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CNN Larry King Live
Interview With Hugh Hefner
Aired November 29, 2005 - 21:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
LARRY KING, CNN HOST: Tonight, Hugh Hefner, the original playboy.
HUGH HEFNER, PLAYBOY EDITOR-IN-CHIEF: Who me?
KING: And the three stunning girlfriends who live with him in the Playboy Mansion. Could one of them become the next Mrs. Hef? Hugh Hefner, his three line-in lady loves here for the hour with your phone calls next on LARRY KING LIVE.
Good evening. He's an old friend, Hugh Hefner. We go back a lot of years. He's got a reality show. The wind up of the first season is December 4th. The reality show is "The Girls Next Door" and those girls are with us.
They are also on the front cover of the November issue. He's got a little pull with this, front cover of the November issue. They're also featured in the December issue.
And the girls with Hugh Hefner are Holly Madison, who is regarded as his number one girlfriend. She's, of course, on the E! Network reality show "The Girls Next Door."
Bridget Marquardt, am I pronouncing that right?
BRIDGET MARQUARDT, HUGH HEFNER'S LIVE-IN GIRLFRIEND: Yes.
KING: Bridget is one of Hef's girlfriends, as is Kendra Wilkinson, who is the youngest and newest girlfriend.
KENDRA WILKINSON, HUGH HEFNER'S LIVE-IN GIRLFRIEND: Yes.
KING: When did you come aboard?
WILKINSON: About a year and a half ago.
KING: How do you get to be a girlfriend? Do you try out? What do you...
WILKINSON: No, you get body painted.
KING: Hugh, why, why this conglomerate?
HEFNER: Well it really wasn't pre-planned. You know I was, as you know, I was in a marriage and a relationship for eight and a half years and... KING: Two children out of it.
HEFNER: And two children out of it, faithful to it the entire eight and a half years and when it didn't work came out of it a little emotionally beat up and bruised. And then I discovered and it was the beginning of 1998, I discovered a whole new generation that had grown up and was waiting for me to come out and play.
And, within the space of about two, three months, I met an actress named Brandi Roderick (ph) and a couple of weeks after that a pair of twins from Chicago, Sandy and Mandy Bentley. So, for the next two and a half years I was going with three girls named Sandy, Mandy and Brandi.
KING: They all lived with you?
HEFNER: They all lived with me and that was like bad fiction but it worked very well and I think from...
KING: Then what?
HEFNER: From there Brandi got an offer to do "Baywatch Hawaii" so she left and it just kind of grew from that then into at one point a couple, three years ago, seven girlfriends. So, what I'm doing now I'm becoming a little more mature here. I've pared it down emphasizing the quality with three very special ladies.
KING: And are the other four gone?
HEFNER: They are gone.
KING: They're gone and all three live with you?
HEFNER: Yes.
KING: And they met you at different times?
HEFNER: Yes.
KING: OK. And how did the "Girls Next Door" come about?
HEFNER: Well, I think once reality shows started to become popular a lot of people came to us with notions of doing a reality show related to the Playboy Mansion because of the fascination with life at the mansion and I was reluctant to do it.
I'm not a big fan of reality shows but in this particular case it was the producer, Kevin Burns, who is a close friend and an award- winning documentary filmmaker who did the original documentary on me for A&E a few years ago and it was that combined with the idea, in other words the notion of doing a show not simply about my life but about life at the mansion through the eyes of the girls and that had great appeal to me. It took some of the pressure off of the old man.
KING: Do you have editing control?
HEFNER: I am very close to it. I don't have real editing control but I'm very close to Kevin so I trust him.
KING: Let's meet the girls, Bridget how did you -- no, let's start with Holly, number one girlfriend. How do you get to be number one girlfriend by the way?
HOLLY MADISON, HUGH HEFNER'S NUMBER ONE LIVE-IN GIRLFRIEND: Well, I've been around the longest and there was a hierarchy even before I came along.
KING: So you had to go up the rungs.
MADISON: Yes, a little bit.
KING: What were you doing at the time?
MADISON: Well, when I met Hef there were six other girlfriends and we just became close right away and he was...
KING: Were you a playmate?
MADISON: No, I met Hef from coming up to the parties and he was kind of on the tail end of another significant relationship he was in with his other, you know, main girlfriend and we just became close right away and I moved up the ladder that way I guess.
KING: Why do you want to do this?
MADISON: Well, Hef and I, you know, I was real intrigued by him and as soon as I got to know him we have a lot in common. We love to do the same things. We love to watch the same old movies and go out to the same places and hang out with the same people and it was just a great match.
KING: How old are you?
MADISON: I'm 25.
KING: How old are you Hef?
HEFNER: I will be 80 in April.
KING: That doesn't mean anything to you?
MADISON: Well when your boyfriend dates other girls the age difference is the last thing on your mind.
KING: Does it bother you that he has other girls?
MADISON: Well, I love these two girls but my main hesitation going into the relationship was, you know, what's this all about? Is this even going to work out? How am I going to survive with other girls who I presume are probably in some sort of a catty sorority situation? I don't know.
But it turned out great, you know. I met Bridget and we became friends and then we met Kendra and became friends with her and we're just having a lot of fun with the show and everything.
KING: I haven't forgotten you girls. I'm getting (INAUDIBLE). Did you have a boyfriend?
MADISON: No, not at the time I started seeing Hef.
KING: Did you want to be an actress? Where are you from?
MADISON: Well, I'm from Alaska originally and my family moved to Portland, Oregon where I went to high school right outside Portland.
KING: You're an Oregonian.
MADISON: Yes. Ad I went to two years in college in Portland and transferred schools down here and went to Loyola and Mary Mount University for a couple semesters.
KING: What was your major?
MADISON: I was majoring, double majoring in theater and psychology, so I'm well prepared for (INAUDIBLE).
KING: What do you want to do?
MADISON: Well, I did want to get into the entertainment industry but, you know, it was funny as soon as I met Hef I kind of decided this is, you know, I'm just happy living here at the mansion and, you know, doing what I do. That's when the show came along, so I kind of Forrest Gumped my way onto TV.
KING: Bridget, how did you come aboard? Now, he's holding her hand, Bridget, are you jealous?
MARQUARDT: I'm so jealous. We're going to take this outside.
KING: Why are you not jealous?
MARQUARDT: I feel like Holly and Hef are the main relationship and Kendra and I are kind of icing on the cake. I came here knowing that they were the number one relationship and I'm happy with that.
KING: Why do you want to be icing on a cake?
MARQUARDT: Because I'm having a great time doing it. I'm having a good time being icing.
KING: How did you meet Hef?
MARQUARDT: I came to the mansion pursuing to be in the magazine. I really wanted to be a playmate. And, I started coming here and going to some of the parties and hanging out with the girls and I kind of made friends with them and started going out as a big party posse.
KING: Party posse.
MARQUARDT: Yes, a big party posse. There was a lot of us. KING: Rolled through the streets right, rounding up them varmints.
MARQUARDT: Yes, and it was just going out and very casual. And then it just started getting narrowed down. I started getting a little closer with Hef and the other girls and it just kind of grew from there. It was something I wasn't even expecting. I came totally pursuing playmate and found so much more.
KING: And when did this affection for Hef hit?
MARQUARDT: I mean early on I thought he was a really nice guy but I didn't -- I never thought of myself as being a girlfriend. It just kind of grew. I can't even...
KING: It just happened?
MARQUARDT: Yes, I can't pinpoint an exact date. It just kind of grows.
KING: I don't mean to be rude. Do you all sleep together?
HEFNER: From time to time.
KING: Yes. Kendra, you're the youngest?
WILKINSON: Yes, I'm 20.
KING: Twenty.
WILKINSON: I'll turn 21 in June.
KING: He's 60 years older than you.
WILKINSON: That's OK.
KING: He could be your great grandfather.
WILKINSON: Age ain't nothing but a number.
KING: OK. How did you come aboard?
WILKINSON: Well, I was in San Diego and I was living with a boyfriend and so I'm a tomboy, you know, but I don't know something came across my mind one day to get boobs so I got...
KING: You didn't have them and...
WILKINSON: No, I don't know why I wanted them but I did. I don't know why but as soon as I got boobs this guy wanted me to do a photo shoot and...
KING: For Playboy?
WILKINSON: No, it was just like a regular photo shoot, so I'm like all right I guess. So, I did a photo shoot and the guy put me on his Web site and the body painter, this body painter that paints at Hef's parties went through his Web site and found me and e-mailed me through there and was like, "Hey, would you like to come up for Hef's birthday party and be body painted"? I'm like, all right. Sorry I'm a little nervous.
HEFNER: It's a good gig.
KING: What did your boyfriend think, your ex-boyfriend think?
WILKINSON: Yes, he wasn't too happy but, you know, I was 18 at the time, so I'm like I got to pursue some dreams here.
KING: Why are you in this for want of a better term harem?
WILKINSON: Because I...
KING: Why?
WILKINSON: I'm young and I can.
KING: It doesn't bother you...
WILKINSON: And I love Hef and...
KING: ...there are other women ahead of you it doesn't bother you?
WILKINSON: No, it doesn't bother me at all. I'm having fun.
KING: So, none of you have...
WILKINSON: It's a once in a lifetime opportunity. Why not take it?
KING: ...hang-ups over ownership here? How did you set this up, Hugh?
HEFNER: Well, I think, you know, I am in a unique situation.
KING: No kidding.
HEFNER: Because of the magazine I think. After all, a lot of single guys and girls, you know, date more than one person at the same time. Sometimes there is subterfuge to it. I mean sometimes, you know, you're dating one girl on Tuesday, another on Thursday, another on the weekends, so you know the distinction here is simply that, you know, they were all hanging out together.
KING: You're open about it.
HEFNER: Huh?
KING: Everything is open.
HEFNER: Yes. There's no hypocrisy, no lies and, you know, that's the virtue of it and it is a great deal of fun. I mean we manage to...
KING: But there's a lot of kidding about it. Let me ask you about that.
HEFNER: OK.
KING: We'll take a break.
HEFNER: All right.
KING: We'll be right back with Hugh Hefner, Holly and Bridget and Kendra. We'll be taking your calls as well. This is LARRY KING LIVE.
And, on December 4th will be the final edition for this year of the "Girls Next Door." Don't go away.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MADISON: Halloween is a major deal at the mansion. It's one of Hef's favorite holidays, one of the mansion's biggest parties.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I haven't had this much fun since the last time I died.
MARQUARDT: The biggest and best Halloween party in the world.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MADISON: In five years I see myself alone with Hef, not that I don't necessarily want other people around. I'm a people person, so having Bridget and Kendra living here is great. But do I like him having other girlfriends? No. I know that I'm his number one girl but I think he needs to get rid of the extra girls.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KING: We will be taking your calls with you and Holly and Bridget and Kendra. And, if these are the "Girls Next Door" I don't know the block they live on. Anyway...
HEFNER: What neighborhood huh?
KING: It ain't Bensonhurst in Brooklyn, I'll tell you that. You're being an adolescent again.
HEFNER: Yes, I think that I am living out, you know, I'm having a good dream.
KING: Well isn't that a little when you're alone on those rare occasions when you're alone...
HEFNER: Yes.
KING: ...do you ever feel like I'm embarrassing myself?
HEFNER: Quite the contrary, no. I think that I am the luckiest cat on the planet and I'm living out my own dreams and fantasies and have been for a number of years and to remain at this stage of my life, you know, so alive and things have never been better. And, despite the age disparity, I mean this is as good a relationship as I've ever had.
KING: With her?
HEFNER: Yes.
KING: And how about them?
HEFNER: Well them as well. It's all...
KING: What if one of them got pregnant?
MADISON: I'd be really excited.
KING: Do you want a baby?
MADISON: Yes, definitely. I mean not right now but, you know.
KING: Not right now. He's 80 and you're waiting.
MADISON: I want to get my degree first.
KING: I mean you don't see any downside to this?
HEFNER: No.
KING: No?
HEFNER: No.
KING: What about getting tired?
HEFNER: Being tired?
KING: Yes.
HEFNER: Well that's a downside. I mean you have to take it easy.
KING: Doesn't it knock you out a little? I mean you have to please.
HEFNER: I think that quite frankly the relationship keeps me young. I think that, you know, connecting to younger people does keep you young. And, also in this particular case, you know, these are very special ladies so that, you know, there isn't the -- what I've had to deal with in the past is a certain kind of sibling rivalry and cattiness, et cetera. I don't have that here. KING: How do your two boys, they're 15 and 14...
HEFNER: Yes.
KING: How do they feel about it?
HEFNER: I think they feel very well, very good about it I think.
KING: Do you all know the boys?
MADISON: Yes.
HEFNER: Oh, yes, sure.
KING: They don't feel embarrassed or feel, get kidded at school?
HEFNER: I don't think so. You know I can't speak for them.
MADISON: I love them. They're so cool.
HEFNER: Yes, absolutely.
KING: They're your age.
HEFNER: Let's see now how old is your wife?
KING: Yes, she's young (INAUDIBLE).
HEFNER: Well, don't you feel to some extent that life is for living and that age is largely a number? In other words, I've had close friends and you have too, you know, in the recent past who have passed away.
KING: Yes.
HEFNER: And some much earlier than they should have and, you know, I think that life should be celebrated.
KING: I would agree and the age difference, age it's a number.
HEFNER: It is just a number.
KING: But most people choose one.
HEFNER: Yes.
KING: Right, Hugh, most people would be content at your age? Let's say this was it.
HEFNER: Yes and (INAUDIBLE) absolutely.
KING: So, you could say why not Holly?
HEFNER: Well, you notice I'm downsizing. I'm moving in the right direction and I do think that to some extent, you know, did I overcompensate after the -- after, you know, the emotional stress of coming out of that marriage, a marriage that I worked very hard at?
KING: Did she break it up?
HEFNER: Yes, she did, yes.
KING: Because of other girls?
HEFNER: And now, of course, you know, we're closer than ever before.
KING: You are?
HEFNER: It works. Yes, oh yes absolutely.
KING: How does she feel about this?
HEFNER: And the children and she live next door with an open gate and, you know, now it's working.
KING: Your ex-wife lives next door with an open gate.
HEFNER: Yes.
KING: How do you feel about that Kendra?
WILKINSON: Oh, it's fine. I really like her. She's so nice to me. I like her a lot. There's reason why to not like her. I love her.
KING: What do your parents think of this Kendra?
WILKINSON: My family loves it. They come up all the time. They have my back 100 percent and they're watching right now.
KING: What does your father do?
WILKINSON: Well, I don't really know him but I know my mom. I love my mom to death and my grandma and my grandpa.
KING: She approves. Do you know them?
HEFNER: All the family members have visited here, in other words, grandma, her mother and grandmother and brother.
WILKINSON: Yes.
HEFNER: Her mother and family, her mother and father, they've all been to the mansion.
KING: What does your mother think?
MARQUARDT: Oh, my family is 100 percent supportive. My mom is like oh if I ever...
KING: None of them question this? None of them say to you what are you doing? MARQUARDT: Not my parents. They're 100 percent supportive.
KING: What you were about to say I think was that if she was young enough she'd be here.
MARQUARDT: Yes, she would (INAUDIBLE) she would do it.
KING: What do your folks say?
MADISON: Well, I mean they're just happy I'm happy. They're so harping on me to finish my degree. They're more concerned about that.
KING: They don't think anything strange about (INAUDIBLE).
MADISON: Well, they definitely think it's strange but they're happy I'm happy and they don't see anything wrong with it.
KING: You know, Hugh, you set a special place in publishing. You broke ground. You were before your time. You were saluted in many circles. You were a hero to many. You broke, you opened territory never before opened. Wouldn't you rather that be the legacy than you live with seven girls?
HEFNER: Yes, absolutely. No, I think that the major message of my life and what I hope to be remembered for is someone who managed to change the social sexual values of his time absolutely. Now...
KING: Even your severest critic would admit that. You changed the sexual (INAUDIBLE).
HEFNER: Well, you know, right and, you know, do I want my tombstone to, you know, to bear, you know, the fact that I had six or seven girlfriends at the same time? No, I think the message in terms of that is that age doesn't have any meaning.
There are many variations in living your life in an ethical and moral way and I find all of that and my personal life very consistent with that. It isn't the message that this is the way other people should live their lives. I don't think most other people have an opportunity to live like this.
KING: Do you give your critics though a bullhorn?
HEFNER: Perhaps. Listen, I've always lived my life in a very open way. You know my life is an open book with illustrations and, you know, I'm not going to -- I'm not going to deny all of that now. Quite frankly, as I said, this is one of the dearest and best times of my life.
KING: You stopped those parties for a while didn't you when you were married?
HEFNER: While I was married, yes.
KING: And now you're back to them again.
HEFNER: Yes, I am.
WILKINSON: Yes.
HEFNER: With gusto, yes.
KING: You're swinging is what they say right?
HEFNER: Yes, well but in a certain sense no. In other words, if swinging has the definition of a kind of open relationship, et cetera, this relationship is, you know, is very traditional times three.
KING: If he says "I want to sleep with Bridget tonight alone" that don't bother you?
MADISON: It doesn't happen alone.
KING: What?
MADISON: That doesn't happen alone.
KING: You only sleep in groups?
HEFNER: Yes or with Holly.
KING: Just Holly or groups?
HEFNER: Yes, sure, yes.
KING: We'll be right back with Hugh Hefner. The "Girls Next Door" is on cable of course and the final episode of the first season. Will there be a second season?
HEFNER: Oh, yes, we think so. It's the highest rated show on the season -- on E!
KING: We'll be back. We'll be taking your calls in a little while for Hugh and the gang the "Girls Next Door." Don't go away.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARQUARDT: We got to go on a total shopping spree through the Playboy store. It was the coolest thing.
WILKINSON: Oh, yes, I want all these.
MARQUARDT: I like this.
HEFNER: It is really a beautiful store.
KENDRA: I like this heart one. I want to wear it tonight.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you get an employee discount?
WILKINSON: All right, I know, I'm going to get this jacket. I'm going to wear this out of here. Now I need a shirt.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KING: Those were the days my friend. We thought they'd never end. Hugh Hefner, Holly Madison, Bridget Marquardt and Kendra Wilkinson, we'll be going to your calls in a little while. The "Girls Next Door" on E winds up their first season on December 4th.
Cover some other bases, why do you call Kendra the wild one?
WILKINSON: Because I'm wild.
HEFNER: The wild child.
WILKINSON: Because I don't care about what people think about me and I just do my own thing. I'm in my own world.
KING: Did you have a lot of boyfriends before Hugh?
WILKINSON: Not a lot. I mean not steady ones but, you know, I dated.
KING: What don't you like about your life, Bridget?
MARQUARDT: What don't I like? Oh, gosh.
KING: Yes, you can't like everything. Nobody likes everything.
MARQUARDT: That's a tough question. Well I can't think of anything off the top of my head.
KING: Well, he's a homebody. Would you like to travel more?
MARQUARDT: Oh, that would be nice, yes, honey Europe.
HEFNER: We're all talking about Europe. We may go to Europe this next year.
KING: You don't like to travel though.
HEFNER: I love it at home but, you know (INAUDIBLE).
KING: Do you still stay in pajamas all day?
HEFNER: Yes. Yes.
KING: Why?
HEFNER: It's so comfortable.
MADISON: Because he can.
HEFNER: Once I discovered I could get away with it, you know, it's so comfortable.
KING: What don't you like Holly? MADISON: What don't I like? I'd like to travel more but other than that I just wish there were two of me because I feel like there's so many fun things to do and I don't know.
KING: What would you do with two of her?
HEFNER: I see traveling in our future here. I think there seems to be a vote for travel.
KING: Do they get an allowance I mean?
HEFNER: Yes, yes for clothing, yes.
KING: So, you each can go out. You get a credit card?
WILKINSON: No.
HEFNER: That would be insanity.
WILKINSON: I like that idea too.
KING: What does Christie, your wonderful daughter, think of this?
HEFNER: Well, she is very supportive.
KING: She is?
HEFNER: Yes, she is.
KING: She's a very serious girl Christie. I know her a long time.
HEFNER: Yes, she is and we just -- I just had -- she's here on the West Coast this week and I had a little meeting with her and the board of directors. I think they're watching the show right now.
KING: Do all of you get along with Christie?
MARQUARDT: Oh, yes, she's great.
WILKINSON: She's so sweet.
MADISON: She just gave us a beautiful speech.
HEFNER: Yes.
MADISON: While we were in New York.
KING: About what demeanor?
MADISON: No. No, accepting us through the magazine and Playboy and the family and it was just really, really sweet.
KING: This December issue has an extraordinary story about Marilyn Monroe, Hugh, just to change a little. HEFNER: Yes.
KING: New evidence that she was murdered?
HEFNER: Certainly some new considerations in terms of her death, yes, fascinating.
KING: You're fascinated with her right?
HEFNER: Yes, sure, for obvious reasons. I mean she was our very first Playmate of the Month. I probably wouldn't be here without her. I think that to some extent her attitude, you know, when the nude pictures first appeared, her comment that all I had on was the radio I think set the tone for in a very conservative decade for...
KING: How did you get her to be that first playmate?
HEFNER: Well, she had already shot. It was a calendar shooting that she did for Tom Kelly and it was a photo that everybody heard about but nobody had seen and nobody had seen because at that point the post office took the point of view that nudity was obscene per se and I was the kid who didn't believe that the picture was obscene and the post office had that right.
KING: Do you have a preference for blondes?
HEFNER: I think, you know, I've had major relationships -- my first wife was a brunette. I was involved romantically with Barbie Benton for about eight years in the 1970s. But I think that at this point in my life it does again take me back to childhood. I think it has to do with all those platinum blondes that were so popular when I was a kid in the movies from the '30s.
KING: Do you feel 80?
HEFNER: No, no. I feel younger now than I did ten years ago without question, yes.
KING: Is anything difficult about being with someone that much older than you, Kendra? I mean 60 years.
WILKINSON: No, it's not difficult at all. It's cool and I mean like I said age ain't nothing but a number. We're all the same, you know, I think.
KING: We'll take a break. There's a young Hugh. The finale is December 4th. We will go to your phone calls for Hefner and the girls right after this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MADISON: Every year at Halloween we put out fake tombstones on the front lawn and they have our names on it and a funny little saying about us and the last couple years I've been making new tombstones for some of the playmates. So, I recruited Kendra to help me make four new tombstones. What do you think I should say for Jillian? WILKINSON: I thought of Jillian great shot in the face but then I thought that kind of sounds pornographic too.
MADISON: So, that's good.
WILKINSON: Should I put that?
MADISON: Yes, that's a good thing.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KING: We're back. "The Girls Next Door" on E! The final episode December 4th. Looks like they're going to have another season. "Playboy" magazine, the Christmas issue was out, with a major story on Marilyn Monroe, and a hell of an interview with Pierce Brosnan, by the way. He's got a new film coming called "Matador," which we have heard much about.
We'll go to your phone calls, but let me reintroduce the panel. They are of course Hugh Hefner, editor in chief of "Playboy," soon to be 80 years young. His number one girlfriend is Holly Madison. And then we have Bridget Marquardt, his number two. We do it by numbers. And Kelly -- and Kendra Wilkinson.
MADISON: Kelly!
KING: Kendra Wilkinson is girlfriend number three. And that's it. Right? There's no more at home. OK.
We go to your phone calls. Portland, Oregon. Hello.
CALLER: Hi, Larry. It's fun to be on the show, Mr. Hefner, Holly and everybody.
I was wondering, Hef, you have done so much with your life that has been done with dignity and without harming anyone else. What do you say to the detractors, who go, oh, man, she's shacking up with three girls that, you know, combined ages younger than him, and they don't see what a classy guy you are?
HEFNER: Well, I think that, quite frankly, one of the things I've tried to do with my life is redefine the boundaries that I think are very limiting. I'm not suggesting that everybody should have three girlfriends, or necessarily have girlfriends living with them. I think there are many, many options to living your life. I can only say that, you know, it works in a very lovely way for me. And on many levels, my life is better than it seems from outside, because there's a real loving relationship with the girls, and a series of friendships, a family of friends that have really gone on for many, many years.
KING: What was the marriage like? It was happy for a long time, wasn't it? HEFNER: The marriage didn't work. I think first and foremost because Kimberly really wasn't ready for it. I don't think that it was a lack of love, because it's very clear that she loves me very much now. And, you know, I tried marriage twice, and was faithful to it in both cases. So, you know, I think that one of the messages of my life is that there is no -- there are many roads to Mecca. I think there are many ways of living your life in an ethical way, and I think we need to have a little more open mind in terms of what those various options are.
KING: I believe you freely admit to using Viagra.
HEFNER: Oh, yes, sure, of course.
KING: What do you make of that drug and the impact it's had on society?
HEFNER: Well, I think it's like the birth control pill for women. I think it reduces the conflict between the expectation and the reality. And I said a long time ago, I said I think they're underselling it. I think it's the best legal recreational drug out there, because it takes the question mark out of sexual performance.
KING: Bridget, does it take anything away from the romance?
MARQUARDT: No. I don't think so.
KING: Not at all?
MARQUARDT: No.
HEFNER: Completely natural.
KING: Doesn't feel artificial at all?
HEFNER: No, not at all.
KING: What about for you, Holly?
MADISON: No, not at all.
KING: You're smiling too much.
KING: And Kendra, what about for you?
WILKINSON: I don't kiss and tell.
KING: It doesn't take away, though? It does take away. You can be honest. Hugh likes honesty. Does it take away from the relationship?
WILKINSON: No.
KING: OK. Because you seemed hesitant. Atlanta, Georgia. Hello.
CALLER: Hello?
KING: Hi.
CALLER: Hi, Hef. Hi, ladies.
HEFNER: Hello there.
CALLER: Hi. This question is for Hef. How do you feel about the girls dating other men? I'm quite sure not Holly, but like Bridget and Kendra, like, what, you know, like how do you feel about that?
KING: Good question.
HEFNER: If they were dating other guys?
KING: Yes.
HEFNER: Well, I certainly in the past have dated girls who were also dating other guys. In this particular case, you know, we're committed to the relationship. So they're not seeing other guys, I'm not seeing other girls.
KING: Well, if Holly came to you and said, just like to go out with some other guys, would you then dump her?
HEFNER: I don't think I'd dump her, but it would, by definition, I think, change the nature of the relationship. In other words, I'm still very close to, and that's one of the things that's special about my life, very close to most of the women that I've been romantically involved with over my life.
KING: So there are no bodies strewn...
HEFNER: What's that?
KING: There are no bodies strewn near the river?
HEFNER: No, no.
KING: You're friends with...
HEFNER: I've managed to stay close friends -- I think there's something very sad if you are involved in a major relationship or a marriage, and that you wind up afterward, you know, with enemies or et cetera, because I think you take something away from your own life.
KING: But it's emotionally difficult, isn't it?
HEFNER: It can be. But I think that part of that comes from honesty. In other words, if you are, you know, a giving and caring person -- you see, I think that the very thing we call moral with regard to sexuality isn't particularly moral. I think I grew up in a time in which there were a series of thou shalt nots that really weren't necessarily moral. I think the real morality in terms of sexuality has to do with being honest with one another and avoiding the hypocrisy that's commonplace in our lives.
KING: Hard, though, when you're raised a certain way, though, isn't it?
HEFNER: Oh, yes. Listen, I was raised -- I'm a 10th generation descendant of William Bradford, one of the first Puritans who came over on the Mayflower. So I was raised in a very typical Puritan home. And I think that my life has been a reaction, and some might very properly say, an overreaction to that repression.
KING: Hasn't a lot of it gone way past "Playboy" now?
HEFNER: Oh, yeah, sure, absolutely.
KING: I mean, "Playboy" is modest by...
HEFNER: No, without question. I think that there are many other excesses out there. And...
(CROSSTALK)
KING: Does that surprise you?
HEFNER: No, it doesn't surprise me.
KING: "Playboy" is mainstream now. Sort of mainstream.
HEFNER: Well, I think that's true. I think that "Playboy" is mainstream, and has been for a long time. You know, it is the largest selling, most popular men's magazine in America and around the world, and has been now for more than half a century. So you have to consider it mainstream.
KING: And I've been on it because you serialized one of my books, and you interviewed me.
HEFNER: Good reading.
KING: Thank you. Ellijay, Georgia, hello.
CALLER: Larry, great show. Hef, how would you like to be remembered, and do you enjoy sex now as much as you did when you were 25?
HEFNER: Well, I like to be remembered as somebody who had some positive impact on the social sexual values of his time.
Beyond that, sex for me, quite frankly is better now than it has ever been, and that's because the relationship is the best. You know, I am, beyond all logic, in a very special place at this point in my life. And I'm a very, very happy cat.
KING: Are you saying that you're a better lover than when you were 25?
HEFNER: Well, I don't know if I'm going to say that. I don't know if I can say that with fairness. But I think that I'm happier, and as I said earlier, I feel quite literally younger.
KING: Kendra, you've had younger boyfriends, obviously, right?
WILKINSON: Yeah.
KING: Are there any differences? Isn't there some difference?
WILKINSON: Yeah.
KING: You're going to answer me, Kendra, or are you going to leave me hanging?
WILKINSON: No, there's a big difference.
KING: To you, Bridget, (INAUDIBLE) vitality in a younger guy?
MARQUARDT: You know what, though, he makes up for it in other ways. So I don't think that it's a bad difference.
KING: There's a lot to be said for maturity.
MARQUARDT: Right.
HEFNER: There you go. A good thought there.
MADISON: That's what I was going to say.
HEFNER: Maturity.
KING: Speaking for myself, there is a lot to be said.
Holly, do you remember the days with younger people?
MADISON: Yeah, I do, and for me, this relationship works out so much better, just because he does have confidence, and he does know who he is. And for me, that just happens to be a better match for me than someone who is younger and doesn't maybe really know where they're going in life. So.
KING: Younger appears immature.
MADISON: Yeah.
KING: We'll be back with more and more of your phone calls, with Hugh Hefner and "The Girls Next Door." What door? Don't go away.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HEFNER: I didn't want to repeat my parents' life. I saw in their lives a routine and a lack of dreaming, a lack of the possibilities, a lack of passion. And I didn't want to live without passion.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KING: How do you react to the critics who say, while "Playboy" has many things, your basic appeal was sex, and that girl in the middle and the page of jokes that other magazines weren't printing.
HEFNER: Well, it never upset me because I never felt very apologetic about sex. I think it's what make the world go round, when properly understood, and properly approached.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KING: That was Larry King on Channel 4 in Miami -- hold it -- 40 years ago.
HEFNER: Who was that young kid?
KING: That was me 40 years ago.
HEFNER: I remember.
KING: You look young there. We were both smoking then. I don't know where they got that. That's amazing. That has to be asked. Do the girls ever have romance with each other?
HEFNER: No, no. This is a heterosexual relationship.
KING: It's a part of life.
Portsmouth, Virginia. Hello. Hello?
CALLER: Is this Larry?
KING: Yes. Go ahead.
CALLER: I'd like to ask Mr. Hefner, why doesn't he act his age? And doesn't he think he's a bad influence on the younger generation?
HEFNER: Well, I think that quite frankly, democracy by its nature in a free society is dangerous. And I think what you have to do is make choices and hopefully moral choices.
And you know, I'm not putting myself up as the epitome of virtue. I certainly am living a non-traditional life. But it is also a loving life and a very supportive one. I think that both in this, and the previous relationship, I think that I've been doing the best I can.
KING: Do any of you ever think you're doing wrong?
WILKINSON: No, if you're happy you're happy, that's all I can say.
KING: You ever think you're doing wrong, Bridget?
MARQUARDT: No, I'm very happy.
KING: Holly?
MADISON: Not at all.
WILKINSON: I think people have a lot to say when they criticize us. If we're happy, stay out of our business, you know?
KING: Why shouldn't they be happy you're happy?
WILKINSON: Exactly.
KING: Tallahassee, Florida. Hello.
CALLER: I just want to say your magazine depicts sexuality in such a tasteful way. I totally commend you on that. My question is, how do you make time for all the girls? I know you guys said you don't sleep together at one time. But do you have alone time with each girl?
HEFNER: Well, because we live together in the mansion, you know, most of what we're doing is together. You know, whether it's -- we play dominoes together, we watch movies together, we have dinner together. And we'll be going out to dinner after the show.
KING: How about male friends?
HEFNER: Well, I have a close extended family of friends that has really made my life complete. And you know, they're a part of...
KING: It's very important.
HEFNER: ... you betcha. I think one of the reasons that my life is better than it appears from the outside is that family of friends that have been with me for many, many years, both male and female.
KING: We'll be right back with more. But first, let's check in with our man Anderson Cooper who hosts "A.C. 360" at the top of the hour. I know you don't have this group, Anderson.
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: I wish I did. I have talked to Mr. Hefner in the past. It's always a pleasure.
Larry, thanks very much. A new outrage we're talking about tonight from New Orleans. The victims of Katrina all but forgotten. We're talking about 150 people, their bodies still unidentified lying in a morgue in New Orleans.
Why hasn't anyone done DNA testing on these people? The state and FEMA told us weeks ago they've come up with the money, they came up with a plan, but still tonight we've just learned there has been no DNA testing yet. Hundreds of families are demanding answers, Larry. We'll try to give them some answers tonight on 360.
KING: That's Anderson Cooper. We look forward to seeing you and your always enlightening show.
We'll be right back with more of Hugh Hefner and the girls, and more of your phone calls. Don't go away.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARQUARDT: Roberto Cavalli is designing the new bunny costume and he's a very popular designer that a lot of the celebrities like to use.
MADISON: He does dresses for like, Christina Aguilera and Scarlett Johansson. I just love his stuff.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KING: Let's go to calls. Columbus, Ohio. Hello.
CALLER: Hi, guys. I just wanted to let you know how much I love the show.
MADISON: Thank you.
CALLER: My question is to the girls, I was -- as I've been watching the episodes, I've seen you ordering food for the cooks that work in the mansion. I wanted to know, all the food that I see you guys eat, how in the world do you keep looking so good?
WILKINSON: We have a gym.
KING: You eat a lot, Kendra?
WILKINSON: I eat a lot. Oh, my god, I eat like french fries every day. I just ordered a box of twinkies.
KING: A box? And you work out?
WILKINSON: And I work it out.
KING: How much? A lot?
WILKINSON: Not a lot, I mean, I was an athlete my whole life, so I think that helped me out a little bit, you know?
KING: How do you do it, Bridget?
MARQUARDT: Everything in moderation. I try not to over eat or anything. But I do workout, too. Got to work out.
MADISON: I hate working out. I'm trying to start, but I hate it. So far it's been luck as far as keeping thin.
KING: You have just good genetics?
MADISON: So far.
KING: Do you eat a lot?
MADISON: I wouldn't say I eat a lot. I eat normal amounts.
KING: Do you watch what you eat? Are you a health nut?
HEFNER: No, but I had a stroke in 1985. So I'm certainly taking a lot better care of myself now.
KING: You had a stroke when you were 60, 20 years ago.
HEFNER: Yes.
KING: What was that like? Do you remember it?
HEFNER: Sure. I suddenly knew that something was very wrong. I actually lost the ability, I lost the ability to read for a couple of weeks.
KING: What was the first thing, though, numbness?
HEFNER: No. There was, you know, some paralysis, but I was not aware of it. What I was really aware of, I was reading a newspaper at the time. And suddenly I couldn't read the newspaper including the headlines.
KING: You mean you couldn't see it?
HEFNER: It was like in the middle of the night. But the remarkable thing is that my doctor, who was a very close friend, gave me a new drug right away and the recovery was complete.
KING: That's the key.
HEFNER: Yes, absolutely. Quick reaction.
KING: South Haven, Mississippi. Hello.
CALLER: Hello, Larry. How are you?
KING: Fine.
CALLER: Okay. I just wanted to ask Hugh Hefner would he consider dating someone his own age and if not, Why?
HEFNER: Well, I used to do that. When I was very young. And I think I kind of got stuck in a timeframe there. You know, I have been -- I think reconnected with that time in my life throughout the years.
KING: Some people have, as someone once said, when Frank Sinatra was dating Mia Farrow, can you picture Frank with a 67-year-old? It didn't collide. With some people it don't work. With you it wouldn't work.
HEFNER: I think that's true. Also, I'm in a very special situation because of the magazine, it brings the young beautiful women to me over the years. And I guess I'm hooked on that pretty good timeframe.
KING: Would you absolutely say, Kendra you have no jealousy of Hugh and his feelings for Holly?
WILKINSON: I have no jealousy whatsoever because I came here, I really didn't know about it before. But I came here with all these girls. How could you be jealous if you never like -- I don't know.
KING: Bridget?
MARQUARDT: I came in as friends with Holly before I really knew Hef that well, so no, I'm 100 percent.
KING: Holly, would you be happy, not to lose their friendship, if they went away?
MADISON: I'd love to have them around forever. But there's also the part of me, when you're in love with somebody, you do want to be with them alone. I mean, we're having a great time now.
KING: Would you marry, Hugh?
MADISON: Of course I would. He won't marry me but -- [ laughter ]
KING: You would marry him?
MARQUARDT: I think that's a special relationship between Holly and Hef.
WILKINSON: Yes, I'll leave it to Holly and Hef.
KING: You wouldn't, why not?
HEFNER: Why not what?
KING: Marry her.
HEFNER: Oh, I don't think that's out of the question. Let's put it this way. This is as perfect a relationship as I've ever had and I don't want to spoil it.
KING: We'll be back -- a comment on life. We'll be back with our remaining moments. Don't go away.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KING: We're back. Who succeeds you, Hugh? when --
HEFNER: Well, in terms of -- well, I have two boys.
KING: But they'll run the empire or Christy?
HEFNER: Well, Christy will -- it will be a family affair. Christy will continue to get support until she retires.
KING: Do you worry about sexually transmitted diseases?
HEFNER: We're very careful about that. KING: You are?
HEFNER: Yes.
KING: All of you?
HEFNER: Yes.
KING: You don't want to get that.
No.
KING: Wilmington, North Carolina. Hello.
CALLER: A couple questions. Love the show, Larry. Another question down here in North Carolina here. How long were you together before the show? And are the girls scared about that crazy bird flu?
KING: That's a good question. You scared about the flu?
MADISON: We don't have birds on the property.
KING: You scared about the flu?
WILKINSON: I'm not.
MARQUARDT: I think you can get hit -- or die in a car crash, you know?
KING: How long were you together before the reality show? You were together -- holly how long?
HEFNER: We've been together four years.
MARQUARDT: 3 1/2.
KING: Kendra? How long have you been together, Kendra?
WILKINSON: For a year and a half now.
KING: Portland, Maine. Hello.
CALLER: I have a comment and a question. Hef, you've led a very colorful life, I must say.
KING: No kidding.
CALLER: And with gusto. And my question is for the girls. What is the typical day like inside the mansion for you guys?
KING: Good question.
WILKINSON: There are no typical days.
KING: Give me an average day. What did you do today?
HEFNER: The show will give you a good clue.
KING: What did you do today?
MADISON: We're all attending school in different capacities. I'm taking some classes at Santa Monica College.
KING: You each have your own car.
MARQUARDT: Oh, yes.
MADISON: So that's what you don't see on TV is that we all do go to school. But also just parties and hanging out with Hef. And it's a mixed bag.
KING: What did you do today, Hugh?
HEFNER: Well, I funded a course at USC in film censorship 13 years ago. So once a year in December I go and meet the class and do a Q&A. That's what I did.
KING: What did you that today?
MADISON: I got up and worked out, ran some errands and then got ready for your show.
WILKINSON: I woke up at like 1:00. I got my hair done. Well, because I'm done with school, you know. So I get to sleep in now.
KING: You're done with school already?
WILKINSON: Yes. Well, I went to massage therapy school.
KING: So you're a therapist?
WILKINSON: Yep.
KING: Are you going to do something with that?
WILKINSON: Of course. Sports massage.
MARQUARDT: She hasn't practiced on me yet, Kendra.
KING: Does she give you massages?
HEFNER: No, not yet.
MARQUARDT: We're all waiting.
KING: Thank you all very much. Good seeing you.
HEFNER: Thank you.
MARQUARDT: Thank you.
WILKINSON: Thank you, Larry. KING: Thank you, thanks for showing up. Holly Madison, Bridget Marquardt and Kendra Wilkinson, they're the cast of "The Girls Next Door." Last show is December 4 on E!. Looks like it's going to be in a second year too.
Tomorrow night, Jerry Lewis on the life and times of Martin and Lewis.
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