Playboy After Dark

"Playboy After Dark" was a TV series created by Hugh Hefner.
It ran for 26 weeks beginning in January of 1969. It was 
his 2nd attempt at a TV series, the 1st being "Playboy's
Penthouse" airing Oct 24th, 1959 and only running for
two seasons. Both of these hour-long series gave viewers
a chance to hear discussions on a wide variety of subjects
not usually touched on by other talk/variety shows of the 
Sixties, as well as a showcase for entertainers shunned by
network TV. The program also provided a way for Hefner to get
some face time with the magazine's audience. "Fame is as
meaningful to me as fortune" was Hef's quote to the press. 

for more info: http://www.tvparty.com/recplayboy.html


"Playboy magazine founder Hugh Hefner launched a subscription-based cable channel component, The Playboy Channel, that quickly became one of the first cable success stories.

Not as well-known is the fact that there were two earlier attempts by Hefner to create a television spin-off. Neither caught on in a big way, but both were critical and audience hits with unique formats and timeless performances.

Hugh Hefner's first nationally televised series was Playboy's Penthouse which premiered on October 24, 1959. Produced in the studios of WBKB-TV in Chicago, the program was syndicated to a loose network of stations across the country that specifically signed up for the show.

The format was modeled on a hip, swinging bachelor party, the kind of party where cool people could lounge. Beat poets, writers, comics and jazz musicians like Ella Fitzgerald, Cy Coleman (who composed the Playboy theme song), Nat 'King' Cole, Marty Ingles, Gary Morton, Sarah Vaughn, Pete Seeger and Harry Belafonte mingled with the host (Hugh Hefner) and his assembled party-goers in an impromptu fashion.

There hadn't really been anything like it before on television, although similar ideas were attempted (like LA local The Tablehopper). From a historical perspective, this may be the first national TV program where whites and blacks sat down and talked as equals.

Hef's first show featured raucous comedian Lenny Bruce, a controversial choice. It was rare that a TV program would book the up and coming nightclub comic because of his rambling delivery and his outspoken views on race, religion and politics. Hugh Hefner was making a point.

Playboy helped bring Lenny Bruce from the nightclubs to the mass marketplace with this TV appearance and by publishing his autobiography 'How To Talk Dirty and Influence People' in 1965 (after serializing it in the magazine beginning in 1963).

The 'Playboy's Penthouse' appearance provided an opportunity for a national audience to see and hear what Lenny Bruce had to say, rather than read what other people were saying about him in the newspapers (a series of obscenity and drug busts would begin in 1961).

Shortly after filming the first season's episodes, Hefner opened the first Playboy Club in Chicago (quickly becoming the busiest night club in the world) and moved into the first Playboy Mansion (also in the Windy City).

'Playboy's Penthouse' ran for two seasons (re-syndicated in 1963) and helped to extend the magazine's image as a source of sophisticated, diverse entertainment.

In January of 1969, with magazine sales topping 5.5 million a month, Hefner (then 42) again entered the television arena with Playboy After Dark, a 26-week color version of his earlier series.

Once again the party format was carried over to good effect, with an elaborate $35,000 penthouse set built for the series on a CBS Hollywood soundstage, complete with sunken living room and curvaceous bar. 20 girls and 19 guys (guess who gets TWO girls) provide the atmosphere and 'mingle' with the guest stars.

For Hefner personally, the show provided an opportunity to get out of his Chicago mansion and shake things up in LA. He liked it so much, in 1971 he decided to make Los Angeles his base of operations, purchasing the 'Playboy Mansion West' in the Holmby Hills. Like Batman changing Batcaves, Hefner became an LA fixture from that point on.

Playboy After Dark had a jazzy opening - a limo is seen from above, driving along the streets, arriving with guests. They move up the elevator, then the elevator doors open to reveal a penthouse cocktail party in progress. It was almost identical to the '59 series opening.

Both of these hour-long series gave viewers a chance to hear discussions on a wide variety of subjects not usually touched on by other talk/variety shows of the Sixties, as well as a showcase for entertainers shunned by network TV. The program also provided a way for Hefner to get some face time with the magazine's audience. "Fame is as meaningful to me as fortune" was Hef's quote to the press.

Guest stars on Playboy After Dark (filmed surrounded by the ubiquitous Playboy Bunnies) included Marvin Gaye, The Checkmates, improv group The Committee, Janis Ian, The Byrds, Buddy Greco, Shari Lewis (in her post-Lambchop adult comic days), Pat Henry, Bill Cosby, Bill Medley, Kay Stevens, Rev. Malcolm Boyd, Iron Butterfly, The Blossoms, Cannonball Adderly, Lou Rawls, Joe Williams, Sammy Davis, Jr., LeRoy Neiman, Tony Bennett and others.

Sally Marr (Lenny Bruce's outspoken mother) appeared on the opening episode, part of a tribute to Lenny (who had died three years earlier) that included clips from the first episode of 'Playboy's Penthouse'. It was almost to say, 'The party's still on, welcome back!"

Sally Marr (who also had a nightclub act) went on to appear in several films including 'Harry and Tonto' (1974). In 1994, Joan Rivers portrayed her in the Broadway play ''Sally Marr - and Her Escorts,'' at the Helen Hayes Theater.

Ratings were high overall for Playboy After Dark, but the show was broadcast in only 23 cities, not enough to ultimately warrant continuing. It was successful in attracting new magazine readers, however - sales of the magazine peaked at over 7 million copies a month by 1971.

Ironically, while the 'Playboy' name translated into viewers in the cities that ran the show, it was the Playboy name that made it difficult to distribute in the Midwest and south. Many stations couldn't carry the show because the brand name meant smut to older, more conservative audiences. In Charlotte, NC the show was listed in TV Guide as 'Hugh Hefner.'

The racially mixed guest list probably didn't help distribution in the south, even in 1969. CBS was getting hate mail around that time just because 'The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour' featured black dancers in its cast. And when Tommy Smothers did a duet with African-American singer Leslie Uggams and they actually TOUCHED each other (on the arm) in 1968 - all Hell broke loose in the CBS mail room!

Hugh Hefner, ever modest, had this to say in 1969 about 'Playboy After Dark': "It's better than the 'Johnny Carson Show' or the 'Joey Bishop Show' and I do a better job hosting than Ed Sullivan does."