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American Playboy: The Hugh Hefner Story

  • TV Mini Series
  • 20172017
  • TV-MATV-MA
  • 42m
IMDb RATING
7.5/10
2.1K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
3,844
91
Episode guide
  • Cast & crew
  • User reviews
  • Trivia
  • IMDbPro
Eryn Wilson, Tim W. Kelly, David Van Horn, Fraser Brown, Shara Connolly, Phil Brown, Emmett Skilton, Chelsie Preston Crayford, Ben Van Lier, Phil Peleton, Ian Bell, Matt Whelan, Andrew Blair, Adam Jonas Segaller, Alexandra Corin Johnston, Akira Matsumoto, Jade Albany Pietrantonio, and Holly Shervey in American Playboy: The Hugh Hefner Story (2017)
American Playboy: The Hugh Hefner Story
Play trailer1:37
3 Videos
30 Photos
DocumentaryBiographyDrama

The Amazon Original Series draws from unprecedented access to more than 17,000 hours of footage and over 2,600 scrapbooks from Hefner's personal archives, chronicling the life of an American... Read allThe Amazon Original Series draws from unprecedented access to more than 17,000 hours of footage and over 2,600 scrapbooks from Hefner's personal archives, chronicling the life of an American icon and the history of the brand he created.The Amazon Original Series draws from unprecedented access to more than 17,000 hours of footage and over 2,600 scrapbooks from Hefner's personal archives, chronicling the life of an American icon and the history of the brand he created.

IMDb RATING
7.5/10
2.1K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
3,844
91
  • Stars
    • Matt Whelan
    • Emmett Skilton
    • Adam Jonas Segaller
Top credits
  • Stars
    • Matt Whelan
    • Emmett Skilton
    • Adam Jonas Segaller
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 30User reviews
    • 3Critic reviews
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 1 win

    Episodes10

    Browse episodes
    TopTop-rated
    1 Season
    2017

    Videos3

    American Playboy: The Hugh Hefner Story
    Trailer 1:37
    American Playboy: The Hugh Hefner Story
    Trailer
    Trailer 1:37
    Trailer
    "American Playboy" Behind the Scenes Exclusive
    Featurette 2:09
    "American Playboy" Behind the Scenes Exclusive

    Photos30

    Hugh Hefner in American Playboy: The Hugh Hefner Story (2017)
    Matt Whelan in American Playboy: The Hugh Hefner Story (2017)
    Matt Whelan in American Playboy: The Hugh Hefner Story (2017)
    Shara Connolly and Matt Whelan in American Playboy: The Hugh Hefner Story (2017)
    Matt Whelan in American Playboy: The Hugh Hefner Story (2017)
    American Playboy: The Hugh Hefner Story (2017)
    Matt Whelan in American Playboy: The Hugh Hefner Story (2017)
    Cooper Hefner in American Playboy: The Hugh Hefner Story (2017)
    Phil Brown in American Playboy: The Hugh Hefner Story (2017)
    Ella Becroft in American Playboy: The Hugh Hefner Story (2017)
    Matt Whelan in American Playboy: The Hugh Hefner Story (2017)
    Matt Whelan in American Playboy: The Hugh Hefner Story (2017)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Matt Whelan
    Matt Whelan
    • Hugh Hefneras Hugh Hefner
    10 episodes10 eps • 2017
    Emmett Skilton
    Emmett Skilton
    • Victor Lownesas Victor Lownes
    10 episodes10 eps • 2017
    Adam Jonas Segaller
    Adam Jonas Segaller
    • A.C. Spectorskyas A.C. Spectorsky
    10 episodes10 eps • 2017
    Chelsie Preston Crayford
    Chelsie Preston Crayford
    • Bobbie Arnsteinas Bobbie Arnstein
    10 episodes10 eps • 2017
    Ian Bell
    Ian Bell
    • Art Paulas Art Paul
    10 episodes10 eps • 2017
    Eryn Wilson
    Eryn Wilson
    • Arthur Kretchmeras Arthur Kretchmer…
    10 episodes10 eps • 2017
    Fraser Brown
    Fraser Brown
    • Bob Preussas Bob Preuss
    10 episodes10 eps • 2017
    Andrew Robertt
    Andrew Robertt
    • James Thompsonas James Thompson
    10 episodes10 eps • 2017
    Cohen Holloway
    Cohen Holloway
    • Paul Snideras Paul Snider
    10 episodes10 eps • 2017
    Rowan Bettjeman
    Rowan Bettjeman
    • James McGinnas James McGinn
    10 episodes10 eps • 2017
    James Gaylyn
    James Gaylyn
    • William R. Ming Jr.as William R. Ming Jr.
    10 episodes10 eps • 2017
    Alexandra Corin Johnston
    Alexandra Corin Johnston
    • Cynthia Maddoxas Cynthia Maddox
    10 episodes10 eps • 2017
    Jade Albany Pietrantonio
    Jade Albany Pietrantonio
    • Janet Pilgrimas Janet Pilgrim…
    10 episodes10 eps • 2017
    Colin Moy
    Colin Moy
    • Gaming Commissioneras Gaming Commissioner
    10 episodes10 eps • 2017
    Kelson Henderson
    Kelson Henderson
    • John Baumgarthas John Baumgarth
    10 episodes10 eps • 2017
    Elizabeth Felker
    Elizabeth Felker
    • Dorothy Strattenas Dorothy Stratten…
    10 episodes10 eps • 2017
    Alistair Browning
    Alistair Browning
    • Judge Matkovicas Judge Matkovic
    10 episodes10 eps • 2017
    Phil Peleton
    Phil Peleton
    • Derick Danielsas Derick Daniels
    10 episodes10 eps • 2017
    • All cast & crew
    • See more cast details at IMDbPro

    Storyline

    Edit
    American Playboy: The Hugh Hefner Story is a docuseries combining archival footage, interviews and cinematic reenactments to tell the story of Playboy magazine's charismatic founder Hugh Hefner and his impact on global culture and history. American Playboy begins in post-war America and takes us through the launch of Playboy magazine in 1953 and the next six decades of Hefner's life and career. As he built his empire, Hefner became both a social justice advocate and a target of the conservative movement, battling with the FBI and J. Edgar Hoover while becoming an outspoken defender of civil rights.
    magazine publishermagazinepublisheradult magazinesexuality5 more
    • Plot summary
    • Add synopsis
    • Genres
      • Documentary
      • Biography
      • Drama
    • Certificate
      • TV-MA
    • Parents guide

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Matt Whelan (plays Hef) is 6'4" but Hugh Hefner was actually only 5'9"
    • Soundtracks
      Show My Love
      (uncredited)

      Performed by Sad Robot

    User reviews30

    Review
    Top review
    8/10
    Captivating story about a visionary and innovative entrepreneur
    After I started watching this documentary I realized that I've had the completely wrong perception of Playboy my whole life, i.e. if I'm to believe everything depicted in this documentary. I've only browsed through Playboy magazine a few times in my life, and I never read any of the articles in it ;-) Though I've always been fascinated by the life of Hugh Hefner, though from a purely sexual perspective. After watching the first 4 episodes of this series though, I'm even more fascinated and impressed by this man as I had no idea he was such a visionary and innovative entrepreneur and that he had such a nag for surrounding himself with talented people. Further, the documentary gives the distinct impression that he was anti-establishment, an equal opportunity employer, had an open door policy, was a great boss, was surprisingly respectful of women (even though at the same time he was obviously exploiting them too), was color blind and, even though indirectly and possibly unintended, he supported for the civil rights of blacks by ignoring the fact that the southern states didn't want to air his Playboy Penthouse TV show because he had a lot of black entertainers on this show. It's almost too good to be true. And as mentioned I have only seen 4 episodes so far, but I kind of doubt the tone is going to sway again Hefner. Lastly, I liked the acting and the occasional switching back to real Hefner footage.
    helpful•14
    2
    • cmikeolsen
    • Jan 5, 2018

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • April 7, 2017 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • El playboy americano: La historia de Hugh Hefner
    • Production companies
      • Alta Loma Entertainment
      • Amazon Studios
      • Solid Brothers Films
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      42 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Aspect ratio
      • 16:9 HD

    Related news

    ‘American Playboy’ Star Jade Albany Joins Nat Geo’s ‘The Right Stuff’ & Paramount Network’s ’68 Whiskey’
    Oct 11Deadline Film + TV
    ‘American Playboy’s Jade Albany To Star In Netflix’s Japanese Original ‘The Naked Director’
    Jul 16Deadline Film + TV

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    Eryn Wilson, Tim W. Kelly, David Van Horn, Fraser Brown, Shara Connolly, Phil Brown, Emmett Skilton, Chelsie Preston Crayford, Ben Van Lier, Phil Peleton, Ian Bell, Matt Whelan, Andrew Blair, Adam Jonas Segaller, Alexandra Corin Johnston, Akira Matsumoto, Jade Albany Pietrantonio, and Holly Shervey in American Playboy: The Hugh Hefner Story (2017)
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