Hefner was buried next to Marilyn Monroe's grave in a crypt he bought for $75,000 in 1992, according to Rolling Stone.
Monroe graced the cover of the first Playboy magazine in 1953. Hefner used a nude shot of the actress for the centerfold, without her consent after buying the rights to the photos from a calendar shoot in 1949 that she had posed for when she was broke before her career took off.
Her biographer said she was "embarrassed, even ashamed" by the scandal that followed the publication of the photos, which forced her to publicly apologize and ask for forgiveness, Rolling Stone reported.
Hugh M. Hefner will be buried next to Marilyn Monroe, the Hollywood star whose radiant looks helped launch his publishing career.
Posted by Rolling Stone on Friday, September 29, 2017
Hugh Hefner To Be Buried Next To Marilyn Monroe, Whose Nude Photos Were Used To Launch Playboy Without Her Consent https://t.co/NwwccWoqM9 pic.twitter.com/ud3XdE52ps
— LAist (@LAist) September 28, 2017
Here's @sadydoyle on Hugh Hefner buying the crypt next to Marilyn Monroe in her book "Trainwreck." It's NOT ROMANTIC. pic.twitter.com/CtLmvqwvgB
— ella dawson (@brosandprose) September 28, 2017
Credit: Ian West - PA Images
Credit: Ian West - PA Images
Hefner told the Los Angeles Times in 2009 that he had many friends buried in Westwood Village Memorial Park and that he couldn't pass up the opportunity to be buried next to Monroe.
"Spending eternity next to Marilyn is too sweet to pass up," he said.
She died of a drug overdose in 1962 when she was just 36.
Hefner died of natural causes Wednesday at the age of 91.
American Icon and Playboy Founder, Hugh M. Hefner passed away today. He was 91. #RIPHef pic.twitter.com/tCLa2iNXa4
— Playboy (@Playboy) September 28, 2017
'Playboy to the end! Hugh Hefner will be buried in LA cemetery plot next to Marilyn Monroe. He bought it for $75,000 in 1992.' pic.twitter.com/wexklQXMV0
— Sheharyar Khan (@iSheharyar) September 28, 2017
Hugh Hefner published the first issue of Playboy in 1953, with Marilyn Monroe on the cover. He has died age 91. https://t.co/QvvOEyO2fD pic.twitter.com/CFowu1N2x8
— CNN (@CNN) September 28, 2017
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