HOPPIN’ MAD

Regarding “The Joy of Sax,” by Don Heckman (Sept. 25):

Will someone please say it--no legend-struck Times journalist will. Hugh Hefner is little more than a talented hedonist wishing to go down in history as a sexual libertarian. And even with the aid of the L.A. Times, it’s hard to swallow.

Hefner would like us to see that “the movies and Playboy represent, to much of the rest of the world, the best of the American dream.” Please. So what that Playboy boasts a female CEO and supports jazz. No amount of editorial “philosophy” can outstrip the message conveyed by the proposed standard of the Playboy centerfold.

As we look back on this century, Mr. Hefner, Playboy will be just one of many examples of the visual byproducts of a male-run society looking after its collective libido. And to some degree, the adolescent girl with the low self-esteem and eating disorder and the lonely male who keeps it within reach on his night stand are indebted.

SID ANDERSSON

Los Angeles

*

Please, please, please ! No more articles about Hugh Hefner! Like most halfway-intelligent people, after sowing his wild oats, Hefner got older and wiser and settled for the contentment of hearth and home. Millions of people do that as a normal sequence of growth. What else is new?

Hefner is just lucky he didn’t contract AIDS, but his flagrant Playboy “philosophy,” which fueled the era of sexual “liberation,” no doubt accounted for others who did. I hope we’ve heard the last of him.

MIRIAM JAFFE

Thousand Oaks

*

I feel sick that you would put Hugh Hefner on your cover. Nothing he has done deserves the respect or attention. He has built his life on a lie.

Since when has sleeping with “more than a thousand” women become a badge of honor? I’d never look at a guy who made that claim; he wouldn’t deserve someone as good as me.

The whole Playboy philosophy is damaging to relationships. How can you write about this man and his wasted life as if he deserves anybody’s respect? I like jazz, but I’ll never go to an event sponsored by Playboy.

JODY DAVIDSON

Studio City

*

We were told more about Hefner’s childhood fantasies, his bed bouncing and the history of Playboy magazine than we were of his commitment to and passion for jazz.

How about some words from Hefner on the once-great Playboy Jazz Festival evolving into beach-ball toss to the sound of beer and wine bottles rolling down the concrete steps? Among Hefner’s fantastic array of toys he must possess a great record collection. What you have in your library is what you really like. What are his favorites? What records is he still looking for?

Hefner must have made some musician friends (when Stan Getz and Dizzy Gillespie play in your living room?). The article should have been overflowing with anecdotes. How does Hefner see the future of jazz? Does he have any fantasies of supporting the local performing and recording scene?

We are dutifully informed that Hef slept with “more than a thousand women.” I get the impression that “lady jazz” was just another of them.

ALLAN V. PENA

Torrance