When Hugh Hefner hosts his traditional movie nights at the Playboy Mansion with his friends, the films he screens aren’t exactly the kinds his magazines usually write about.
Wearing his silk pajamas with his three girlfriends nearby, Hefner says movie nights are about Hollywood’s film classics and their importance to him personally than anything else, he tells the Los Angeles Times.
Like every Friday night at his Holmby Hills mansion, Hefner and about a couple of dozen friends gather not to watch porn, but to watch a Hollywood classic culled from his large library of memorable titles.
On this night, Hefner screens the 1933 George Cukor comedy Dinner at Eight, starring John Barrymore and Marie Dressler.
Hefner, who grew up in a traditional Methodist home, says such classic movies help him recall his youth when his dreams and fantasies were fueled by vivid images from Hollywood films.
But his love for classic movies doesn’t end with his weekly screenings. Hefner recently gave $1 million to the UCLA Film & Television Archive and also has helped donate to efforts aimed at restoring a number of classic films such as The Big Sleep and Sherlock Holmes and the Secret Weapon.
Hefner says he hopes his efforts will help future generations understand the impact and significance of early Hollywood films.
