Hugh Hefner

It's perfectly clear to me that religion is a myth. It's something we have invented to explain the inexplicable. My religion and the spiritual side of my life come from a sense of connection to the humankind and nature on this planet and in the universe. I am in overwhelming awe of it all: It is so fantastic, so complex, so beyond comprehension. What does it all mean -- if it has any meaning at all? But how can it all exist if it doesn't have some kind of meaning? I think anyone who suggests that they have the answer is motivated by the need to invent answers, because we have no such answers.

Living in the moment, thinking about the future, and staying connected to the past: That's what makes me feel whole.

If you let society and your peers define who you are, you're the less for it.

The Westwood Cemetery is just a few blocks from my home, and a number of my very dear friends are buried there.

Life is too short to be living somebody else's dream.

The whole 1950s notion was find the right girl, get married, move to the suburbs and then hang out with the guys while she stayed home with the babies. I felt that was sort of sad.

My first wife was a brunette, and Barbi Benton, my major romantic relationship of the early 1970s, was a brunette. But since the end of my marriage, all of my girlfriends have been blonds.

I always say now that I'm in my blonde years. Because since the end of my marriage, all of my girlfriends have been blonde.

I was very influenced by the musicals and romantic comedies of the 1930s. I admired Gene Harlow and such, which probably explains why, since the end of my marriage, I've dated nothing but a succession of blondes.

I am in very good health. I've never felt better.

The difference between Marilyn Monroe and the early Pamela Anderson is not that great.

I looked back on the roaring Twenties, with its jazz, 'Great Gatsby' and the pre-Code films as a party I had somehow managed to miss.

You know, from my point of view, I'm the luckiest cat on the planet.

What's amazing is that the taste of American men and international tastes in terms of beauty have essentially stayed the same. Styles change, but our view of beauty stays the same.

The difference between Marilyn Monroe and the early Pamela Anderson is not that great. What's amazing is that the taste of American men and international tastes in terms of beauty have essentially stayed the same. Styles change, but our view of beauty stays the same.

My folks were raised pure prohibitionist. They were very good people, with high moral standards - but very repressed. There was no hugging and kissing in my home.

It's good to be selfish. But not so self-centered that you never listen to other people.

I think getting married was a mistake along the way, but at the same time I wouldn't have the wonderful children I have if I didn't get married.