Hugh Hefner, the founder of Playboy magazine who revolutionized publishing and helped usher in the sexual revolution with a vision of beauty, sophistication and the libertine lifestyle that reflected the desires of the postwar generation, died Wednesday at the age of 91.

It all began on a card table in Mr. Hefner’s living room on the south side of Chicago, where in late 1953 he laid out the pages for the first issue of a magazine that would ultimately become one of the most recognizable brands of the 20th century.

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