Victor Lownes
| Victor Lownes | |
|---|---|
| Born |
Victor Aubrey Lownes III April 17, 1928 Buffalo, New York, U.S. |
| Died | January 11, 2017 (aged 88) London, England |
| Nationality | American |
| Education | New Mexico Military Institute |
| Alma mater | University of Chicago |
| Organization | Playboy Enterprises (originally known as HMH Publishing) |
| Known for | Executive for Playboy Enterprises and creator of the Playboy Clubs with Hugh Hefner |
| Spouse(s) | Judith Downs Marilyn Cole |
| Children | Victor Aubrey Lownes IV Meredith Lownes |
Victor Aubrey Lownes III (April 17, 1928 – January 11, 2017) was an executive for HMH Publishing Company Inc., later known as Playboy Enterprises, from 1955 through the early 1980s. Soon after he met Hugh Hefner in 1954, Hefner started Playboy magazine, and Lownes eventually joined his publishing company, serving in various capacities as vice president. Lownes was a close confidant of Hefner and gained a reputation for dating Playboy Playmates.
Lownes headed Playboy Europe and the UK Playboy Clubs from the mid-1960s until his dismissal in the early 1980s. Lownes oversaw Playboy Enterprises's move into casino gambling in the UK in the 1960s, which became Playboy's most successful business other than its publishing until the advent of cable television. He oversaw the most successful part of Hefner's attempt to diversify out of publishing and into motion pictures, hotels and casino gambling. During his time as head of Playboy Europe, he was Britain's highest paid executive, drawing a large salary and eventually becoming Playboy Enterprises's second biggest shareholder. Lownes is credited with creating Playboy Clubs in the United States.
Victor Aubrey Lownes III was born on April 17, 1928 in Buffalo, New York, the elder son of Victor Aubrey Lownes Jr. and Winifred (née Mark) Lownes, a wealthy couple with ties to the Yale time lock fortune in Buffalo.
At the age of 12, his father gave him a cigar to smoke as aversion therapy. At the same age, he also accidentally shot and killed his best friend, which resulted in his forced enrollment at the New Mexico Military Institute in Roswell. While there, he met Nicky Hilton, Conrad Hilton's son, who became a friend. After the Institute, he went on to the University of Chicago, where he obtained his undergraduate and MBA degrees and met his first wife. In 1946, at the age of 18, Lownes wed Judith Downs, and had two children; Victor "Val" Aubrey Lownes IV and Meredith Lownes.
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