Hefner to Give Up 2 Top Executive Posts at Playboy

Hugh M. Hefner, 62, who founded Playboy magazine nearly 35 years ago, will relinquish his top executive titles at publicly traded Playboy Enterprises on Nov. 10. His second-in-command, daughter Christie Hefner, is the heiress apparent.

The Chicago-based corporation said Hefner will not seek reelection to the corporation’s board and that the company expects Christie Hefner to be elected to his posts as chairman and chief executive at a board meeting after the stockholders meeting Nov. 10.

Hefner rode a revolution in sexual mores to build Playboy magazine and a flourishing network of Playboy Clubs. For many years, he has lived in a style that made him a role model for hedonists on the American scene.

In the past decade, however, Playboy Enterprises has not been what it once was.

Reader demand for the comparatively mild titillation of so-called skin magazines has declined, which some observers attribute to the cable-TV and home-video age and others to changing leisure-time interests.

Operating losses forced the closing of the last of the firm’s big city Playboy clubs two years ago.

The biggest setback came when Playboy sought to operate gambling enterprises in London and then in Atlantic City, N.J.--efforts that were nipped in the bud by casino regulators. The British revoked the company’s casino licenses in 1981, and New Jersey found Hefner unfit for licensing the following year.

During that period the gradual process of Hefner’s retirement began. He turned over day-to-day operations of Playboy Enterprises, in which he holds majority control, to Christie Hefner in April, 1982.

While the elder Hefner has retained the titles of chairman and chief executive, the younger has been president and chief operating officer, adding the title of vice chairman in 1986.

Hefner, who lives in the official Playboy Mansion in Holmby Hills, will become chairman emeritus and editor-in-chief of Playboy magazine. He said he will continue as the corporation’s controlling shareholder and remain “involved in major strategic decisions involving the company.”

Actually, Hefner said, the change is “just another evolutionary step consistent with my own personal plans,” and he does not intend to “reduce my commitment of time and effort to the success of the company.”

In its fourth quarter ended June 30, Playboy Enterprises reported a $5.2-million net loss, contrasted with a $7-million net profit a year earlier. The company attributed the results primarily to a loss on its Playboy Channel, which has encountered resistance from cable system operators and subscribers. Christie Hefner said in August that she planned a switch in the channel’s programming from X-rated films to R-rated ones.

Playboy magazine, which has been changing its style, lists its worldwide circulation at 5 million. While that is down from 7 million in 1972, it is a marked improvement from the 3.4 million in 1986, when men’s magazines were under fire from fundamentalist religious groups.