Victor Lownes

Victor Lownes: Playboy executive dies aged 88

Victor Lownes was known for throwing lavish parties in the swinging '60s

 

Victor Lownes, who helped establish Playboy and ran the magazine's clubs and casinos in the UK in the 1960s and '70s, has died at the age of 88.
Lownes met Playboy founder Hugh Hefner in 1954 and became the magazine's promotion director.
He suggested that Playboy set up a club and said he came up with the idea for hostesses to be Playboy bunnies.

Moving to London, he came to embody the Playboy lifestyle and set up a string of highly successful clubs and casinos.
He married a former Playmate of the Year, Marilyn Cole, and was known for throwing lavish star-studded parties at his Hertfordshire mansion.
For a time he was reputedly the highest paid executive in Britain, but was sacked by Playboy in 1981 when the gambling operation ran into problems with authorities.

Comments

Post a Comment

What's Popular

Luke Perry's daughter Sophie hits out at online 'grief-shamers'

Image
The daughter of late Riverdale actor Luke Perry has hit back at people who have criticised her grieving process. Sophie Perry explained  on Instagram  how she's "received a lot of attention online" following her father's death. "Yes I am hurt and sad and crying and beside myself with what happened to my dad," she wrote. "But I'm not going to sit in my room and cry day in and day out until the internet has deemed it appropriate for me to do otherwise," she continued. "And if you knew my dad you would know he wouldn't want me to. So you shouldn't either." The US actor  died in California at the age of 52 , less than a week after suffering a massive stroke. Perry rose to fame for playing Dylan McKay in Beverly Hills, 90210 and gained a new generation of fans through his role as Fred Andrews on Netflix's Riverdale. Luke Perry fans remember 'nicest guy'                        Luke Perry with c...
Read more

Professor Stephen Hawking's nurse struck off over his care

Image
Stephen Hawking died in March last year Professor Stephen Hawking's nurse has been struck off for failures over his care and financial misconduct. Patricia Dowdy, 61, who worked for the renowned scientist for 15 years, was handed an interim suspension in 2016,  it emerged at the weekend. The Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) has now found she did not "provide the standards of good, professional care we expect and Professor Hawking deserved". Mrs Dowdy told The Mail on Sunday  she was upset and did not want to comment. The NMC made its decision to remove Mrs Dowdy, from Ipswich, from the nursing register at a private hearing in London. A fitness to practise panel said Mrs Dowdy's behaviour amounted to financial misconduct, dishonesty, not providing appropriate care, failing to cooperate with the NMC and not having the correct qualifications.
Read more

DR Congo: Violence may be crime against humanity, UN says

Image
A mass grave in the Bongende is thought to contain 100 bodies A UN investigation says violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo last year may amount to crimes against humanity. It says at least 500 people were killed, including families burnt alive in their homes and a two-year-old who was thrown into a septic tank. Ethnic violence broke out when one community wanted to bury one of their traditional chiefs on another community's land. The investigation adds that violence could flare up again at any time. Africa Live: More on this and others from the continent Five things to know about DR Congo What is the International Criminal Court Investigators say the violence between 16 and 18 December was "planned and executed with the support of customary chiefs". Members of the Batende community attacked Banunu villages "with extreme violence and speed, allowing little time to escape". It adds that the provincial authorities in Yumbi, in Mai-N...
Read more

Brexit: Legal risk of backstop remains 'unchanged' says Geoffrey Cox

The risk of the UK being tied to EU rules after Brexit "remains unchanged" despite the latest changes to the PM's deal, the attorney general has said. However, Geoffrey Cox said the new agreements reinforced the legal rights available to the UK if subsequent talks broke down due to "bad faith". His updated legal advice is seen as vital to determining whether Tory Brexiteers and the DUP back the deal. Mr Cox is now answering MPs' questions in the Commons. Reaction to May deal ahead of vote Has anything changed in the Brexit deal? Brexitcast: What happened in Strasbourg? In  his advice , Mr Cox said the extra assurances won by Mrs May in 11th hour talks with the EU "reduce the risk that the United Kingdom could be indefinitely and involuntarily detained" in the backstop if talks on the two sides future relationship broke down due to "bad faith" by the EU. But he warned that the question of whether a satisfactory post-Brexi...
Read more