Hef pays tribute to Anna Nicole
Boston Herald
Saturday, April 7, 2007

Take Hugh Hefner out of the running.
“I can make clear at this time,” he said, “that I am not the father of the child.”
The Playboy magnate enjoys his laugh about the paternity uncertainties still swirling around Anna Nicole Smith, but his feelings about the former Playmate turned pop icon are no joke. In serious fashion, his bunny empire will offer three upcoming Smith tributes: a 10-page pictorial in the magazine’s May issue, an hourlong retrospective on Playboy TV and an online memorial on Playboy.com.
Smith, who first appeared on the magazine’s cover in March 1992 and was named Playmate of the Year in 1993, was 39 when she died of an accidental drug overdose in February.
So what was it about the buxom blonde Texan that Hefner found so alluring?
“It was her presence in front of the camera,” he told The Associated Press Thursday, chatting in the library of his famed Playboy Mansion. “She was one of those who loved being in front of the camera and came alive in front of the camera. There was very clearly a Marilyn Monroe quality about her and that aspiration was clear from the very beginning. She talked about Marilyn Monroe all the time.”
Smith often posed like Monroe, he said. At a Halloween party in 2004, she came dressed in a “Marilyn Monroe-type outfit” accompanied by three men in tuxedos: her attorney Howard K. Stern, boyfriend Larry Birkhead and son Daniel.
“The irony in terms of Anna Nicole’s fascination with Marilyn Monroe is how successful she was in building a similar kind of career, not through acting but simply through celebrity itself,” said Hefner, in his usual silk pajamas and smoking jacket. “The tragedy is she lived large as Marilyn did and died in a very similar way.”
With three tributes, might Playboy be opening itself to criticism for profiting from Smith’s death? Not the case, Hefner quickly replied. “It’s quite frankly celebrating her in a way that she would appreciate.”

YEAH and i think its disrespectful so soon after her death. ....i saw her on the cover (at work) ..and for him to laugh and even comment on if he is the dad...what a as s hole ..i used to respect his business and business mind. ..but not anymore at all...i doubt Larry Flint would even do that to her so close after ..sick.....and it made me so sad. ...regardless of how tasteless she was...its human disrespect. and i dont like it. ....jmo.

I don't like his joke and if I thought he was honestly paying tribute to her I'd say go you, but a party? Plus his emphasis on how "similar" she was to Marilyn Manroe makes me sick. I've heard comparisons yes that weren't by him but when he says it it seems like he's trying to "cash" in on how she appeared to some as the "monroe of today" or whatever. She had a way with the camera, she posed like Monroe and she died similar to her....I hate how he says those things like he's trying to get people to be in awe of that more than her as a person. He is using another celebrity to show off her celebrity and in return not portraying her as a human being. It makes me sad.

in some strange way i think anna would appreciate what he is doing and think she would take compliment to the comments about her being like marilyn. thats just how she was. it is kinda soon though, and the comments about the baby's daddy are a little out of line...

maybe he said it to make a little joke so he would not break down.
he cared for her and is doing what he thinks is right.
i am not arguing with anyone else's opinion, just stating my own.

I agree with LMFPchick. The daddy joke was inappropriate. Who knows, it could all be a big cash grab but I think Anna Nicole would have appreciated the attention. The times she looked her best was modelling and she loved being in front of the camera. In this whole circus surrounding her death everyone has their hand out, but this 'tribute' I think she would have liked.

i had heard that Hef made the comment cuz that is the first thing everyboday asks him.
you know how the media is...they only want what they want and don't care who they hurt.
it is my belief that he really did care for her and wasn't trying to make light of the situation