The Playboy and the Punster

Posted by Earl in A Walk Through the Forrest with Earl Roesel, Books on December 30th, 2009

Believe it or not, Forry enjoyed a lifelong relationship of respect and understanding with Playboy editor and publisher Hugh Hefner. The latter has been a genre fan since childhood; he actually produced amateur horror films as a teenager. Hefner also put together a monster magazine of sorts (predating Famous Monsters!) that recieved the official blessing of Boris Karloff himself. And of course, Hef’s Halloween parties are legendary.

A delighted Forry meets his own creation, Vampirella, at a Playboy party.

It was only natural that he should eventually cross paths with the Dean of Mon-stars, Forry Ackerman. In fact, Hefner came to FJA’s rescue during a very vulnerable time. As Forry related…

“There was a time in my life when I was behind on legal bills. Knowing he was so rich, I threw myself on Hugh Hefner’s mercy and asked if I could borrow some money. The dear man obliged me and saved my life on that occasion. Well, bit by bit, ten, twenty, fifty dollars I was able to repay Hugh Hefner every penny that I had borrowed. The next time I saw him on New Year’s Eve Party, he took me by the hand and shook me vigorously and said, ‘Mr. Ackerman, you are the only man I ever lent money to who repaid me.’ I guess he’d loaned thousands of dollars to people only to have it ignored, figuring he was rich and wouldn‘t care. I was rather pleased with myself to hear that I was the only one who’d ever repaid him.”

I once asked Forry if he would ever like to revisit the Playboy Mansion. His response was surprising: although Hefner was very nice, he said, the loud rock music played during his parties was unbearable!

It should also be remembered that FM itself owes a tip of the hat to Hefner and his bunny-eared brainchild: publisher James Warren’s first magazine was the saucy After Hours, which Forry often described as a “poor man’s Playboy”.