American Playboy: The Hugh Hefner Story (2017–…): Season 1, Episode 8 - Sex, Drugs and DEA Investigations - full transcript
Hugh Hefner's secretary and close friend, Bobbie Arnstein, finds herself at the center of a conspiracy to take down the Playboy empire and her loyalty to Hefner proves deadly.
[♪ Steppenwolf: "Faster
Than the Speed of Light"]
[Hugh Hefner]
The year was 1971.
Hot pants and bell bottoms
were the latest trends.
Simon and Garfunkel's
Bridge Over Troubled Water
was album of the year.
And a controversial new sitcom called inAll in the Family
premiered in prime-time.
Playboy had grown bigger
than ever before...
... thanks to increasing
magazine sales
and over 15 Playboy clubs
around the world.
On top of the clubs,
we'd also started opening
luxury vacation resorts.
[man]
Mr. Hefner has spent
no less than $10 million
in building a resort
that makes the Taj Mahal
look like a Quonset hut.
Okay, let's shoot.
[man]
Action!
[Hugh Hefner]
We also expanded into
even more side ventures,
including a TV and film
production company.
[actors grunting]
We produced an adaptation
of "Macbeth,"
directed by Roman Polanski...
... and the first movie
from the British comedy
troupe, Monty Python.
The Playboy brand
was recognized
all over the world...
and what had started
as just a magazine
was now a multinational
entertainment corporation
worth $200 million.
Nike is a brand, but Reebok
is a shoe company.
Virgin is a brand,
United is an airline.
Playboywas a brand,
and that means
that you can move
from one category
to another,
because you represent
not a single product
but an attitude toward life.
[rock music]
[Hugh Hefner]
Our success made us
very attractive
to Wall Street investors...
... so that year I decided
to take the company public.
[man]
Playboy goes public.
Now you bring in a tremendous
amount of capital,
which you can then reinvest,
and it's a signal
of the kind of normalization
of the pornography business.
I mean, what's
more establishment
than Wall Street?
[Hugh Hefner]
The influx of cash
was a huge boost,
and it felt good to have
the world acknowledge Playboy
as a legitimate business.
But the magazine was still
facing one major challenge.
Ongoing competition
fromPenthouse.
[♪ Small Faces: "E to D"]
Since 1969,
Penthouse had been
pushing the envelope
with pictures that
madePlayboy look tame.
Over the past two years,
they kept getting raunchier,
and their subscription
had grown by 600%,
to 1.3 million per month.
Playboy still had nearly
five times as many readers,
but I knew that if we
were going to continue
to stay ahead
of the competition,
Playboy would have to show
a lot more than
we ever had before.
♪ Every little movement ♪
♪ Every little thing
you do ♪
♪ Is it slight of hand ♪
♪ That commands my heart
to love you? ♪
♪ Every little movement ♪
♪ Every little movement ♪♪
So what do you think
we should do?
Honestly? Nothing.
Do you honestly want to
publish pictures like that?
No, I want to publish
better pictures.
And I know we can.
Respectfully,
we already do.
Agreed.
This has to do
with Playboy's brand.
What do you want that
to be?
The best!
We have the best
photographers in the world
begging to work with us.
We didn't get where we are
by being complacent.
There is so much more we can
explore, more we can do,
without losing sight
of what Playboyis about.
[Hugh Hefner] Playboy had shown a glimpse of pubic hair earlier in the year,
but until now, I'd been
hesitant to do it again.
[Patty Farmer]
Hef always stayed away
from showing
full frontal nudity,
but Playboy was actually losing
subscribers over to Penthouse.
So Hef was pushed
in the direction
of upping the game.
[Hugh Hefner]
I knew we needed to publish
a full-frontal centerfold,
but I wanted to do it
thePlayboy way,
with polish and sophistication.
To pull it off, we'd need
to find the perfect model.
Luckily, Victor Lownes knew
just the girl for the job.
[♪ Flying Burrito Brothers:
"Cody Cody"]
She was a bunny working
at the London Playboy Club...
named Marilyn Cole.
Marilyn had
a fantastic figure.
I sent snapshots
of her to Chicago
and said they ought to test
this girl for Playmate material.
[Marilyn Cole]
I was quite surprised
when Victor suggested
I should be a Playmate.
Not having been a model,
he was the one who
sort of discovered me,
and then I was sent
to Chicago.
[Hugh Hefner]
Lownes was right.
Marilyn was the perfect
centerfold.
But her photo represented
a whole new direction
for Playboy.
[door opens]
It's Miss January.
I'm getting a lot
of push-back from spec.
And art.
Would you print it?
Are you kidding me, Hef?
We both know you've
already made up your mind.
Yeah, maybe.
[♪ Spooky Tooth:
"It's All a Roundabout"]
[Hugh Hefner]
In January of 1972,
Marilyn Cole became our first
ever full frontal centerfold.
The issue was our
biggest seller to date.
I became the first
full-frontal nude.
What a legacy, but anyway...
I've often been asked,
how did it feel?
And I always think, "Well,
the point that you disrobe,
you become someone else."
That's the only way
you do it.
It did cause a sensation,
certainly here in Britain,
because, "A,"
I was English,
and, "B," it was tabloid press
at that time.
[Victor Lownes]
When she showed them to her
mother, her mother said,
"Your hair looks
very nice, dear."
That was her mother's
only comment.
[Hugh Hefner]
From that point on,
there was no turning back.
By the end of 1972,
our circulation
exceeded seven million,
the highest it had ever been,
so we had a lot to celebrate.
[piano music and party chatter]
Hey, Kretch?
This is my boyfriend, Ron.
Hi.
[Hugh Hefner]
In those days,
no one seemed happier
than my longtime friend
and personal assistant,
Bobbie Arnstein.
She had recently started dating a man named Ron Scharf.
I've seen your issue.
My favorite.
Hey, this is Hef.
Hugh Hefner, hi.
Ron.
Nice to meet you,
finally.
You, too, I've heard
a lot about you.
Okay, we're gonna
take a tour.
Enjoy dinner!
Come on.
So this
is the great room...
[Hugh Hefner]
I wasn't crazy
about her new boyfriend,
but I did like to see
Bobbie happy.
[♪ James Gang: "Midnight Man"]
For over a decade,
Bobbie had been my assistant,
but she'd also become
one of my closest friends.
She lived full-time
at the mansion,
so she was always around
when I needed her.
Bobbie became absolutely
indispensable to me.
Not only because of
the role that she played,
but also because of her own
particular abilities.
She had a remarkable
sensitivity and sense of humor.
And was uncommonly bright.
Bobbie was also part
of my social life.
Okay, don't forget,
on Thursday
you've got a meeting
at the mayor's office.
And then Friday,
board meeting at 2:00 p.m.,
so you gotta
look sharp for that.
I left your gray suit out.
It's been pressed.
Any questions,
talk to Dick.
I don't know how I'm going to
survive without you, Bobbie.
You'll be fine.
All right.
Have a safe trip.
Don't do anything
I wouldn't do.
Not touching that one.
[Hugh chuckles]
[♪ Jimmy Cliff "Time Will Tell"]
Did you pack
the suntan lotion?
Hmm?
I put it out
with everything else.
Well, then I packed it,
okay?
It's not here.
[sighs]
Maybe you put it
in your bag?
Hey, hey...
Just... buy
another one, okay?
Here, there's a place
on the corner.
I'm sure
they'll have some.
Hey, man,
how's it going?
Yeah, good, come on in.
Who's she?
Bobbie?
Don't worry,
she's cool.
[man]
So how much you want?
Let's do a half.
Three, four...
[camera shutter clicks]
Hey, are you
a friend of Ron's?
Uh, yeah.
I'm Bobbie.
[camera shutter clicking]
Uh, you are?
Nice meeting you.
[Hugh Hefner]
Bobbie thought she was
on an innocent vacation
with her boyfriend.
But what she didn't realize
was that she was about
to become
entangled in a government
investigation.
[♪ James Gang: "Woman"]
By the 1970s,
the hippie drugs of the '60s,
like marijuana and LSD,
had given way
to harder substances,
like cocaine and heroin.
President Nixon declared drugs a crisis in American life.
[Richard Nixon]
We must wage total war against
public enemy number one:
the problem of dangerous drugs.
[Hugh Hefner]
To crack down on their use,
Nixon created a new Drug
Enforcement Administration.
The DEA was tasked
with bringing down anyone
suspected of breaking
federal drug laws.
What's this?
That's Miami drug trafficker
George Matthews.
We've been monitoring him
for a couple of years now.
Finally nailed him, thanks
to this guy, Ronald Scharf.
Small-time drug dealer
based here in Chicago.
He bought half a pound
off Matthews
and tried selling it
to one of my informants.
Who's the girl?
You know Playboypublisher
Hugh Hefner?
Well, that is his personal
assistant, Bobbie Arnstein.
[Hugh Hefner]
When a photo of Bobbie
landed on the desk
of Chicago prosecutor
James Thompson...
he immediately
saw an opportunity
to turn this small drug case
into something that could
make his entire career.
[Richard Rozenzweig]
Jim Thompson had
political aspirations,
and this was going to be
his singular success
in nailing Hef for some kind
of drug conspiracy,
which was totally false.
[Hugh Hefner]
While Thompson
opened his investigation...
... I was spending
more and more time
with my girlfriend,
Barbi Benton.
We had been dating
for over four years
and spending a lot of time
in Los Angeles.
So much time, Barbie convinced me it was time to buy a house,
and she'd found
the perfect spot.
[Barbi Benton]
I was looking for a house,
and our driver mentioned
a gate on Sunset Boulevard
that had a lock on it.
So I hopped the fence,
walked up the long driveway,
and saw this beautiful house.
So I called the people
to find out if they would
consider selling their house.
And, as luck would have it,
they said that
they would consider.
I got Hef to come out.
He loved the grounds,
he loved the house,
and... he got it.
[♪ Billy Preston:
"Nothing From Nothing"]
[Hugh Hefner]
The new house sat on 5.3 acres
on the edge of Beverly Hills.
And, in typical
Playboy fashion...
... I quickly made it my own.
I built a winding, outdoor pool
with waterfalls
leading into a grotto...
... with artifacts
and fossilized insects
in the ceiling.
I had the largest grove of
redwoods in southern
California.
A game house...
... a tennis court...
... and a gym.
Even a zoo.
And an aviary.
I went so far as to get a year-round fireworks license
from the city.
We're still the only private
residence ever granted one.
I named the house
The Playboy Mansion West.
And I split my time between
L.A.
and the original mansion
back in Chicago.
[Bobbie]
How's-- how's Monday
at 3:00 p.m.?
[Hugh]
We'll make whatever time work.
-Okay.
-Done.
-Between 3:00 and 4:00.
-Yep.
[knock on door]
I'll get it.
DEA.
We're looking
for Bobbie Arnstein.
We have a warrant
for your arrest.
For what?
Conspiracy to distribute.
Distribute what?
You have the right
to remain silent.
-What?
-Anything you say can and...
Are you kidding me right now?
This is happening?
... in a court of law.
[Hugh Hefner]
On March 23rd of 1974,
almost three years
after Ron took her to Miami,
Bobbie was arrested on charges of cocaine distribution.
Over the years,
Playboy had been charged
with obscenity
and indecency...
... but now,
Thompson made the case
that the Playboy mansions
in Chicago and LA
and clubs around the world
were fronts for a major
drug trafficking operation.
Bobbie had never been
his real target.
She was just his way
of coming after me.
Miss Arnstein,
I don't want to see you
spend the rest
of your life
rotting away
in some prison cell.
What I do want is to see
the right person
put behind bars.
And you and I both know
who that person is.
This drug ring you think
Playboy's involved in,
it doesn't exist.
I can offer you
federal protection.
What do you think?
I think you can both
go fuck yourselves.
[Arthur Kretchmer]
The case against Bobbie Arnstein
was trumped up
as soon as they realized
they had
Hefner's secretary.
There's no question
in my mind
that Bobbie did not
carry the cocaine,
she did not transport it.
The boyfriend did.
It was his deal.
They put it on her.
And... that was
a terrible thing.
[Hugh Hefner]
For a long time
it was just, you know,
an investigation
that was focused
on this fellow
that she'd been dating.
And, when the focused changed,
when it became clear that
the real target was some crazy
attempt to involve me,
it took on
Kafka-like implications.
So, I was able to get a hold
of the original indictment.
Bobbie's name's
not on it.
Which means?
Which means they
probably added it
only after they realized
who she was.
In other words, when they
realized she worked for Playboy.
Make a copy of this
for Kretchmer.
Tell him we're running it
in next month's issue
along with an editorial
I'll write myself.
-We'll get it done.
-That's out of the question.
-Is it against the law?
-No.
-Will it jeopardize our case?
-No.
-Then we're running it!
-It's Bobbie's case.
It's Bobbie who's on trial here,
not you and not Playboy.
So you're just going to
let her hang out to dry?
No, of course not.
But what we're dealing with here
has very serious implications,
not just for you and for
Bobbie, but for the company.
The company will be fine.
We already have
two board members
resign because
of this.
I have advertisers
backing out.
Our stock price is down,
big time.
All we gotta focus on is doing
some serious damage control.
You need to separate
yourself from Bobbie.
Not just for your sake,
but for hers.
[♪ Don McLean: "Babylon"]
[Hugh Hefner]
Bobbie was my best friend.
But on the advice
of my lawyers,
I was told not to speak
publicly about her case.
And even worse,
I had to ask her to move out
of the Chicago mansion.
It killed me to know there was nothing I could do to help her.
It became very unreal.
I knew that the DEA had become
a very corrupt organization
and the case
was politically inspired.
[Van Gordon Sauter]
For most people,
this is the image
of Bobbie Arnstein,
assistant toPlayboy publisher Hugh Hefner.
A girl who lived in what seemed a sleek and fashionable world,
a girl who somehow
became involved
in the cruel
and shoddy drug world.
[overlapping chatter]
[Hugh Hefner]
On October 22, 1974,
Bobbie's case went to trial.
Your Honor,
the defendants
in this case,
Ronald Scharf
and Bobbie Arnstein,
are charged
with a conspiracy.
They conspired to distribute
a narcotic drug,
specifically cocaine,
and that these defendants
entered into an agreement
with each other,
and with other persons,
to distribute cocaine
in the United States.
[man]
I don't think
any of us felt
that they would
stoop this low,
to threaten this young woman
with incarceration
if she did not come forward
and lie about her boss.
They would go just so far
and then back off.
But they didn't do that.
[Hugh Hefner]
The prosecution was asking
for the maximum sentence:
15 years in prison.
I'm here to represent
my client, Bobbie Arnstein.
She traveled from Chicago
down to Florida with Mr. Scharf,
but we believe the evidence
will show that Miss Arnstein
had no knowledge
or participation
in any sale of drugs
while she was down in Florida
and that she should
be found not guilty.
[Hugh Hefner] The prosecution had gone so far as to tap Ron Scharf's phone
and presented transcripts
of his conversations
with Bobbie in court,
but none of the evidence
made it clear that Bobbie
was knowingly involved.
[Hugh]
How's it going?
How's Bobbie?
You know, it's a...
it's a trial.
It's tough for her.
But she's, um,
she's holding up pretty well.
Just let her know
I'm thinking about her.
Of course.
All right, bye.
[sighs]
On behalf of the government,
I would like to call
as a witness
George E. Matthews
to the stand.
I laid out some coke
on the coffee table.
Scharf and I tested it,
and he asked to buy
a half pound of the coke,
which I sold to him
in a bag which I placed
on the coffee table.
Was anyone else
present at this meeting?
Yes.
Bobbie Arnstein.
Did they leave with
the half a pound of cocaine
you had left on the bed?
Yes.
Was Mr. Scharf carrying
the half a pound of cocaine?
Bobbie Arnstein placed
the half pound of cocaine
in her handbag
and carried it out.
Thank you,
Mr. Matthews.
No further questions.
All right, Mr. Matthews.
Now, you have before you
the statement
you made previously.
Now, in this statement
you made,
is there anything
said by you
stating Miss Arnstein's
presence
when Scharf asked to buy
a half a pound of cocaine?
Not in what
I have here, no.
Is there any statement
made by you that Miss Arnstein
put the cocaine in her bag?
[stammering]
No.
-Or carried the bag out?
-No.
Subsequent to giving
these statements,
did you have
any conversations
with any government agent
about this case?
I had a couple telephone
conversations, yes.
What was the result
of these conversations?
I... agreed to cooperate
with the government fully.
Do you have an understanding
as to anything that you were
to receive in return
for this cooperation?
Yes.
Would you tell the court
and jury, please,
what your understanding
was?
Uh, a recommendation
that I be sentenced
to no more than five years.
I have no further
questions.
[Hugh Hefner]
Bobbie's lawyers
had done all they could
to prove her innocence.
Now, her fate
was up to the jury.
Richard Rosenzweig:
From a justice point of view,
we felt
there was no question
that she would be
found innocent.
But with the threats
that she was getting
from the U.S. attorney
and the DEA,
one wasn't completely sure
what the outcome might be.
[judge]
Will the defendants
please rise?
On the charge of conspiracy
to distribute a narcotic drug,
the court finds
the defendants...
guilty.
The defendant,
Bobbie Arnstein,
is committed to the custody
of the attorney general
or his authorized
representative.
[Hugh Hefner] The judge issued a preliminary sentence of the full 15 years.
Bobbie's boyfriend,
Ron Scharf,
only got a six-year sentence.
Court is adjourned.
[Hugh Hefner]
When they convicted her,
it was unreal.
I knew she was innocent.
They knew
she was innocent.
They let major
drug dealers walk away,
use them to convict her,
all in an attempt
to somehow
put enough pressure
on this girl
so that she would invent
some story about me.
I don't think you ought
to give any statement at all.
Well, I think it's absurd.
I don't think you ought
to give any statement.
My lawyers suggest that
I not give any statements.
It's not
my personal feeling.
Okay, thank you.
You're welcome, sorry.
[phone ringing]
[ringing continues]
[♪ "Scarborough Fair"]
[phone ringing]
Hello?
Ms. Arnstein,
executive assistant
to Playboypublisher
Hugh Hefner,
died of an overdose Monday.
No bottles
containing prescriptions
were found in the hotel room
where she took her life.
Van Gordon Sauter
has a profile on the woman
who died in a second-rate hotel.
She was not doing what they
were saying she was doing.
She was not carrying drugs,
she was not dealing.
She was just too tired
to keep fighting.
[reporter]
... enmeshed by a boyfriend
in a drug raid
and an aggressive
government investigation,
the fragile entity that
was Bobbie Arnstein broke.
Perhaps there is just
no more room in this world
for such fragile people.
[Christie Hefner]
Bobbie's suicide was devastating
for everybody who knew her,
perhaps as much
as anything because
it was completely unnecessary
and was really
caused by the government
pressuring her to give them
Hugh Hefner as a drug dealer.
Rather than do anything
to hurt my father,
she didn't see any way out
but to take her own life
when faced with the threat
of significant prison time.
I think just the tragedy of
that, was just heartbreaking.
[reporter]
The funeral service,
from which cameras were barred,
took nine minutes,
the relatives
and old family friends
pulling up to the funeral home
on Devon in five limousines,
with a grim-looking
Hugh Hefner in the center.
Bobbie Arnstein
had been swallowed up
by all this in her life.
It was happening
once again in her death.
[Hugh Hefner]
When Bobbie was laid to rest,
her mother gave me the honor
of serving as a pallbearer.
[reporter]
The seven pallbearers,
including Hefner,
carried the steel coffin
from the funeral home
and put it into a hearse.
They all said goodbye
to Bobbie Arnstein today,
all the worlds
in which she had lived.
[Hugh Hefner]
Throughout the entire
investigation,
I followed my counsel's
advice and never said a word.
Now I regretted that silence.
Every time
I've allowed somebody
to make me not
talk to the press,
I've paid heavily for it.
In this case, we all
paid heavily for it,
and Bobbie paid for it
with her life.
After she died, I said,
"I can't keep quiet anymore.
I'm gonna make
a press statement."
If I look a little harried,
I'm-- I'm quite upset.
Okay.
In the infamous witchcraft
trials of the middle ages,
the inquisitors
tortured the victims
until they not only
confessed to being witches,
but accused their own families
and friends of sorcery as well.
In similar fashion,
narcotics agents
frequently use
our severe drug laws
in an arbitrary
and capricious manner
to elicit the desired
testimony for a trial.
The pressure of a lengthy appeal
and increasing harassment
from government prosecutors
and their agents...
... an already
emotionally troubled woman...
was pushed beyond endurance,
and she killed herself.
I was at the press conference
in the Chicago mansion.
It was all true emotion.
Hefner had been harmed beyond
belief, from his point of view.
Nothing the government
could have done
could have
hurt him more.
She was one of the best,
brightest...
most worthwhile women...
[choking back tears]
I have ever known.
She will be missed.
[Hugh Hefner]
Bobbie had been with me
for nearly 14 years.
She'd kept things running,
whether it was
my personal life,
my business life,
or even the mansion itself.
She was one of the few people
strong enough
to keep me in check.
[Barbi Benton]
It was such a great
loss for Hef.
He was devastated.
It was the saddest
I'd ever seen him.
[Hugh Hefner]
What I think about
over and over again
is all the years
and the good times
and things
that she missed,
and... the good times
that would have
been better for us
if she'd been here.
[Hugh Hefner]
With Bobbie gone, things
would never be the same.
And everywhere I looked,
I only saw memories of her.
So I decided the time
had come to say goodbye,
not only to Bobbie,
but to my entire life
in Chicago.
[gentle piano music]
Than the Speed of Light"]
[Hugh Hefner]
The year was 1971.
Hot pants and bell bottoms
were the latest trends.
Simon and Garfunkel's
Bridge Over Troubled Water
was album of the year.
And a controversial new sitcom called inAll in the Family
premiered in prime-time.
Playboy had grown bigger
than ever before...
... thanks to increasing
magazine sales
and over 15 Playboy clubs
around the world.
On top of the clubs,
we'd also started opening
luxury vacation resorts.
[man]
Mr. Hefner has spent
no less than $10 million
in building a resort
that makes the Taj Mahal
look like a Quonset hut.
Okay, let's shoot.
[man]
Action!
[Hugh Hefner]
We also expanded into
even more side ventures,
including a TV and film
production company.
[actors grunting]
We produced an adaptation
of "Macbeth,"
directed by Roman Polanski...
... and the first movie
from the British comedy
troupe, Monty Python.
The Playboy brand
was recognized
all over the world...
and what had started
as just a magazine
was now a multinational
entertainment corporation
worth $200 million.
Nike is a brand, but Reebok
is a shoe company.
Virgin is a brand,
United is an airline.
Playboywas a brand,
and that means
that you can move
from one category
to another,
because you represent
not a single product
but an attitude toward life.
[rock music]
[Hugh Hefner]
Our success made us
very attractive
to Wall Street investors...
... so that year I decided
to take the company public.
[man]
Playboy goes public.
Now you bring in a tremendous
amount of capital,
which you can then reinvest,
and it's a signal
of the kind of normalization
of the pornography business.
I mean, what's
more establishment
than Wall Street?
[Hugh Hefner]
The influx of cash
was a huge boost,
and it felt good to have
the world acknowledge Playboy
as a legitimate business.
But the magazine was still
facing one major challenge.
Ongoing competition
fromPenthouse.
[♪ Small Faces: "E to D"]
Since 1969,
Penthouse had been
pushing the envelope
with pictures that
madePlayboy look tame.
Over the past two years,
they kept getting raunchier,
and their subscription
had grown by 600%,
to 1.3 million per month.
Playboy still had nearly
five times as many readers,
but I knew that if we
were going to continue
to stay ahead
of the competition,
Playboy would have to show
a lot more than
we ever had before.
♪ Every little movement ♪
♪ Every little thing
you do ♪
♪ Is it slight of hand ♪
♪ That commands my heart
to love you? ♪
♪ Every little movement ♪
♪ Every little movement ♪♪
So what do you think
we should do?
Honestly? Nothing.
Do you honestly want to
publish pictures like that?
No, I want to publish
better pictures.
And I know we can.
Respectfully,
we already do.
Agreed.
This has to do
with Playboy's brand.
What do you want that
to be?
The best!
We have the best
photographers in the world
begging to work with us.
We didn't get where we are
by being complacent.
There is so much more we can
explore, more we can do,
without losing sight
of what Playboyis about.
[Hugh Hefner] Playboy had shown a glimpse of pubic hair earlier in the year,
but until now, I'd been
hesitant to do it again.
[Patty Farmer]
Hef always stayed away
from showing
full frontal nudity,
but Playboy was actually losing
subscribers over to Penthouse.
So Hef was pushed
in the direction
of upping the game.
[Hugh Hefner]
I knew we needed to publish
a full-frontal centerfold,
but I wanted to do it
thePlayboy way,
with polish and sophistication.
To pull it off, we'd need
to find the perfect model.
Luckily, Victor Lownes knew
just the girl for the job.
[♪ Flying Burrito Brothers:
"Cody Cody"]
She was a bunny working
at the London Playboy Club...
named Marilyn Cole.
Marilyn had
a fantastic figure.
I sent snapshots
of her to Chicago
and said they ought to test
this girl for Playmate material.
[Marilyn Cole]
I was quite surprised
when Victor suggested
I should be a Playmate.
Not having been a model,
he was the one who
sort of discovered me,
and then I was sent
to Chicago.
[Hugh Hefner]
Lownes was right.
Marilyn was the perfect
centerfold.
But her photo represented
a whole new direction
for Playboy.
[door opens]
It's Miss January.
I'm getting a lot
of push-back from spec.
And art.
Would you print it?
Are you kidding me, Hef?
We both know you've
already made up your mind.
Yeah, maybe.
[♪ Spooky Tooth:
"It's All a Roundabout"]
[Hugh Hefner]
In January of 1972,
Marilyn Cole became our first
ever full frontal centerfold.
The issue was our
biggest seller to date.
I became the first
full-frontal nude.
What a legacy, but anyway...
I've often been asked,
how did it feel?
And I always think, "Well,
the point that you disrobe,
you become someone else."
That's the only way
you do it.
It did cause a sensation,
certainly here in Britain,
because, "A,"
I was English,
and, "B," it was tabloid press
at that time.
[Victor Lownes]
When she showed them to her
mother, her mother said,
"Your hair looks
very nice, dear."
That was her mother's
only comment.
[Hugh Hefner]
From that point on,
there was no turning back.
By the end of 1972,
our circulation
exceeded seven million,
the highest it had ever been,
so we had a lot to celebrate.
[piano music and party chatter]
Hey, Kretch?
This is my boyfriend, Ron.
Hi.
[Hugh Hefner]
In those days,
no one seemed happier
than my longtime friend
and personal assistant,
Bobbie Arnstein.
She had recently started dating a man named Ron Scharf.
I've seen your issue.
My favorite.
Hey, this is Hef.
Hugh Hefner, hi.
Ron.
Nice to meet you,
finally.
You, too, I've heard
a lot about you.
Okay, we're gonna
take a tour.
Enjoy dinner!
Come on.
So this
is the great room...
[Hugh Hefner]
I wasn't crazy
about her new boyfriend,
but I did like to see
Bobbie happy.
[♪ James Gang: "Midnight Man"]
For over a decade,
Bobbie had been my assistant,
but she'd also become
one of my closest friends.
She lived full-time
at the mansion,
so she was always around
when I needed her.
Bobbie became absolutely
indispensable to me.
Not only because of
the role that she played,
but also because of her own
particular abilities.
She had a remarkable
sensitivity and sense of humor.
And was uncommonly bright.
Bobbie was also part
of my social life.
Okay, don't forget,
on Thursday
you've got a meeting
at the mayor's office.
And then Friday,
board meeting at 2:00 p.m.,
so you gotta
look sharp for that.
I left your gray suit out.
It's been pressed.
Any questions,
talk to Dick.
I don't know how I'm going to
survive without you, Bobbie.
You'll be fine.
All right.
Have a safe trip.
Don't do anything
I wouldn't do.
Not touching that one.
[Hugh chuckles]
[♪ Jimmy Cliff "Time Will Tell"]
Did you pack
the suntan lotion?
Hmm?
I put it out
with everything else.
Well, then I packed it,
okay?
It's not here.
[sighs]
Maybe you put it
in your bag?
Hey, hey...
Just... buy
another one, okay?
Here, there's a place
on the corner.
I'm sure
they'll have some.
Hey, man,
how's it going?
Yeah, good, come on in.
Who's she?
Bobbie?
Don't worry,
she's cool.
[man]
So how much you want?
Let's do a half.
Three, four...
[camera shutter clicks]
Hey, are you
a friend of Ron's?
Uh, yeah.
I'm Bobbie.
[camera shutter clicking]
Uh, you are?
Nice meeting you.
[Hugh Hefner]
Bobbie thought she was
on an innocent vacation
with her boyfriend.
But what she didn't realize
was that she was about
to become
entangled in a government
investigation.
[♪ James Gang: "Woman"]
By the 1970s,
the hippie drugs of the '60s,
like marijuana and LSD,
had given way
to harder substances,
like cocaine and heroin.
President Nixon declared drugs a crisis in American life.
[Richard Nixon]
We must wage total war against
public enemy number one:
the problem of dangerous drugs.
[Hugh Hefner]
To crack down on their use,
Nixon created a new Drug
Enforcement Administration.
The DEA was tasked
with bringing down anyone
suspected of breaking
federal drug laws.
What's this?
That's Miami drug trafficker
George Matthews.
We've been monitoring him
for a couple of years now.
Finally nailed him, thanks
to this guy, Ronald Scharf.
Small-time drug dealer
based here in Chicago.
He bought half a pound
off Matthews
and tried selling it
to one of my informants.
Who's the girl?
You know Playboypublisher
Hugh Hefner?
Well, that is his personal
assistant, Bobbie Arnstein.
[Hugh Hefner]
When a photo of Bobbie
landed on the desk
of Chicago prosecutor
James Thompson...
he immediately
saw an opportunity
to turn this small drug case
into something that could
make his entire career.
[Richard Rozenzweig]
Jim Thompson had
political aspirations,
and this was going to be
his singular success
in nailing Hef for some kind
of drug conspiracy,
which was totally false.
[Hugh Hefner]
While Thompson
opened his investigation...
... I was spending
more and more time
with my girlfriend,
Barbi Benton.
We had been dating
for over four years
and spending a lot of time
in Los Angeles.
So much time, Barbie convinced me it was time to buy a house,
and she'd found
the perfect spot.
[Barbi Benton]
I was looking for a house,
and our driver mentioned
a gate on Sunset Boulevard
that had a lock on it.
So I hopped the fence,
walked up the long driveway,
and saw this beautiful house.
So I called the people
to find out if they would
consider selling their house.
And, as luck would have it,
they said that
they would consider.
I got Hef to come out.
He loved the grounds,
he loved the house,
and... he got it.
[♪ Billy Preston:
"Nothing From Nothing"]
[Hugh Hefner]
The new house sat on 5.3 acres
on the edge of Beverly Hills.
And, in typical
Playboy fashion...
... I quickly made it my own.
I built a winding, outdoor pool
with waterfalls
leading into a grotto...
... with artifacts
and fossilized insects
in the ceiling.
I had the largest grove of
redwoods in southern
California.
A game house...
... a tennis court...
... and a gym.
Even a zoo.
And an aviary.
I went so far as to get a year-round fireworks license
from the city.
We're still the only private
residence ever granted one.
I named the house
The Playboy Mansion West.
And I split my time between
L.A.
and the original mansion
back in Chicago.
[Bobbie]
How's-- how's Monday
at 3:00 p.m.?
[Hugh]
We'll make whatever time work.
-Okay.
-Done.
-Between 3:00 and 4:00.
-Yep.
[knock on door]
I'll get it.
DEA.
We're looking
for Bobbie Arnstein.
We have a warrant
for your arrest.
For what?
Conspiracy to distribute.
Distribute what?
You have the right
to remain silent.
-What?
-Anything you say can and...
Are you kidding me right now?
This is happening?
... in a court of law.
[Hugh Hefner]
On March 23rd of 1974,
almost three years
after Ron took her to Miami,
Bobbie was arrested on charges of cocaine distribution.
Over the years,
Playboy had been charged
with obscenity
and indecency...
... but now,
Thompson made the case
that the Playboy mansions
in Chicago and LA
and clubs around the world
were fronts for a major
drug trafficking operation.
Bobbie had never been
his real target.
She was just his way
of coming after me.
Miss Arnstein,
I don't want to see you
spend the rest
of your life
rotting away
in some prison cell.
What I do want is to see
the right person
put behind bars.
And you and I both know
who that person is.
This drug ring you think
Playboy's involved in,
it doesn't exist.
I can offer you
federal protection.
What do you think?
I think you can both
go fuck yourselves.
[Arthur Kretchmer]
The case against Bobbie Arnstein
was trumped up
as soon as they realized
they had
Hefner's secretary.
There's no question
in my mind
that Bobbie did not
carry the cocaine,
she did not transport it.
The boyfriend did.
It was his deal.
They put it on her.
And... that was
a terrible thing.
[Hugh Hefner]
For a long time
it was just, you know,
an investigation
that was focused
on this fellow
that she'd been dating.
And, when the focused changed,
when it became clear that
the real target was some crazy
attempt to involve me,
it took on
Kafka-like implications.
So, I was able to get a hold
of the original indictment.
Bobbie's name's
not on it.
Which means?
Which means they
probably added it
only after they realized
who she was.
In other words, when they
realized she worked for Playboy.
Make a copy of this
for Kretchmer.
Tell him we're running it
in next month's issue
along with an editorial
I'll write myself.
-We'll get it done.
-That's out of the question.
-Is it against the law?
-No.
-Will it jeopardize our case?
-No.
-Then we're running it!
-It's Bobbie's case.
It's Bobbie who's on trial here,
not you and not Playboy.
So you're just going to
let her hang out to dry?
No, of course not.
But what we're dealing with here
has very serious implications,
not just for you and for
Bobbie, but for the company.
The company will be fine.
We already have
two board members
resign because
of this.
I have advertisers
backing out.
Our stock price is down,
big time.
All we gotta focus on is doing
some serious damage control.
You need to separate
yourself from Bobbie.
Not just for your sake,
but for hers.
[♪ Don McLean: "Babylon"]
[Hugh Hefner]
Bobbie was my best friend.
But on the advice
of my lawyers,
I was told not to speak
publicly about her case.
And even worse,
I had to ask her to move out
of the Chicago mansion.
It killed me to know there was nothing I could do to help her.
It became very unreal.
I knew that the DEA had become
a very corrupt organization
and the case
was politically inspired.
[Van Gordon Sauter]
For most people,
this is the image
of Bobbie Arnstein,
assistant toPlayboy publisher Hugh Hefner.
A girl who lived in what seemed a sleek and fashionable world,
a girl who somehow
became involved
in the cruel
and shoddy drug world.
[overlapping chatter]
[Hugh Hefner]
On October 22, 1974,
Bobbie's case went to trial.
Your Honor,
the defendants
in this case,
Ronald Scharf
and Bobbie Arnstein,
are charged
with a conspiracy.
They conspired to distribute
a narcotic drug,
specifically cocaine,
and that these defendants
entered into an agreement
with each other,
and with other persons,
to distribute cocaine
in the United States.
[man]
I don't think
any of us felt
that they would
stoop this low,
to threaten this young woman
with incarceration
if she did not come forward
and lie about her boss.
They would go just so far
and then back off.
But they didn't do that.
[Hugh Hefner]
The prosecution was asking
for the maximum sentence:
15 years in prison.
I'm here to represent
my client, Bobbie Arnstein.
She traveled from Chicago
down to Florida with Mr. Scharf,
but we believe the evidence
will show that Miss Arnstein
had no knowledge
or participation
in any sale of drugs
while she was down in Florida
and that she should
be found not guilty.
[Hugh Hefner] The prosecution had gone so far as to tap Ron Scharf's phone
and presented transcripts
of his conversations
with Bobbie in court,
but none of the evidence
made it clear that Bobbie
was knowingly involved.
[Hugh]
How's it going?
How's Bobbie?
You know, it's a...
it's a trial.
It's tough for her.
But she's, um,
she's holding up pretty well.
Just let her know
I'm thinking about her.
Of course.
All right, bye.
[sighs]
On behalf of the government,
I would like to call
as a witness
George E. Matthews
to the stand.
I laid out some coke
on the coffee table.
Scharf and I tested it,
and he asked to buy
a half pound of the coke,
which I sold to him
in a bag which I placed
on the coffee table.
Was anyone else
present at this meeting?
Yes.
Bobbie Arnstein.
Did they leave with
the half a pound of cocaine
you had left on the bed?
Yes.
Was Mr. Scharf carrying
the half a pound of cocaine?
Bobbie Arnstein placed
the half pound of cocaine
in her handbag
and carried it out.
Thank you,
Mr. Matthews.
No further questions.
All right, Mr. Matthews.
Now, you have before you
the statement
you made previously.
Now, in this statement
you made,
is there anything
said by you
stating Miss Arnstein's
presence
when Scharf asked to buy
a half a pound of cocaine?
Not in what
I have here, no.
Is there any statement
made by you that Miss Arnstein
put the cocaine in her bag?
[stammering]
No.
-Or carried the bag out?
-No.
Subsequent to giving
these statements,
did you have
any conversations
with any government agent
about this case?
I had a couple telephone
conversations, yes.
What was the result
of these conversations?
I... agreed to cooperate
with the government fully.
Do you have an understanding
as to anything that you were
to receive in return
for this cooperation?
Yes.
Would you tell the court
and jury, please,
what your understanding
was?
Uh, a recommendation
that I be sentenced
to no more than five years.
I have no further
questions.
[Hugh Hefner]
Bobbie's lawyers
had done all they could
to prove her innocence.
Now, her fate
was up to the jury.
Richard Rosenzweig:
From a justice point of view,
we felt
there was no question
that she would be
found innocent.
But with the threats
that she was getting
from the U.S. attorney
and the DEA,
one wasn't completely sure
what the outcome might be.
[judge]
Will the defendants
please rise?
On the charge of conspiracy
to distribute a narcotic drug,
the court finds
the defendants...
guilty.
The defendant,
Bobbie Arnstein,
is committed to the custody
of the attorney general
or his authorized
representative.
[Hugh Hefner] The judge issued a preliminary sentence of the full 15 years.
Bobbie's boyfriend,
Ron Scharf,
only got a six-year sentence.
Court is adjourned.
[Hugh Hefner]
When they convicted her,
it was unreal.
I knew she was innocent.
They knew
she was innocent.
They let major
drug dealers walk away,
use them to convict her,
all in an attempt
to somehow
put enough pressure
on this girl
so that she would invent
some story about me.
I don't think you ought
to give any statement at all.
Well, I think it's absurd.
I don't think you ought
to give any statement.
My lawyers suggest that
I not give any statements.
It's not
my personal feeling.
Okay, thank you.
You're welcome, sorry.
[phone ringing]
[ringing continues]
[♪ "Scarborough Fair"]
[phone ringing]
Hello?
Ms. Arnstein,
executive assistant
to Playboypublisher
Hugh Hefner,
died of an overdose Monday.
No bottles
containing prescriptions
were found in the hotel room
where she took her life.
Van Gordon Sauter
has a profile on the woman
who died in a second-rate hotel.
She was not doing what they
were saying she was doing.
She was not carrying drugs,
she was not dealing.
She was just too tired
to keep fighting.
[reporter]
... enmeshed by a boyfriend
in a drug raid
and an aggressive
government investigation,
the fragile entity that
was Bobbie Arnstein broke.
Perhaps there is just
no more room in this world
for such fragile people.
[Christie Hefner]
Bobbie's suicide was devastating
for everybody who knew her,
perhaps as much
as anything because
it was completely unnecessary
and was really
caused by the government
pressuring her to give them
Hugh Hefner as a drug dealer.
Rather than do anything
to hurt my father,
she didn't see any way out
but to take her own life
when faced with the threat
of significant prison time.
I think just the tragedy of
that, was just heartbreaking.
[reporter]
The funeral service,
from which cameras were barred,
took nine minutes,
the relatives
and old family friends
pulling up to the funeral home
on Devon in five limousines,
with a grim-looking
Hugh Hefner in the center.
Bobbie Arnstein
had been swallowed up
by all this in her life.
It was happening
once again in her death.
[Hugh Hefner]
When Bobbie was laid to rest,
her mother gave me the honor
of serving as a pallbearer.
[reporter]
The seven pallbearers,
including Hefner,
carried the steel coffin
from the funeral home
and put it into a hearse.
They all said goodbye
to Bobbie Arnstein today,
all the worlds
in which she had lived.
[Hugh Hefner]
Throughout the entire
investigation,
I followed my counsel's
advice and never said a word.
Now I regretted that silence.
Every time
I've allowed somebody
to make me not
talk to the press,
I've paid heavily for it.
In this case, we all
paid heavily for it,
and Bobbie paid for it
with her life.
After she died, I said,
"I can't keep quiet anymore.
I'm gonna make
a press statement."
If I look a little harried,
I'm-- I'm quite upset.
Okay.
In the infamous witchcraft
trials of the middle ages,
the inquisitors
tortured the victims
until they not only
confessed to being witches,
but accused their own families
and friends of sorcery as well.
In similar fashion,
narcotics agents
frequently use
our severe drug laws
in an arbitrary
and capricious manner
to elicit the desired
testimony for a trial.
The pressure of a lengthy appeal
and increasing harassment
from government prosecutors
and their agents...
... an already
emotionally troubled woman...
was pushed beyond endurance,
and she killed herself.
I was at the press conference
in the Chicago mansion.
It was all true emotion.
Hefner had been harmed beyond
belief, from his point of view.
Nothing the government
could have done
could have
hurt him more.
She was one of the best,
brightest...
most worthwhile women...
[choking back tears]
I have ever known.
She will be missed.
[Hugh Hefner]
Bobbie had been with me
for nearly 14 years.
She'd kept things running,
whether it was
my personal life,
my business life,
or even the mansion itself.
She was one of the few people
strong enough
to keep me in check.
[Barbi Benton]
It was such a great
loss for Hef.
He was devastated.
It was the saddest
I'd ever seen him.
[Hugh Hefner]
What I think about
over and over again
is all the years
and the good times
and things
that she missed,
and... the good times
that would have
been better for us
if she'd been here.
[Hugh Hefner]
With Bobbie gone, things
would never be the same.
And everywhere I looked,
I only saw memories of her.
So I decided the time
had come to say goodbye,
not only to Bobbie,
but to my entire life
in Chicago.
[gentle piano music]