The year was 1971.
Hot pants and bell bottoms were the latest trends.
Simon and Garfunkel's Bridge Over Troubled Water
was album of the year.
And a controversial new sitcom called in All in the Family
premiered in prime-time.
Playboy had grown bigger than ever before...
... thanks to increasing magazine sales
and over 15 Playboy clubs around the world.
On top of the clubs,
we'd also started opening luxury vacation resorts.
Mr. Hefner has spent no less than $10 million
in building a resort that makes the Taj Mahal
look like a Quonset hut.
Okay, let's shoot.
Action!
We also expanded into
even more side ventures,
including a TV and film production company.
We produced an adaptation of "Macbeth,"
directed by Roman Polanski...
... and the first movie
from the British comedy troupe, Monty Python.
The Playboy brand was recognized
all over the world...
and what had started as just a magazine
was now a multinational entertainment corporation
worth $200 million.
Nike is a brand, but Reebok is a shoe company.
Virgin is a brand, United is an airline.
Playboy was a brand,
and that means that you can move
from one category to another,
because you represent not a single product
but an attitude toward life.
Our success made us very attractive
to Wall Street investors...
... so that year I decided to take the company public.
Playboy goes public.
Now you bring in a tremendous amount of capital,
which you can then reinvest,
and it's a signal of the kind of normalization
of the pornography business.
I mean, what's more establishment
than Wall Street?
The influx of cash was a huge boost,
and it felt good to have the world acknowledge Playboy
as a legitimate business.
But the magazine was still facing one major challenge.
Ongoing competition from Penthouse.
Since 1969,
Penthouse had been pushing the envelope
with pictures that made Playboy look tame.
Over the past two years, they kept getting raunchier,
and their subscription had grown by 600%,
to 1.3 million per month.
Playboy still had nearly five times as many readers,
but I knew that if we were going to continue
to stay ahead of the competition,
Playboy would have to show
a lot more than we ever had before.
- Synced and corrected by chamallow - - www.addic7ed.com -
So what do you think we should do?
Honestly? Nothing.
Do you honestly want to publish pictures like that?
No, I want to publish better pictures.
And I know we can.
Respectfully, we already do.
Agreed.
This has to do with Playboy's brand.
What do you want that to be?
The best!
We have the best photographers in the world
begging to work with us.
We didn't get where we are by being complacent.
There is so much more we can explore, more we can do,
without losing sight of what Playboy is about.
Playboy had shown a glimpse of pubic hair
earlier in the year,
but until now, I'd been hesitant to do it again.
Hef always stayed away
from showing full frontal nudity,
but Playboy was actually losing subscribers over to Penthouse.
So Hef was pushed in the direction
of upping the game.
I knew we needed to publish a full-frontal centerfold,
but I wanted to do it the Playboy way,
with polish and sophistication.
To pull it off, we'd need to find the perfect model.
Luckily, Victor Lownes knew just the girl for the job.
She was a bunny working at the London Playboy Club...
named Marilyn Cole.
Marilyn had a fantastic figure.
I sent snapshots of her to Chicago
and said they ought to test this girl for Playmate material.
I was quite surprised
when Victor suggested I should be a Playmate.
Not having been a model,
he was the one who sort of discovered me,
and then I was sent to Chicago.
Lownes was right.
Marilyn was the perfect centerfold.
But her photo represented
a whole new direction forPlayboy.
It's Miss January.
I'm getting a lot of push-back from spec.
And art.
Would you print it?
Are you kidding me, Hef?
We both know you've already made up your mind.
Yeah, maybe.
In January of 1972,
Marilyn Cole became our first ever full frontal centerfold.
The issue was our biggest seller to date.
I became the first full-frontal nude.
What a legacy, but anyway...
I've often been asked, how did it feel?
And I always think, "Well, the point that you disrobe,
you become someone else."
That's the only way you do it.
It did cause a sensation, certainly here in Britain,
because, "A," I was English,
and, "B," it was tabloid press at that time.
When she showed them to her mother, her mother said,
"Your hair looks very nice, dear."
That was her mother's only comment.
From that point on, there was no turning back.
By the end of 1972,
our circulation exceeded seven million,
the highest it had ever been, so we had a lot to celebrate.
Hey, Kretch? This is my boyfriend, Ron.
Hi.
In those days,
no one seemed happier than my longtime friend
and personal assistant, Bobbie Arnstein.
She had recently started dating a man named Ron Scharf.
I've seen your issue. My favorite.
Hey, this is Hef.
Hugh Hefner, hi.
Ron.
Nice to meet you, finally.
You, too, I've heard a lot about you.
Okay, we're gonna take a tour.
Enjoy dinner!
Come on.
So this is the great room...
I wasn't crazy about her new boyfriend,
but I did like to see Bobbie happy.
For over a decade, Bobbie had been my assistant,
but she'd also become one of my closest friends.
She lived full-time at the mansion,
so she was always around when I needed her.
Bobbie became absolutely indispensable to me.
Not only because of the role that she played,
but also because of her own particular abilities.
She had a remarkable sensitivity and sense of humor.
And was uncommonly bright.
Bobbie was also part of my social life.
Okay, don't forget, on Thursday
you've got a meeting at the mayor's office.
And then Friday, board meeting at 2:00 p.m.,
so you gotta look sharp for that.
I left your gray suit out. It's been pressed.
Any questions, talk to Dick.
I don't know how I'm going to survive without you, Bobbie.
You'll be fine.
All right.
Have a safe trip.
Don't do anything I wouldn't do.
Not touching that one.
Did you pack the suntan lotion?
Hmm?
I put it out with everything else.
Well, then I packed it, okay?
It's not here.
Maybe you put it in your bag?
Hey, hey...
Just... buy another one, okay?
Here, there's a place on the corner.
I'm sure they'll have some.
Hey, man, how's it going?
Yeah, good, come on in.
Who's she?
Bobbie?
Don't worry, she's cool.
So how much you want?
Let's do a half.
Three, four...
Hey, are you a friend of Ron's?
Uh, yeah.
I'm Bobbie.
Uh, you are?
Nice meeting you.
Bobbie thought she was on an innocent vacation
with her boyfriend.
But what she didn't realize was that she was about to become
entangled in a government investigation.
By the 1970s, the hippie drugs of the '60s,
like marijuana and LSD,
had given way to harder substances,
like cocaine and heroin.
President Nixon declared drugs a crisis in American life.
We must wage total war against public enemy number one:
the problem of dangerous drugs.
To crack down on their use,
Nixon created a new Drug Enforcement Administration.
The DEA was tasked with bringing down anyone
suspected of breaking federal drug laws.
What's this?
That's Miami drug trafficker George Matthews.
We've been monitoring him for a couple of years now.
Finally nailed him, thanks to this guy, Ronald Scharf.
Small-time drug dealer based here in Chicago.
He bought half a pound off Matthews
and tried selling it to one of my informants.
Who's the girl?
You know Playboy publisher Hugh Hefner?
Well, that is his personal assistant, Bobbie Arnstein.
When a photo of Bobbie landed on the desk
of Chicago prosecutor James Thompson...
he immediately saw an opportunity
to turn this small drug case
into something that could make his entire career.
Jim Thompson had political aspirations,
and this was going to be his singular success
in nailing Hef for some kind of drug conspiracy,
which was totally false.
While Thompson opened his investigation...
... I was spending more and more time
with my girlfriend, Barbi Benton.
We had been dating for over four years
and spending a lot of time in Los Angeles.
So much time, Barbie convinced me it was time to buy a house,
and she'd found the perfect spot.
I was looking for a house,
and our driver mentioned a gate on Sunset Boulevard
that had a lock on it.
So I hopped the fence,
walked up the long driveway,
and saw this beautiful house.
So I called the people to find out if they would
consider selling their house.
And, as luck would have it,
they said that they would consider.
I got Hef to come out.
He loved the grounds,
he loved the house,
and... he got it.
The new house sat on 5.3 acres
on the edge of Beverly Hills.
And, in typical Playboy fashion...
... I quickly made it my own.
I built a winding, outdoor pool
with waterfalls leading into a grotto...
... with artifacts and fossilized insects
in the ceiling.
I had the largest grove of redwoods in southern California.
A game house...
... a tennis court...
... and a gym.
Even a zoo.
And an aviary.
I went so far as to get a year-round fireworks license
from the city.
We're still the only private residence ever granted one.
I named the house The Playboy Mansion West.
And I split my time between L.A.
and the original mansion back in Chicago.
How's... how's Monday at 3:00 p.m.?
We'll make whatever time work.
- Okay. - Done.
- Between 3:00 and 4:00. - Yep.
I'll get it.
We're looking for Bobbie Arnstein.
We have a warrant for your arrest.
For what?
Conspiracy to distribute.
Distribute what?
You have the right to remain silent.
- What? - Anything you say can and...
Are you kidding me right now? This is happening?
... in a court of law.
On March 23rd of 1974,
almost three years after Ron took her to Miami,
Bobbie was arrested on charges of cocaine distribution.
Over the years, Playboy had been charged
with obscenity and indecency...
... but now, Thompson made the case
that the Playboy mansions in Chicago and LA
and clubs around the world
were fronts for a major drug trafficking operation.
Bobbie had never been his real target.
She was just his way of coming after me.
Miss Arnstein, I don't want to see you
spend the rest of your life
rotting away in some prison cell.
What I do want is to see
the right person put behind bars.
And you and I both know who that person is.
This drug ring you think Playboy's involved in,
it doesn't exist.
I can offer you federal protection.
What do you think?
I think you can both go fuck yourselves.
The case against Bobbie Arnstein
was trumped up as soon as they realized
they had Hefner's secretary.
There's no question in my mind
that Bobbie did not carry the cocaine,
she did not transport it.
The boyfriend did.
It was his deal.
They put it on her.
And... that was a terrible thing.
For a long time it was just, you know,
an investigation that was focused
on this fellow that she'd been dating.
And, when the focused changed, when it became clear that
the real target was some crazy attempt to involve me,
it took on Kafka-like implications.
So, I was able to get a hold of the original indictment.
Bobbie's name's not on it.
Which means?
Which means they probably added it
only after they realized who she was.
In other words, when they realized she worked for Playboy.
Make a copy of this for Kretchmer.
Tell him we're running it in next month's issue
along with an editorial I'll write myself.
- We'll get it done. - That's out of the question.
- Is it against the law? - No.
- Will it jeopardize our case? - No.
- Then we're running it! - It's Bobbie's case.
It's Bobbie who's on trial here, not you and not Playboy.
So you're just going to let her hang out to dry?
No, of course not.
But what we're dealing with here has very serious implications,
not just for you and for Bobbie, but for the company.
The company will be fine.
We already have two board members
resign because of this.
I have advertisers backing out.
Our stock price is down, big time.
All we gotta focus on is doing some serious damage control.
You need to separate yourself from Bobbie.
Not just for your sake, but for hers.
Bobbie was my best friend.
But on the advice of my lawyers,
I was told not to speak publicly about her case.
And even worse,
I had to ask her to move out of the Chicago mansion.
It killed me to know there was nothing I could do to help her.
It became very unreal.
I knew that the DEA had become a very corrupt organization
and the case was politically inspired.
For most people,
this is the image of Bobbie Arnstein,
assistant to Playboy publisher Hugh Hefner.
A girl who lived in what seemed a sleek and fashionable world,
a girl who somehow became involved
in the cruel and shoddy drug world.
On October 22, 1974,
Bobbie's case went to trial.
Your Honor,
the defendants in this case,
Ronald Scharf and Bobbie Arnstein,
are charged with a conspiracy.
They conspired to distribute a narcotic drug,
specifically cocaine,
and that these defendants entered into an agreement
with each other, and with other persons,
to distribute cocaine in the United States.
I don't think any of us felt
that they would stoop this low,
to threaten this young woman with incarceration
if she did not come forward and lie about her boss.
They would go just so far and then back off.
But they didn't do that.
The prosecution was asking for the maximum sentence:
15 years in prison.
I'm here to represent my client, Bobbie Arnstein.
She traveled from Chicago down to Florida with Mr. Scharf,
but we believe the evidence will show that Miss Arnstein
had no knowledge or participation
in any sale of drugs while she was down in Florida
and that she should be found not guilty.
The prosecution had gone so far
as to tap Ron Scharf's phone
and presented transcripts of his conversations
with Bobbie in court,
but none of the evidence made it clear that Bobbie
was knowingly involved.
How's it going?
How's Bobbie?
You know, it's a...
it's a trial. It's tough for her.
But she's, um,
she's holding up pretty well.
Just let her know I'm thinking about her.
Of course.
All right, bye.
On behalf of the government,
I would like to call as a witness
George E. Matthews to the stand.
I laid out some coke on the coffee table.
Scharf and I tested it, and he asked to buy
a half pound of the coke, which I sold to him
in a bag which I placed on the coffee table.
Was anyone else present at this meeting?
Yes. Bobbie Arnstein.
Did they leave with the half a pound of cocaine
you had left on the bed?
Yes.
Was Mr. Scharf carrying the half a pound of cocaine?
Bobbie Arnstein placed the half pound of cocaine
in her handbag and carried it out.
Thank you, Mr. Matthews.
No further questions.
All right, Mr. Matthews.
Now, you have before you
the statement you made previously.
Now, in this statement you made,
is there anything said by you
stating Miss Arnstein's presence
when Scharf asked to buy a half a pound of cocaine?
Not in what I have here, no.
Is there any statement made by you that Miss Arnstein
put the cocaine in her bag?
No.
- Or carried the bag out? - No.
Subsequent to giving these statements,
did you have any conversations
with any government agent about this case?
I had a couple telephone conversations, yes.
What was the result of these conversations?
I... agreed to cooperate with the government fully.
Do you have an understanding as to anything that you were
to receive in return for this cooperation?
Yes.
Would you tell the court and jury, please,
what your understanding was?
Uh, a recommendation
that I be sentenced to no more than five years.
I have no further questions.
Bobbie's lawyers had done all they could
to prove her innocence.
Now, her fate was up to the jury.
From a justice point of view,
we felt there was no question
that she would be found innocent.
But with the threats that she was getting
from the U.S. attorney and the DEA,
one wasn't completely sure what the outcome might be.
Will the defendants please rise?
On the charge of conspiracy to distribute a narcotic drug,
the court finds the defendants...
guilty.
The defendant, Bobbie Arnstein,
is committed to the custody of the attorney general
or his authorized representative.
The judge issued a preliminary sentence
of the full 15 years.
Bobbie's boyfriend, Ron Scharf,
only got a six-year sentence.
Court is adjourned.
When they convicted her, it was unreal.
I knew she was innocent.
They knew she was innocent.
They let major drug dealers walk away,
use them to convict her,
all in an attempt to somehow
put enough pressure on this girl
so that she would invent some story about me.
I don't think you ought to give any statement at all.
Well, I think it's absurd.
I don't think you ought to give any statement.
My lawyers suggest that I not give any statements.
It's not my personal feeling.
Okay, thank you.
You're welcome, sorry.
Hello?
Ms. Arnstein, executive assistant
to Playboy publisher Hugh Hefner,
died of an overdose Monday.
No bottles containing prescriptions
were found in the hotel room where she took her life.
Van Gordon Sauter has a profile on the woman
who died in a second-rate hotel.
She was not doing what they were saying she was doing.
She was not carrying drugs,
she was not dealing.
She was just too tired to keep fighting.
... enmeshed by a boyfriend in a drug raid
and an aggressive government investigation,
the fragile entity that was Bobbie Arnstein broke.
Perhaps there is just no more room in this world
for such fragile people.
Bobbie's suicide was devastating
for everybody who knew her,
perhaps as much as anything because
it was completely unnecessary
and was really caused by the government
pressuring her to give them Hugh Hefner as a drug dealer.
Rather than do anything to hurt my father,
she didn't see any way out but to take her own life
when faced with the threat of significant prison time.
I think just the tragedy of that, was just heartbreaking.
The funeral service, from which cameras were barred,
took nine minutes,
the relatives and old family friends
pulling up to the funeral home on Devon in five limousines,
with a grim-looking Hugh Hefner in the center.
Bobbie Arnstein had been swallowed up
by all this in her life.
It was happening once again in her death.
When Bobbie was laid to rest,
her mother gave me the honor of serving as a pallbearer.
The seven pallbearers, including Hefner,
carried the steel coffin from the funeral home
and put it into a hearse.
They all said goodbye to Bobbie Arnstein today,
all the worlds in which she had lived.
Throughout the entire investigation,
I followed my counsel's advice and never said a word.
Now I regretted that silence.
Every time I've allowed somebody
to make me not talk to the press,
I've paid heavily for it.
In this case, we all paid heavily for it,
and Bobbie paid for it with her life.
After she died, I said, "I can't keep quiet anymore.
I'm gonna make a press statement."
If I look a little harried, I'm... I'm quite upset.
Okay.
In the infamous witchcraft trials of the middle ages,
the inquisitors tortured the victims
until they not only confessed to being witches,
but accused their own families and friends of sorcery as well.
In similar fashion, narcotics agents
frequently use our severe drug laws
in an arbitrary and capricious manner
to elicit the desired testimony for a trial.
The pressure of a lengthy appeal and increasing harassment
from government prosecutors and their agents...
... an already emotionally troubled woman...
was pushed beyond endurance,
and she killed herself.
I was at the press conference in the Chicago mansion.
It was all true emotion.
Hefner had been harmed beyond belief, from his point of view.
Nothing the government could have done
could have hurt him more.
She was one of the best, brightest...
most worthwhile women...
I have ever known.
She will be missed.
Bobbie had been with me for nearly 14 years.
She'd kept things running,
whether it was my personal life,
my business life,
or even the mansion itself.
She was one of the few people
strong enough to keep me in check.
It was such a great loss for Hef.
He was devastated.
It was the saddest I'd ever seen him.
What I think about over and over again
is all the years and the good times
and things that she missed,
and... the good times
that would have been better for us
if she'd been here.
With Bobbie gone, things would never be the same.
And everywhere I looked, I only saw memories of her.
So I decided the time had come to say goodbye,
not only to Bobbie,
but to my entire life in Chicago.
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