Larry Flynt

Larry Flynt, one of America’s most notorious pornographers and self-proclaimed champions of First Amendment freedoms, who built his business interests on the hardcore raunch and grotesque parody of Hustler magazine, died Feb. 10 2021 at his home in Los Angeles. He was 78. His brother Jimmy Flynt confirmed the death but did not cite a specific cause. Flynt was born in Lakeville, Magoffin County, Kentucky on November 1, 1942. From 1960-64, he served in the US Navy, and was a radar operator on the USS Enterprise when the aircraft carrier recovered astronaut John Glenn’s space capsule. In 1965, Flynt bought his first bar in Dayton, Ohio. With the profits, be bought two other bars, and, in 1968, he opened a new, higher-class establishment, which was the first in its area to feature nude hostess dancers. He named it the HUSTLER Club. In March 1972, Flynt created the HUSTLER Newsletter, a four-page, black-and-white publication with news about his clubs. It became so popular that he expanded it to 32 pages in a year, and then decided to turn it into a sexually explicit magazine with national distribution. In July 1974, the first issue of HUSTLER magazine was published, and, in 1976, Flynt created Larry Flynt Publications. On March 6, 1978, during a trial related to an obscenity charge in Gwinnett County, Georgia, Flynt and his attorney were shot by a sniper near the county courthouse in Lawrenceville. The shooting left Flynt partially paralyzed. n 1996, Columbia Pictures released the critically-acclaimed film, “The People vs. Larry Flynt,” with actor Woody Harrelson in the title role. Harrelson’s performance earned him Academy Award and Golden Globe nominations. The film was directed by Milos Forman and co-produced by Oliver Stone. Flynt has been married five times and has five children. He and his wife, Elizabeth, live in the Hollywood Hills. His Company is headquartered in Beverly Hills, CA.