975. ) In 1981, Chicago introduced the Nelson Algren Award, a short story contest that the magazine later abandoned before it was picked up by the Chicago Tribune newspaper. In December 1986, Chicago Educational Television Association, which had owned WFMT and WTTW , announced that it would sell the magazine for $ 17 million to a joint venture formed by Metropolitan Detroit Magazine and Adams Communications . The deal closed in January 1987. Landmark Communications bought

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2704-1221: Was the first interviewee for the section. "Rock the Rabbit" was an annual music news and pictorial feature published in the March edition. The pictorial featured images of rock bands photographed by music photographer Mick Rock . Fashion designers participated in the Rock the Rabbit event by designing T-shirts inspired by Playboy ' s rabbit head logo for each band. The shirts were sold at Playboy ' s retailers and auctioned off to raise money for AIDS research and treatment at LIFEbeat: The Music Industry Fights AIDS. Bands who were featured include: MGMT , Daft Punk , Iggy Pop , Duran Duran , Flaming Lips , Snow Patrol , and The Killers . The photographers who have contributed to Playboy include Mario Casilli , Ana Dias , Richard Fegley , Arny Freytag , Ron Harris , Tom Kelley , Annie Leibovitz , Ken Marcus , David Mecey , Russ Meyer , Helmut Newton , Pompeo Posar , Suze Randall , Herb Ritts , Ellen von Unwerth , Stephen Wayda , Sam Wu , and Bunny Yeager . Many celebrities (singers, actresses, models, etc.) have posed for Playboy over

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