LFP From A to Z: 40 Years of Hustler Landmarks

Hustler first hit the presses 40 years ago this month, the first building block in the empire known as Larry Flynt Productions. In the July 2014 issue of AVN, Tom Hymes interviewed them man behind the brand (click here to read what Larry Flynt has to say) and we took an A-to-Z look at the highlights of the Hustler story. Amateurs. One of Larry Flynt Productions’ enduring contributions to porn was Beaver Hunt, a feature in Hustler showcasing nude photos of amateurs that became a stand-alone magazine in 1974. Though longer in print, the search goes on at BeaverHunt.com. Bars & Clubs. In early 1965, Flynt bought his mother’s bar in Dayton, Ohio. He was soon making $1,000 a week and used the profits to buy two other bars. In 1968, Flynt opened his first Hustler Club in Dayton and built a chain of clubs in Ohio. By the early 1970s, he had eight clubs before he switched to publishing, Then, in the early 2000s, LFP began to license the Hustler Club name. There are Hustler Clubs in several states—California, Illinois, Louisiana, Maryland, Missouri, New York, Nevada, Ohio, Michigan—as well as three foreign countries: France, the United Kingdom and Australia. Cams. In late 2010, Hustler announced the launch of HustlerCams.com, offering live shows. Distribution. Flynt created Larry Flynt Publications in 1976, a privately held company that published magazines and also controlled distribution. After 1986, LFP also distributed mainstream titles. In 1996, LFP sold the distribution business. Electoral Politics: In 2003, Flynt ran in California’s gubernatorial recall election, scoring seventh place—though it was hardly the only time he had attempted to influence politics (see below: “Quest for Liars”). Falwell, Flynt and Free Speech. Jerry Falwell sued Flynt over a 1983 cartoon, alleging libel and intentional infliction of emotional distress. The Supreme Court eventually ruled in Flynt’s favor, strengthening free speech rights in parodies of public figures. Gambling. In 2000, LPF opened Hustler Casino in Gardena, built on land that Flynt purchased in 1998 for $8 million. Headquarters. A fixture on the Los Angeles cityscape, Hustler’s headquarters in Beverly Hills was sold to Douglas Emmett Inc. for $89 million in May 2013. Flynt signed a lease to remain as the anchor tenant in the building, which also houses the Brazilian and Ecuadorian consulates. Into the Pink. The offshoot of a series of flyers Flynt used to promote his clubs, Hustler magazine debuted in 1974. It was the first wide-circulation girlie mag to “show the pink” on split beaver shots. Soon after, Flynt got out of the club business. Notable coincidence: People magazine started the same year. Jackie O! Though he didn’t invent celebrity nude photos and sex tapes, Flynt was nonetheless in on the game early. He paid $18,000 for nude pictures taken in 1971 of former First Lady Jackie Onassis sunbathing and published them in the August 1975 issue of Hustler. And at the 21st annual AVN Awards Show, Larry Flynt accepted the AVN Award for Top Selling Tape of 2003 for Snoop Dogg’s Hustlaz: Diary of a Pimp. Kentucky. Larry Claxton Flynt was born November 1, 1942, in Lakeville, a small town in the Appalachians. Flynt’s rags-to-porno-riches story is chronicled in his 1996 autobiography, An Unseemly Man: My Life as a Pornographer, Pundit, and Social Outcast, as well as in Larry Flynt: The Right to Be Left Alone, a 2008 documentary directed by Joan Brooker-Marks, and The People vs. Larry Flynt, a 1996 feature film by Milos Forman.Lingerie & Apparel. Hustler-branded merch is another major component of the LFP empire—take, for example, the attention gained when rap superstar Jay-Z was photographed wearing Hustler gear in issues of The Source, Rolling Stone and US Weekly. In 2008, Electric Eel became the licensee for Hustler Lingerie; the next year it gained exclusive, global rights to manufacture, market and distribute the brand. In September 2012, Electric Eel became the global licensee for Hustler Novelties as well. Said Elan Rofe, president of Electric Eel, “We have a long-term plan for success, and are confident that we will being many new and innovative ideas to the market.” Membership Sites. In 1995, the company launched Hustler.com. Currently, LFP Internet Group operates more than 60 adult sites, including Hustler.com, HustlerMagazine.com and HustlerHollywood.com—as well as the affiliate program HustlerCash.com. New Frontier. In 2012, LFP Broadcasting acquired Colorado-based New Frontier Media for approximately $33 million, beating out two other suitors: Longkloof Limited, headed by a disgruntled former New Frontier shareholder, and adult powerhouse Manwin. LFP President Michael H. Klein commented at the time, “The acquisition of New Frontier Media fits perfectly with our strategic plan for the growth of our company. The addition of these assets to our portfolio strengthens us significantly moving forward.” Obscenity & Ohio. Flynt was first prosecuted in 1976 on obscenity and organized crime charges in Cincinnati by Simon Leis, who headed a local anti-porn committee. Sentenced to seven to 25 years, he served only six days until the sentence was overturned on a technicality. One argument resulting from this case was reviewed by the Supreme Court in 1981. PPV & VOD. In 2004, LFP Broadcasting, parent of Hustler TV, announced the launch of Hustler TV pay-per-view in the United States on the heels of its 2003 launch in Canada. The PPV service offered a broad range of content, including films from VCA Pictures and Hustler Video. Also that year, Hustler TV On Demand, a video-on-demand service offering Hustler TV, was launched. Cable and satellite providers could carry both Hustler TV On Demand and Hustler TV PPV. Quest for Liars. Exposing hypocrisy has been a passion of Larry Flynt’s throughout his public life. In 1998, the mogul offered $1 million for evidence of sexual hypocrisy among Republican politicians trying to impeach President Bill Clinton over the Monica Lewinsky blowjob. His efforts led to the resignation of House Speaker-designate Bob Livingston. Flynt reprised the offer in 2007, this time exposing Republican Senator David Vitter for consorting with prostitutes. Retail Revolution. In 1998, Hustler Hollywood opened on the Sunset Strip in Los Angeles. Targeting women and couples, the upscale store offered lingerie, apparel, toys and DVDs. The venture expanded beyond the U.S. in 2004, when Hustler Hollywood U.K. opened in Birmingham, England. There are now 11 stores across the country; the newest opened just last month in Oklahoma City, Okla. The force behind the retail stores—Theresa Flynt, Larry’s daughter—told this to AVN on the chain’s 10th anniversary: “Anybody who has been in our stores knows we have a bright, clean, hip, friendly environment. It feels like you’re in The Gap, but for adults. We play good music, have a knowledgeable staff, and sell female-friendly products.” Stylebook. Hustler is known in the journalism world for its stylebook, which addresses such vital matters as whether blowjob is one word or two. Tech Innovator. Despite its roots in print, LFP has never hesitated to adapt to new technology. In 2007 Hustler Video leaped into Blu-ray; in 2010, LFP Broadcasting released its first Android-compatible app. And this decade it enthusiastically embraced 3-D porn. Unvarnished Truth. Never one to avoid blunt talk and hard truths, in 1977 Larry Flynt printed images of dead and wounded soldiers in a photo-feature titled “The Real Obscenity: War.” In 1978, the April issue of Hustler featured a rabbit nailed to a cross—a comment on the commercialization of Easter. In 1983, after Flynt was in court after leaking an FBI surveillance tape of auto maker John DeLorean—who was snared in a cocaine sting operation—Flynt refused to reveal his source and was sent to jail after he showed up in court wearing an American flag as a diaper. And in 2013, Flynt spoke out against capital punishment as the man who put him in a wheelchair 35 years earlier— white supremacist Joseph Paul Franklin, who shot Flynt over an interracial pictorial—awaited execution for other crimes. VCA Pictures. The crown jewel of porn’s golden age was sold to Hustler Video on May 21, 2003. Who’s Nailin’ Paylin. In 2008, Hustler merged porn and politics once again to poke fun at Sarah Palin. Sporting the same hairstyle and specs as the veep candidate, Lisa Ann did three sex scenes for the parody. It came out on Election Day and spawned five sequels. X-rated Video. Though there were movies licensed under the Hustler name and distributed by Vivid in the 1990s, LFP didn’t begin to produce porn under the Hustler Video name until 1999. LFP’s Jim Kohls said at the time, “We’re sorry to end our successful relationship with Vivid. It was a mutually profitable association. But as our own video division grows and we develop lines based on our magazines, it only makes sense for us to start using the Hustler name.” Young Girls. Starting as a magazine first in 1974, then moving to video and online, Barely Legal is one of LFP’s most iconic erotic franchises. This year saw the release of Barely Legal 141.Zealot-Baiting. Hustler has skirmished with religious fanatics and rabid feminists alike over the years, taking to shock tactics like publishing sexually explicit scenes from the Bible and putting the image of a woman’s body being run through a meat grinder on a 1978 issue of the magazine.