Welcome to the Women of Playboy series! Starting off with “the blueprint,” the “queen bee,” Barbi Benton – Hugh Hefner’s girlfriend from 1969 – 1979, credited with finding the Los Angeles Playboy Mansion. We’ll speak about her early career, impact on the Playboy brand in the 70s, and career moves in the entertainment industry. Also, we are speaking extensively about her legendary Aspen, Colorado home, The Copper Palace, designed by architect Bart Prince. Plus, I’ll share my personal opinions on why Barbi may have never spoken negatively about Hugh Hefner and Playboy.
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Time stamps:
00:00 Introduction
01:13 Working with Playboy + Dating Hugh Hefner
02:43 Career in TV, Film, Music
03:24 Girls Next Door
04:57 Copper Palace
08:09 Relationship with Playboy Brand
Watch…Women of Playboy/Girls Next Door Laura Diez hosts guest conversations and shares stories and pop culture history…on SloppBoxx.Com.
7:06 As a scientist… that makes me wanna nerd out thanks for sharing 🤓
I believe till this day, she’s still in love with Hef & that’s why we don’t hear anything from her to keep the image she remembers in tact.
She also wasn’t there for the crazy years, so that’s not her story to tell. She and Hef had a pretty normal relationship.
I think that Barbi actually wasn’t privy to a lot of what happened at the Mansion. Sandra Theodore talked about how she would go out once or twice a week, because Hef was going to have sex with other people. That’s what Hef had always done with his primary girlfriend. But then Hef decided that Sandra should be a part of the debauchery at the mansion. She was his first girlfriend that partook in those activities. Barbi had been spared those horrible experiences. Barbi did have a career in the entertainment industry. However, she was primarily known for being Hef’s girlfriend. I was a kid in the 70s and knew that Barbi was Hef’s girlfriend. I think she also got extremely lucky that she married a wealthy man and that their marriage has lasted. Because the vast majority of Hef’s former girlfriends and Playmates in general, didn’t become rich or famous because their involvement with Playboy. The two exceptions are Pam Anderson and Jenny McCarthy. But they were in the magazine when Hef was married to Kimberly. So Hef wasn’t hosting bi weekly orgies and Playmates, particularly Playmates of the Year, weren’t expected to have sex with Hef and his friends. But that started back up when he and Kimberly split up. Initially, he made his girlfriends, like Brande Rodrick, Playmate of the Year. But then those girlfriends broke up with him because they suddenly had career in entertainment. After that happened a few times, Hef stopped featuring his girlfriends in the magazine. He featured Holly, Bridget, and Kendra only because they became famous for “Girls Next Door”.
Yeah, Barbi wasn’t around for the late 70s “lost weekend” years, and wouldn’t have tolerated it if she had been. In fact, I think her final exit – to find a guy who was interested in marriage – kind of triggered it. She had already left Hef at least once before because of the cheating, which he was still trying (and failing) to keep from her at the time. She even gave an interview about it.
Barbi Benton is to me the top Playboy personality who left Playboy and since then had her family, a truly dazzling home and overall the happiest life.
love GND and got into it thru downloading Tubi recently
LOVING this series!! Hope you’re still doing them!❤
YES!! 💛 thank you!
That house is amazing so Barbie. I will love to see her on the GNL Podcast.
Barbi wasn’t there for the Sondra/drugsperimentation era; in fact, I think her leaving in 1976 to find a marriageable relationship is what sent Hef into a weird spiral of partying and control. She has always been loving toward Hef, but she didn’t hold back when she wasn’t happy with him and wouldn’t have tolerated that kind of crap around her. They broke up briefly in 1973 because she hated the cheating, and she gave at least one published interview about moving into her own apartment because of it.
Oh no, there were definitely drugs and endless partying before and during Barbi’s relationship to Hef. The Playboy Chicago mansion was a complete party house that included a swimming pool in the middle of it. And I’ve seen pictures from the parties. There was certainly debauchery going on. Hef was addicted to amphetamines during their relationship. There was so much partying that the FBI targeted Hef to bust him for drugs. His assistant and Playboy Chief Secretary, Bobbie Arnstein was arrested and charged with cocaine trafficking. And she was absolutely doing this for Hef for the big parties at the Chicago mansion. She refused to implicate Hef. And she ended her own life. I’ve seen a press conference where Hef was in tears , saying the FBI/Law Enforcement was to blame for targeting Bobbie. However, Hef thought nothing about putting people he supposedly cared about into dangerous situations. Just like he made sure a number of people in his life got prescriptions for Quaaludes, so there were plenty of them to give to women at the mansion parties. This was in Chicago during Barbi Benton’s time. Barbi herself wasn’t a part of any of that. But it was certainly going on. And Hef had a Chicago girlfriend, Karen Christie, during all or most of Hef’s relationship with Barbi. Karen Christie certainly knew about Barbi although Barbi didn’t know about Karen. Karen had to disappear if Barbi was visiting the Chicago mansion.
@konjurekatrina Not saying there wasn’t lots of drugs and partying in the orbit before then; the Bobbie situation is common knowledge (so is Karen, as she appears as his companion in Playboy media from the time), though it’s clear the government was looking for anything to use to get at Hef (in that case, illegal drugs and some of the gonzo personal habits of his friends in that area). I’m talking the worst of the orgy era in the late 70s, which ramped up Hef’s personal involvement in the really dark SA stuff, did away with the last illusions of “one girlfriend,” and made it impossible for a main girlfriend to avoid having to recruit and actively participate in the insanity.
@magicskyway The Chicago Playboy Mansion was every bit as bad as Playboy Mansion West. It doesn’t get talked about as much, because not as many famous men took part. Adrienne Pollack died of a Quaalude overdose, in the Chicago Mansion. Before Bobbie Arnstein was arrested. Also, The whole Linda Lovelace incident, where she was forced to let a dog f*ck her, happened in the California Mansion; when Hef was still with Barbi. Because Linda Lovelace had fled her pimp husband, Chuck Trainer, before Sondra Theodore’s involvement with Hef.
As a trained designer, I would not call the Copper Palace “organic”. To me it looks totally alien – like a space ship, not of this earth. Frankly, I find it hideous.
Barbie knows about all the negative things that went on but out of respect for Hef she won’t say anything. Hef helped her with her career so she is loyal to him.
That’s vile
Barbi always had a wholesome quality and bright personality.
omg i never knew the playboy mansion was actually barbie’s playhouse lmao she’s sm more involved in the brand building than i thought
Loooove Barbie! I wish I could snowboard with her..
So refreshing that she is a brunette! Nothing against blondes, but they sometimes look like replicas of the last. She could write an interesting book but I don’t think it will happen. She tends to say positive and funny things (for years!) without revealing any gut level stuff. Don’t think it would work.