On a Tuesday night outside a Los Angeles restaurant, comedian Jon Lovitz turned a pointed remark into a shrug. Crystal Hefner, widow of Playboy founder Hugh Hefner, had labeled him the mansion's 'No. 1 customer' on a podcast, recalling a man who was always there at the Holmby Hills house. Lovitz chose good humor and a tribute to Hefner, a reply that places one more old Hollywood story in a long tradition of memory, gossip, and the gentle reshaping of the past by those who lived it.
Jon Lovitz Shrugs Off Crystal Hefner's 'No. 1 Customer' Claim, Praises Hugh Hefner as 'Generous'
"Any time someone says I'm No. 1, it's a compliment."
Mark
Why does a podcast jab at a comedian count as news?
Mimi
Because it shows how Crystal Hefner now tells the story of the mansion years. She's naming specific celebrities, Lovitz and Nicholson among them.
Mark
How did Lovitz respond?
Mimi
With a joke. He said being called No. 1 is a compliment, then praised Hugh Hefner as one of the nicest, most generous people he's met.
Luke
Worth noting that everything about Lovitz's behavior comes from Crystal's account. The reporting presents it as her claim, and nothing independent backs it up.
Mark
And Lovitz didn't actually deny anything?
Mimi
He didn't address the specifics. He said that's all he had to say.
Luke
Right, so it's neither confirmed nor refuted. A non-answer isn't a rebuttal.
Mark
What about the Nicholson part?
Mimi
Crystal said staff called the mansion his drive-thru. His daughter Lorraine wrote in Vanity Fair that she spent more time there than her father did.
Luke
That essay doesn't contradict the drive-thru claim, though. It's about how often he visited, not what he did. We don't know more than that.
Le Pouls
- A podcast remark cast Jon Lovitz as Playboy Mansion's 'No. 1 customer' and one of Hollywood's biggest pervs, stirring fresh chatter about the mansion's old guest list.
- Crystal Hefner's recollections, from his eyes wandering over party guests to his dog's mess, paint a vivid picture that Lovitz has not directly contested.
- Lovitz sidestepped the fight with a joke, calling the 'No. 1' label a compliment and refusing to escalate the feud.
- The exchange is landing as one thread in a wider stream of Mansion-era memoir, where Jack Nicholson's contested legacy and Hefner's reputation continue to be negotiated in public.
On a Tuesday night outside a Los Angeles restaurant, comedian Jon Lovitz turned a pointed remark into a shrug. Crystal Hefner, widow of Playboy founder Hugh Hefner, had labeled him the mansion's 'No. 1 customer' on a podcast, recalling a man who was always there at the Holmby Hills house. Lovitz chose good humor and a tribute to Hefner, a reply that places one more old Hollywood story in a long tradition of memory, gossip, and the gentle reshaping of the past by those who lived it.
Outside a Los Angeles restaurant on Tuesday night, Jon Lovitz was asked about what Crystal Hefner had said of him, and he answered with a joke. Hugh Hefner's widow had called the 69-year-old comedian the Playboy Mansion's "No. 1 customer." Lovitz said that whenever someone calls him No. 1, he takes it as a compliment.
The remark came from Crystal Hefner's appearance on the "Lisa Guerrero Unleashed" podcast, where she described the comedian as one of the biggest pervs in Hollywood and a "lurker" at the mansion. Her account was specific: his eyes, she said, traveled over every woman who came through the door at a party. Lovitz did not return fire. He turned instead to Hefner, who died in 2017 at 91, calling him one of the nicest and most generous people he has ever met.
Crystal's own history with Hefner colors her words. She was 21 when they began dating, and their engagement, when she was 24 and he was 84, was called off before the 2011 wedding, though they reconciled and married in 2012. Her stories about the mansion also reach toward Jack Nicholson, whom staff reportedly nicknamed "Jack Nicholson's drive-thru." Nicholson's daughter Lorraine has offered a different memory, saying she spent more time at the mansion than her father ever did.
For now, Lovitz's easy reply suggests that some of the names Crystal Hefner recalls will simply answer with a shrug, while her memories of the mansion era look set to keep naming names.
Outside a Los Angeles restaurant on Tuesday night, Jon Lovitz was asked about what Crystal Hefner had said of him, and he answered with a joke. Hugh Hefner's widow had called the 69-year-old comedian the Playboy Mansion's "No. 1 customer." Lovitz said that any time someone calls him No. 1, he takes it as a compliment.
The remark came from an appearance by Crystal Hefner on the "Lisa Guerrero Unleashed" podcast. There she described the "Saturday Night Live" alum and "Rat Race" actor as one of the biggest pervs in Hollywood. She also called him a "lurker" at the Holmby Hills house, which was once known for its lavish parties.
Her account was specific. Lovitz, she claimed, was at the mansion constantly. "His eyes would go front to back" over all the women who came through the door at a party, she said. She added that his dog "peed all over the place" and that she remembered him at every party.
Lovitz did not return fire. After the quip, he turned to Hefner, who died in 2017 at 91. "Hugh Hefner was one of the nicest, most generous people I've ever met, and all of his friends know it," he said. "That's all I have to say about that."
Crystal's history with Hefner frames her comments. She began dating him when she was 21. They got engaged in 2010, when she was 24 and he was 84. They called off the wedding days before the ceremony in 2011, but they reconciled and married in 2012. They stayed together until his death.
Lovitz is not the only celebrity she has named. On her own show, "After the Mansion," she said Jack Nicholson treated the mansion like his personal hot spot. The staff, she claimed, once called it "Jack Nicholson's drive-thru," because he would drive up, grab food or whatever else he could find, and leave.
Nicholson's daughter Lorraine has given a different picture. In a 2024 essay for Vanity Fair, she wrote about growing up playing at the mansion with Hefner's sons, Marston and Cooper. "People assume that my father took me to the Mansion, but they assume wrong," she wrote, adding that she could say with confidence she spent more time there than her father ever did.
Crystal has also said her late husband cared most about fame. Any celebrity who visited was treated extremely well, she claimed. She listed Bill Maher, who came for chats, and Motown's Berry Gordy, along with Buzz Aldrin and the original Catwoman.
Shortly after Hefner died, she told Fox News Digital she was grateful for the marriage. "He taught me love. He taught me kindness. He gave me life," she said, adding that he opened her world to experiences she could never have had otherwise. Her recollections of the mansion era look set to keep naming names, and Lovitz's reply suggests some of those named will answer with a shrug.
Citations marquantes
Hugh Hefner was one of the nicest, most generous people I've ever met, and all of his friends know it.— Jon Lovitz
His eyes would go front to back at all the women that walked through the door at the party.— Crystal Hefner, on Lovitz (her claim)
Envie de l'histoire complète ?
Lire l'original sur Fox News ↗
Culture & Arts