Presented as a “typical” night at Hugh Hefner’s Playboy pad, Hugh would slip into a smoking jacket, stick a pipe into the corner of his mouth and start answering the door.
As host, he would usher an assortment of guests into his “living room”, hand them a drink and ask them to start learning their fee – after a little small talk, of course.
Then Heff would answer the door again, another surprise celebrity would come traipsing in, and the whole phoney business would be repeated – all accompanied by enthusiastic hand clapping (not always in time with the music) and squealing exclamations from half a dozen or so decorous young ladies conspicuously positioned throughout the room.
The initial response to Playboy’s Penthouse was a snicker. And when the snickers died down, apathy took over. The series was not a success, and it disappeared from TV screens after just a few weeks.
Then Heff would answer the door again, another surprise celebrity would come traipsing in, and the whole phoney business would be repeated – all accompanied by enthusiastic hand clapping (not always in time with the music) and squealing exclamations from half a dozen or so decorous young ladies conspicuously positioned throughout the room.
