Could Hef be brought out of retirement?

[Brian Sorgatz]

Steve Sloca wrote:
>Hef is clearly at an age where he is not
>interested, or lacks the energy, to oversee and direct the entire
>content of the magazine as he once did.

Yes, as a man of almost 78 years, Hef probably can't work as hard now as he 
did in the Sixties.  But can he be persuaded to come at least partially out 
of retirement, to do at least some of the work that he has delegated to 
Kaminsky?  He would almost certainly show better taste than the younger 
generation of PLAYBOY editors.

>The "Playboy Philosophy" needs to be updated for this new
>century; and the man or men who can write it should be in
>charge.

Hmmm.  Didn't somebody in this very group try to stimulate dialogue on a new 
Playboy Philosophy?  Oh, yeah!  That was me!  If the magazine is going to 
have a new philosophy, it will be the end result of lots of discussion among 
PLAYBOY's fans.  Unfortunately, nobody else was interested in getting 
philosophical.  Below is the link to that earlier post of mine (please 
excuse my shameless plug).
http://mozart.lib.uchicago.edu/pipermail/playboy50/2003-July/000259.html

>Moreover, any magazine that leads off every issue with a "World of
>Hef" feature showing a bunch of geriatrics hanging out with bevies of
>nearly-identical bleached blonde arm candies is forever doomed to be
>"my grandfather's magazine."  Hef should be gracefully retired as the
>magazine's spokesperson, and new figures brought to the fore as the
>brand's primary promoters.

I disagree strongly.  At a time when PLAYBOY thoughtlessly disregards so 
much of its own history, it's especially vital to honor Hef as a link to the 
past.  And Hef isn't really Hef unless he's at least the figurehead monarch 
of the organization.  So what if it makes PLAYBOY "my grandfather's 
magazine"?  With a bold and clever ad campaign, that designation could be 
turned into an asset.

Brian Sorgatz