tv Piers Morgan Tonight CNN June 18, 2011 9:00pm-10:00pm PDT
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>> reporter: julian assange, the self-appointed champion of free speech, has dared to reveal the secrets of both dictators and democracies. he dropped a nuclear warhead of information on the world stage. the final chapter of the wikileaks saga has yet to be written. its fate is inextricably linked to the man at the center of the radioactive storm, but for now, julian assange's war against julian assange's war against secrecy wages on. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com there's not a man alive who hasn't wished he could be hugh
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hefner for just a single day. >> a lot of people think they know everything about me, but they don't. >> i think age is just a number but the more numbers, the better. >> hugh hefner may not be slowing down but he's definitely settling down for the third time, and he says the last time, marrying his 24-year-old girlfriend, crystal harris. >> it's just a very good time to be alive. >> tonight, hugh hefner on his life behind closed doors at the playboy mansion. this is "piers morgan tonight." >> i want to welcome my special guest of this evening, hugh hefner. hugh, could i call you hugh? hef? what do you like to be called? >> hef. >> hef. what do you make of what's going on in the world right now? you've been through so many things, the cold war, the vietnam war, the end of the russian revolution. what do you make of what we're seeing now? >> very exciting. and i think quite unexpected. i think it is a modern and very different kind of revolution in
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which twittering seems to play a major role which is -- >> you tweet, of course. >> i do. when i was in high school i was a jitter bug. now i'm a twitter bug. >> but it's fascinating to see so many of these young people in the middle east taking on these old dictators and bringing them down through shear force of we want change. isn't it? >> well, it is the purest form of democracy. in other words, to be able to be heard everywhere around the world is wonderful. very exciting times. >> you've always campaigned for equality and freedom. you always stood for those kind of things. liberation in many ways. do you see sort of a real sea change going on here? do you think that it is the end of these old kind of dictatorial ruling families around the world who are fleecing their own people? >> i think it will be -- i don't think there is a simple answer to that. it depends on the individual country and, you know, some
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dictators will go willingly and some there will be violence and bloodshed. but the exciting part is that people are being heard for the first time. >> what do you make of the state of america right now? obviously we've been through a terrible recession. i'm sure your business has been hit by that. what's the answer for america, do you think? >> i think we need to get back to fundamentals in terms of both conceptually and economically. i think we need to get -- remember where we were to begin with and get back to basics. >> what other fundamentals do you think of america incorporated? if you were running it like a business, what's back to basics? >> one of the things i would be thinking about, i mean what's happened of course is we've outsourced half of our businesses. and national boundaries don't have a lot of meaning anymore. we live in one very small global village, and we need to learn to
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live in that context and i think we need to -- we need some learning. i mean i think america has been the dominant force in the world for a very long time and squandered some of that opportunity. >> i had donald trump on the show recently. i'm sure you know. he was very scathing about china, saying the enemy, the america should have nothing to do with them, we should put restrictive trade stuff on them and so on. what do you think? >> there's no future in that. i think -- again, get back to the fact that i do think we live on one very small planet and, you know, i also think that the changes lead us increasingly towards globally towards democracy and freedom and that's the exciting part. >> which is obviously what america's always stood for. but china in particular seems to be, you can make an enemy of them but you're not going to win that war. i mean, china's economy is
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expanding so fast that so will their military. they ought to be, i would argue, more of a friend to america. in america's interest. >> americans traditionally were. when i was growing up during world war ii, i served during world war ii, the japanese were the enemy and china was our friend. making the distinction between china and japan was very important back then. well, again, you get back to the same basics which is we live on one small planet. most of our interests as people are essentially the same. we need to look for those common connections. >> "playboy" sells all around the world. doesn't it? >> yes. >> do you have any sales in places like china at the moment or not? >> we are one of the most famous brands in china. >> really? >> on the mainland of china, where the magazine is not yet permitted, we are one of the most famous menswear brands. there are over 200 playboy stores. >> you sell the merchandise but you can't sell the magazine. >> that's correct. at the same time we just opened a casino, playboy club casino in macao. >> really? >> yes.
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>> when i was in shanghai recently, i found that the barriers are coming down there. it's becoming much more liberal as young people throughout the internet have found out what's available in the rest of the world. they want some of this. it can't be long before "playboy's" allowed to be on sale. >> yes. that's what you get with democracy. when russia came apart, when the soviet union came apart, the first american magazine that all of the iron curtain countries wanted was "playboy." and it wasn't just the pretty ladies. it was the stuff. the cars, the wheels, the fashions, you know, the lifestyle. >> your original concept was always lifestyle. not just the sex. >> exactly. >> and you put the two together and you have the ultimate businessman's magazine. which countries do you think etllnto th "playb"? >> i don't know. but i suppose some of the muslims will be the last, i suppose. but i think because of the open
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communication around the world now, desires and yearnings are the same everywhere. so i think that repression will give way in time. >> we've got 10% jobless in america right now. how do you get america back to work? what's the fast way that obama can try and solve this? >> you're asking the wrong guy in terms of that. i think that -- i do think -- that i think -- and, you know, i've been a big fan initially of obama, but i think he missed the point in the very beginning because jobs is what it is really about. in other words, other considerations, health care and the rest of it are all very worthwhile, but we need to put people back to work. in other words, we need to get the economy working. >> do you think america needs to go back and build things again? do you think it's forgotten what it did so magnificently 40, 50 years ago? >> well, not only do we need to put people to work, we need to
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become more sophisticated in terms of technology. we need to take a look at what happened to our educational system. if you line us up against other foreign countries in terms of education, et cetera, we are not the greatest anymore. we pride ourselves in being the greatest, but, you know, we've lost track of things. >> take a short break. when i come back, i'm going to bring a young lady on to the set who has apparently tamed the hef. [ male announcer ] this is james.
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we have a whole zoo. here we are at the tennis courts. i don't think i've ever played tennis here. but we've taken the net down and had a roller disco party here. the tennis court also hosts the casting calls for "playboy" in l.a. we set up tents and have all the girls come here and it is also the place for the haunted house at the halloween party. so i saved the best for last. the game house is hef and i's favorite hangout spot. let's go check it out. we have a lot of classic pinball machines which are a lot of fun. the most recent playboy one. hef's better at it than i am after we got engaged we came in here and celebrated and hung out and played games together. there you have it, the game house. thank you for checking it out and going on the tour with me. >> that was hugh hefner's fiance, the lovely crystal harris giving us a tour of the playboy mansion earlier today. crystal joins us right now.
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>> hi. >> how excited do you sound in that video? >> it was fun to give you a tour of the mansion. >> so, look, i totally get why you want to marry hef. hef, what do you possibly see in crystal? i mean, seriously. >> yes, indeed. i saved the best for last. >> can i see the ring? >> here's the ring. >> good grief. that's a rock. that's not a ring. >> it's pretty big. you could have had any woman in the world. you have had most of them. so how did you narrow it down to crystal? >> well, i just literally, you know, it's fate obviously. i mean, you know, i certainly didn't see it coming. i was not planning on -- you know, to some extent it was woody allen who said in one of his movies, marriage is the death of hope. and i had not had a lot of luck in my first couple of marriages but, you know, i found myself in a relationship. we've been together for about
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2 1/2 years now where i just couldn't imagine spending the rest of my years with anyone else. and it just doesn't get better than this. i mean, we laugh a lot and that's what it's all about. >> oh, yeah. >> i think you've got a scoop for me, haven't you? reveal the date of the wedding. >> the date of the wedding -- can i tell them? >> sure. >> it is june 18th. >> june the 18th. >> this year, saturday. we'll be there obviously. >> we're excited. >> a huge cnn breaking news event. >> of course. you're invited. >> a june bride. >> a june bride. >> my brother will be my best man. the groomsmen will be my two youngest sons. marston and cooper. >> it's going to be a lot of fun. we've done -- >> the bridesmaids. >> the bridesmaids are my best friend -- anna is my maid of honor and my two sisters are going to be my bridesmaids. >> is it going to be a big glitzy hollywood affair? >> it will be at the mansion but it is going to be more intimate. >> it will be fun. he got married once in the front
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yard so i asked if me could do it in the backyard. it's really pretty. >> in front of the waterfall. very romantic. >> waterfall, koi pond. >> how did you propose, hef? >> well, it was on christmas eve. we were opening presents and i hid the ring inside a little box of her favorite princess, disney princess is ariel, the mermaid. >> yeah, i love that. >> i had a little ariel box and hidden in it was the ring. >> he handed it to me. and i was winding it up and i was like, what's going on. i knew it was a little music box. i opened it. it started twirling and the ring was inside -- i was -- i mean i knew. he just said, i hope it fits. and it didn't. it was too big. >> let me just play the opposite end of this happy union here. there will be people watching this saying, crystal, come on, what are you doing marrying a guy in his 80s? what's the magic of hugh hefner?
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>> i love hef. he's the nicest person i've ever met in my entire life. i have so much fun with him, and it's hard for me to keep up with him. i mean for my birthday i wanted to go bowling, and for his birthday he wanted to go to two different night clubs at the palms in las vegas. so it is fun. we laugh. we have so much fun together. it's the best. >> you really don't know -- i've said it more than once before. age really is just a number. you really don't know how long you've got. how long does the average marriage last? >> i think groucho marx said you're only as old as the woman you feel. >> i didn't say that. those are the lines they lay on me. >> is that true, hef? you feel these young ladies keep you feeling young? >> i do think -- yes, i think without question a relationship with a younger does keep you alive, yes, certainly. >> i mean, no offense to you, but fidelity has never been your strong point. when you say your vows to crystal, are you actually going to mean them?
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>> oh, yes. >> can you imagine being faithful to her? >> i was married -- my last marriage, which was not successful, i was faithful to her. >> so you actually are going to be genuinely faithful to crystal? >> yes, absolutely. >> really? >> without question. >> so what happens to all of the other women in the mansion? >> they still come around. every weekend. everyone's there. >> they're not allowed anymore to partake -- >> they're not allowed upstairs. >> so that's it. >> unless she invites them. >> you've hung up your sword, for want of a better phrase. >> well, i mean, you never know. >> that's what i mean. crystal, do you trust him? >> oh, yeah, i trust him. we have fun. >> oh, yes. >> but do you honestly believe hef will not have sex with any other woman ever again other than you? >> i don't know what to say. i'm like what -- we don't have a traditional anything so it's -- >> i will never do anything behind her back. let me put it that way. >> so as long as she goes along with it, it's fine. >> yes.
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>> see, there will be people watching this again going, hef, look at you going, you jammie, jammie man. how have you -- >> i'm like what's jammie? >> jammie is a quaint old british phrase for how did you get so lucky seriously. you're rich, you've got your health, you've got crystal. >> we have fun, i mean, i'm lucky too. >> do you feel lucky? >> if life is a crapshoot, i've been shooting sevens forever. no, from my own perspective, i'm a guy who dreamed impossible dreams and made them come true. you know, from my own perspective, i'm the luckiest cat on the planet. >> we were talking before you came out, crystal, obviously about quite serious things. >> yeah. >> do you talk about politics much with hef? >> no, no, we don't talking about politics. just the fun stuff. i mean, we have cnn playing all the time at our house and, you know -- >> do you watch that? >> yeah, we watch. we've been watching your show. >> you have? >> yeah. >> how am i doing? >> good!
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pretty good! >> or we wouldn't be here. we don't go on losers. >> hef, you look in great shape. i know you're a little bit deaf in one ear. what other sort of war wounds do you have? >> well, i have a lower back problem which i got in the war. i got it back in the early '80s with one too many playmates in bed. >> i thought that was just like a story you told me. >> i didn't know it was the truth. >> it's a true story. >> we're going to take a quick break. when we come back i want to talk to you about how the whole "playboy" thing started because that's fascinating. but when she got asthma, all i could do was worry ! specialists, lots of doctors, lots of advice... and my hands were full. i couldn't sort through it all. with unitedhealthcare, it's different. we have access to great specialists, and our pediatrician gets all the information. everyone works as a team.
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caylee after drugging her. the pathologist said that the duct tape may have been used to keep the jaw together as the decomposing body was moved. testimony will resume monday. inmates in italy testified today that the american amanda knox wasn't involved in the killing of her house matt. one testified that his own brother was the real killer. a second inmate said that another suspect in the case was responsible for her death. knox is serving a 26-year sentence for the killing but insists she is innocent. her hearing will continue june 27th. sad news to report that clarence clemons, the saxophonist for the e-street band of bruce springsteen has died. he suffered a stroke a few days ago and died saturday of complications. those are the headlines this hour. i'm don lemon, keeping you
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informed. cnn, the most trusted name in news. >> i wouldn't have started "playboy" if i was afraid of controversy. i think that controversy is the way you change things. i want to live in a society which people can voice unpopular opinions. >> there are probably a lot of people today out there enjoying freedoms who have no idea that hugh hefner was the pioneer. >> that was a clip from are from the documentary "hugh hefner, playboy, about vis activist and rebel." jorge barahona nominated for a naacp award. when you look at the young hef, do you wish you were with him at that age? >> i think he looks great at all ages. yeah. >> what do you think when you see yourself back in those firebrand days? >> i wish that we had met
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earlier. >> when i see those i see his sons in him, the younger hef. >> someone wrote about you once that you'd slept with thousands of women but that you unbelievably managed to never fall out with any of them. is that true? >> essentially, yes. it's something i've tried to make a point of. i think there's something very sad if one winds up at odds with a former wife or a love because i think you give up a part of yourself. >> do you always try and stay friends with them all? >> yes. >> what about your recent exes obviously we all know about. have they all taken news of the engagement well or has it been a little bit of tension? >> some have been kind and some not quite so kind. >> who's taken it the worst, crystal, would you say? >> i don't know. whoever doesn't approve or doesn't take it well, i just ignore them. >> the shannon girls? are they -- >> they're so happy. the shannon twins are so happy for us. >> holly? holly okay about that? >> i think holly has mixed emotions. >> because she's probably hoped to be mrs. hefner herself. >> well, i don't want to put
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words in her mouth. i think that -- the reality -- and some fans, because they keep rerunning "the girls next door" show from five or six years ago where, you know, crystal was my girlfriend. they feel that's current events. >> where holly was, you mean. >> yes. >> holly was. it's quite confusing. you were with somebody else. >> i said in one of my tweets, you can't confuse reality with reality tv. i mean they're not the same thing. >> do you keep score of how many women you've managed to seduce? >> i stopped doing that a long time ago. >> at what point did you stop? what was the tally when you stopped? >> i don't know what the number was. there's something more important in relationships than quantity. >> is there? is there anything more important to your life than sex? >> oh, yes, absolutely. sure. >> like what? >> well, i think that love, friendship -- >> everything.
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yeah. it's not as important. >> sure. >> i've heard you talking about -- >> it's easy, it's like saying is money important, only if you don't have any. if i wasn't having a good sex life i would probably put that at the top of the list. >> how much -- don't mean to be personal, but how much is your ability to continue having a good sex life down to the wonder drug viagra? >> well, i wouldn't want to try it without it, you know. that's what it's there for. it breaks down the -- it eliminates the problem in terms of age. >> is he -- i guess women imagine that hugh hefner must be one of the great lovers of all time. >> i love hef. we have the best time together no matter what we're doing. we love just putting on our pjs and curling up and watching murder mysteries and fun stuff. we watch "the bachelor." we watch all kinds of stuff. we just have fun. >> that's just it. what do you guys talk about? >> everything. >> what do you talk about? >> well, almost everything. >> i ask -- i want to know
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everything about hef. i ask him all these questions. i ask him everything. i'm not a jealous person. i want to know like did you know marilyn monroe, did you sleep with her, did you do this -- >> that's a damn good question. >> if it's no, did you want to? >> that's great. you should be doing my job. let me try this. >> two against one here. >> did you know marilyn monroe? >> she was actually in my brother's acting class in new york. but the reality is that i never met her. i talked to her once on the phone but i never met her. she was gone, sadly, before i came out here. >> yeah. >> she was remarkable. dennis hopper was in that class, too, wasn't he? >> yes. >> must have been with your brother. i had the same conversation with him. >> jane fonda, some famous people in that class. >> what's a classic hefner day like? for you two when you get married, what will be a classic normal day? >> it's fairly well structured. the daytime begins late morning and then i take care of
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inventory. i'm still very much involved -- >> he works monday through friday in the office. >> and do interviews, et cetera. during the day. >> how much of the "playboy" brand do you think is down to you personally? >> well, i certainly didn't do it alone but it is certainly a very personal brand. i mean the whole notion of "playboy," you know, came from my own dreams in my childhood, adolescent dreams. and i do think that it was not a coincidence that when my last marriage ended and i came back out, discovered a whole new generation was waiting for me to come out and play, the brand got hot again. it was the brand in the last 10, 12 year, right now on -- even though we're going through economic problems in terms of publishing, et cetera, the brand is hotter now than ever. >> your early life is quite puritanical. you didn't lose your virginity until you were in your 20s. >> my parents were nebraska farm people.
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they gave me good ideals but they were also very repressed. >> what would they have made of the empire you've built? >> well, they were around long enough to see what it was like. my dad actually came to work for me. he was a public accountant. he came to work for me as my treasurer. my mother, when i was starting the magazine, starting it actually in 1952 with nothing, i went to anybody to -- a dollar here, dollar there, and she gave me $1,000. >> to get it all going. >> she got it all back many, many, many times over. we'll take another break. when we come back i want to talk about what you did with that money because you turned "playboy" into a sensation. ♪
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♪ the guests there and the performers were of every race. there was no particular concern in terms of racial taboos, because there were no concerns of racial taboos in my life. it is very difficult for people to remember what it was like back then. the racial bigotry, the separation that existed. ♪ i'm going to let it shine >> that was another clip from hugh hefner "playboy" activist and rebel nominated for an naacp
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image award. i'm back with hugh hefner's fiance, crystal harris. "playboy" was a real trailblazer at the time, wasn't it? not in terms of the race aspect we just saw but you brought everybody in together. but in terms of the sexual liberation it represented, you were doing stuff that people just didn't dare to do at the time. >> well, in terms of the show, the concept of it, it was a party in my apartment. so black and white didn't make any difference as far as i was concerned, and that was back then revolutionary. we got no distribution. it was a syndicated show. we got no distribution in the south, and i knew that. >> what was the premise of "playboy"? what was your real intent? what did you want to achieve with the brand? >> i wanted to create a lifestyle magazine for -- most men's magazines after world war ii were outdoor adventure magazines. i was not interested in hunting and fishing, et cetera. i liked the more urban life. so i wanted the life -- create a
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magazine that created a sense of a bachelor's existence with some style, and in that time frame that was very revolutionary. you have to remember in 1952, 1953, it was a very conservative decade. >> you were pushing the envelope, weren't you, you were quite risque. >> sure was. >> still am. he still is, right? >> yes. marching to my own drummer. >> he's always been a bit of a naughty boy. hasn't he? >> yes. >> don't you think, crystal? >> yeah. he took the girls and i to see the justin bieber movie on valentine's day. >> really? see? i don't know why but that slightly freaks me out. i mean you're sitting there watching a justin bieber movie. >> because we wanted to go see it. >> that's right. >> then he wrote a tweet bit. >> i tweeted afterwards. i said, take a girl to a justin bieber movie, and she will never say, "never."
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>> that is the title >> i got 300 tweets to respond to that. >> do you think there are any 84-year-old men anywhere else in the world that take their young fiancee to a justin bieber movie and then tweet about it? there can't be. you're one off. >> today we got news that justin and his father want to come to the mansion. >> what? bieber wants to go to the "playboy" mansion. >> we all have bieber fever. all the playmates. we all want to meet him. >> i'm fearing for his life. what's going to happen to him? >> he'll do all right. >> i have to hold my hands up. i went to your midsummer night's dream party three years ago. quite extraordinary. i was nearly arrested for trying to go in wearing too many clothes. i had to quick go out and take clothes off. i walked in, and i already told david hasselhoff on "america's got talent" i was going to this thing. he said, man, it's crazy, you'll love it. i said i'm taking my fiancee, who's now my wife. he said you're doing what? you do not take sand to the beach.
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i realized what he meant. i walked through the doors and there were 800 to 1,000 people, most of whom were young ladies with very little clothing on, if at all. everyone was eating lobster, drinking champagne. you were in this weird tent in the middle of the whole thing presiding over about 35 women. this is like a modern day version of "caligula's rome." this is like an orgy in front of me. is that the idea? >> it's beautiful. >> is that the point of these parties? >> i thank that's it. >> i don't know if it's literally an orgy. it's free. inhibitions are gone. ill p low -- pillows everywhere. everything. >> is it as orgy like as it used to be? can people have sex in grottos? >> i've walked into a couple of people in the game house. not mentioning any names. >> they're not playing pinball. shocking. >> a few people could sneak away if they want to. there's rooms. there's the grotto. there's everything. >> is this going to be a healthy place for justin bieber?
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>> he's going to bring his father. watch out for the father, i guess. >> the "playboy" brand still has this wonderfully kind of sexy, naughty mystique to it, doesn't it? despite all the competitors being thrown your way, whether you like what you do or not, and i've always found it in great fun, there's no doubt you can't dispute the fact you've got here through shear hard work and a real concept of what your brand is. that's what i've always felt with "playboy." it's all about you. you lead the life. you are marrying this beautiful young girl. you do go to bieber movies. >> we do it all. >> somebody's got to do it. >> do you want to grow up? >> i think that's the key. when people say they want to be me when they grow up, i say the key to that is don't grow up. >> yeah. i don't want to grow up, either. >> i mean in a very positive way. i just think that there aren't too many rules and restrictions. and at the same time, from my perspective, i have lived continually a very moral life.
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>> of course, you have. >> of course, i have. >> you said that with a straight face. after the break we're going to bring out somebody who can perhaps testify to this, which is your son. >> it would be a pleasure. [ male announcer ] this is charlie whose morning flight to london starts with arthritis pain... and a choice. take tylenol now, and maybe up to 8 in a day. or...choose aleve and 2 pills for a day free of pain. enjoy the flight.
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i'm don lemon live in new york. here are your headlines this hour. a defense witness in the trial of casey anthony said that someone put duct tape on her daughter caylee after her body had decomposed which is a key counter point since the prosecution says casey anthony used duct tape after she suffocated her, but the prosecution says that the duct tape may have been used to keep the body together after decomposing started. testimony resumes monday in court. and inmates say that amanda knox is innocent, but they differ on the description of the killer. one said that his own brother was the killer, but there are issues of credibility. and insists she is innocent, and her appeals process will continue on june 27th. some sad news to report to
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you from the music world. clarence clemons of the bruce springsteen e street band. this is clemons performing in "born to run" video. he had suffered a stroke, and died saturday of complications. i'm don lemon, keeping you in informed. cnn, the most trusted name in news. i'm back now with hugh hefner and his fiancee crystal harris. we've been joined by hef's son, cooper hefner. cooper, how are you? >> very good. >> let's just cut to the quick here. you are 19. >> yes. >> crystal, you are 24. so your stepmom -- >> i knew you were going to ask this. >> me, too. >> -- is going to be five years older than you. how do you feel about that? >> i mean, it is what it is. i like crystal a lot. i'm used to it.
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i've grown up with dad dating younger women. so it's not out of the ordinary. >> we don't think of it like that, either. we just have fun. >> yeah. >> but it is a bit weird, isn't it? >> not really. i mean, it's not weird because it's normality. i mean, i've never known anything different. >> normality -- >> for me. >> for the playboy mansion. >> where anything goes. >> yeah. >> what's it like being hugh hefner's son? >> i knew you were going to ask that, too. >> am i that predictable? >> it's -- i mean, again, i don't have anything else to base it off of. so it's -- i mean, i guess it is a little surreal when you compare it to other people's lives. but i mean, he's just dad to me. >> all the pictures -- >> what kind of dad is he? >> he's a good dad. he's very good. he's supportive. i look up to him. he's incredible. >> when you bring girlfriends back, do you get a bit worried when the old man wants to -- >> no! no. i don't think so. no. he's not -- no. >> well, he is really. he's a naughty boy. >> no, not that naughty.
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>> yeah, not that naughty. >> hef, what kind of son is cooper? can't be easy being your son. how has he dealt with the pressures do you think of so many kids of famous people deal with it badly. how has he done? >> he's a fantastic son. >> he is great. he's going to college. he's a filmmaker. he's awesome. i love him. >> got his own band. >> you must be very popular with your band mates. >> yeah. i would say so. >> when a party comes around, it's like lads, good news, i've got some tickets. >> that's right. that's right. >> you get used to it. >> to tell you the truth, everybody who i consider a close friend, i've grown up with. you know, i mean i'm very selective about who my friends are just because of my last name. i think that i have incredible friends. >> let me try and get an honest answer out of you. it must have been sometimes embarrassing to be a hefner. when you were a young lad, young teenager maybe? >> yeah.
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i mean, i think that it's done a full circle in a lot of ways. you know, when i was growing up, i used to lie about who i was, not because i was embarrassed of what my dad did but just because i didn't want the attention. and the older i've gotten, i think the more i've learned about the company and the more i've spoken to -- spent more time with my dad. there's nothing to be -- i mean, i look up to him. there's nothing to be ashamed of. i don't -- i really don't -- i'm not embarrassed. >> it can't get better than this. >> can you imagine going into the business? >> absolutely. >> do you think you will? >> definitely. we've talked about it, and i definitely would love to be involved when i'm older. >> what do you make of his choice of bride? obviously he's had a lot to choose from. >> again, i like crystal very much, and she's nice to me. she's nice to him. i mean, what else do you ask for besides wanting your parents to
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be happy? >> we have fun. we go on trips together. we all just went to chicago to see the house hef grew up in, and we just have so much fun. we've bond -- i hang out with sam all the time, cooper's girlfriend, and she's one of my closest friends so -- >> crystal and her are close friends. >> i couldn't imagine you calling her mom. >> i won't be calling her mother. >> i won't be calling him stepson or anything. >> well, you base your relationship on a friendship, you know. there is nothing -- >> we are friends. >> yeah. >> what is life like in the mansion for you? >> well, i have a girlfriend. so, so. so, i'm very happy. life at the mansion -- i don't know. it's good. >> you can sum it up in one word, what would it be? >> it's good. >> that is two words. >> good. >> we will have a short break, and heff, the next question i
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want to ask you, who is your perfect pin-up other than crystal, obviously. >> well, it all began with marilyn monroe, obviously. ♪ [ male announcer ] thanks to advanced natural gas turbine technology from ge, the power that will help make our nation more energy independent is right here in america. [ crickets chirping ] ♪ [ cheers and applause ] advanced gas turbine technology from ge. ♪ advanced gas turbine technology from ge. membership rewards points from american express.
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>> this is probably the most recognizable iconic symbol in the world. you know, there's a lot of great symbols out there and a lot of signs and a lot of structures and buildings that are historic, but i think the hollywood sign is recognized by everyone around the world. there's no two ways about it. we want to say thank you to steven spielberg, to tom hanks and hugh hefner and other people who put money in this in order to protect the land. >> that was former california governor arnold schwarzenegger thanking you to help save the iconic hollywood sign from developers. i'm back here with hef.
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that was a great moment, wasn't it? there's the california governor thanking you for saving as he said the most famous sign in the world. >> yes. >> why was it important to you, the hollywood sign? >> i grew up very much influenced by the movies. i escaped into that fantasy world when i was a kid. and i think the sign is more than a sign. it is an iconic representation of dreams. so when the sign was falling apart in the 1970s, i put together a party and raised money to save the sign interview then we came back again in the recent past to save the land around the sign. >> you're in your mid-80s and your mother lived to be 101. so there's clearly a lot of life potential in the old goat yet. is that how you see it? how old would you like to live. >> there's a song sinatra did, if you could survive till 105, think what you could derive. 105 plus.
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>> do you ever think about death? do you worry about dying? >> no, i don't think about being alive. >> and it's good to be alive if you're hugh hefner, life is pretty good right now? >> never been better. >> of all of the pinups that you've ever had in the history of "playboy," what's been your personal favorite? >> well, it all began with marilyn monroe. >> piers: i think we've got that one actually. there it is. that's such an iconic image. >> iconic. >> piers: would that be your favorite? >> it would have to be circumstance do you think she was the greatest pinup of them all? >> i think she's the major sex star of the 20th century. without marilyn, i wouldn't be here. >> piers: and you bought that picture for $500. >> uh-huh. >> piers: and it became a business that's worth -- what are you worth now? >> stopped counting awhile back. >> piers: can i guess? >> i don't know. >> piers: north of $100 million? >> yes, yes, the company's worth you know, two or three or four hundred.
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>> piers: the business has definitely been hit by changing times. it's not what it used to be. and the sales obviously it was 7 million and now 1.5 million, and still healthy sales for a magazine, but how you do you see the threat from the internet and your kind of territory? has it been ruinous in the terms of long-term business plan, or have you been able to adapt? >> well, it has to do with adapting. the realty is is playboy supplied the torch for the beginning of the 1e678ule revolution. with the arrival, playboy was less unique. i think the reason we survived and prevailed is because we've always been more than just a sex magazine. it's a lifestyle magazine and done with class. i think increasingly now, our future will involve the internet, the electronic technology, and the brand. i think it's the brand and the definition of the way you live your life that what playboy will
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be all about. >> piers: do you get offended if people call you sleazy? do you dislike that, or do you understand why some people would find this kind of thing -- >> because i think that playboy and my life are a rorschach test. they project their own dreams and fantasies and prejudices on my life, and it says as much about them as it does about me. that is the world we live in. america remains essentially a very puritan people. >> how would you like to be remembered? >> what would your epitaph say? >> somebody who had a positive impact on changing the sexual values from his time. pretty secure in that. >> piers: how do you think he'll be remembered. >> the same. he's an icon. he changed the world and he keeps continuing to change the world. >> piers: coop, what do you think of the old man when you have to assess him as a cultural figure in america, how do you think he'll rate? >> i think that he's done incredible things. and i mean, things that people dream of doingnd
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