Playboy through the decades: A look at key moments in magazine’s history

LOS ANGELES, Calif. – Playboy has announced it will no longer run photos of completely naked women, a change that will take place in 2016. Here are some other milestones in the magazine’s history:

1953

The first Playboy Magazine is published in December, featuring Marilyn Monroe on the cover and in a “Sweetheart of the Month” colour nude photo inside. The magazine sells more than 50,000 copies.

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1954

Playboy’s second issue in January is the first to feature a “Playmate of the Month.” The term is used in a spread featuring Margie Harrison.

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1955

Hugh Hefner wins a lawsuit against the U.S. Post Office, which considered Playboy obscene. The magazine is granted the same second-class mailing privileges held by other magazines.

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1956

Marian Stafford is featured in the magazine’s first triple-page, foldout centerfold in March.

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1959

The first Playboy Jazz Festival is held and sells out in Chicago. Performers include Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington and Ella Fitzgerald.

Also this year, Hugh Hefner buys a home in Chicago that becomes the Playboy Mansion.

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1960

The first Playboy Club, staffed by Playboy Bunnies, opens in Chicago. The worldwide chain of clubs eventually will have 230,000 keyholders.

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1962

The magazine introduces the “Playboy Interview” with jazz legend Miles Davis.

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1965

Jennifer Jackson becomes the first African-American Playmate of the Month in the March issue. Jean Bell appeared on the cover of the January 1970 issue with four other Playmates. In October 1971, Darine Stern became the first African-American model featured alone on a cover.

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1969

Playboy opens a television and motion picture division, Playboy Productions, in Los Angeles.

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1971

Hefner buys a West Los Angeles estate to become Playboy Mansion West and eventually makes it his permanent home.

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1972

For the January issue, Marilyn Cole is the first playmate to feature full frontal nudity.

Also, Playboy’s first foreign edition is launched this year in Germany. Currently, 29 editions are published in more than 50 countries.

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1988

Hefner’s daughter, Christie Hefner, becomes chairman and chief executive of Playboy Enterprises Inc. Hefner remains editor-in-chief of the magazine.

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2009

The November issue features the magazine’s first cartoon character cover model — a fetching, blue-haired Marge Simpson.

Also, 60-year-old Patricia Paay becomes the oldest woman to pose for Playboy, appearing in Dutch edition for December. The oldest model to make the cover of the U.S. edition was Farah Fawcett, then 50, in 1997. The October 2006 U.S. issue featured a nude photo of Mamie Van Doren, then 75, but it was not taken by Playboy.

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2015

Playboy announces it will no longer run photos of completely naked women.

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Sources include Playboy website.