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Victor Lownes

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Entrepreneur

The Resume

    (April 17, 1928-January 11, 2017)
    Born in Buffalo, New York
    Executive at Playboy Enterprises
    Headed Playboy Europe and the UK Playboy Clubs
    Executive producer of the films 'And Now for Something Completely Different' (1971) and 'Macbeth' (1971)

Why he might be annoying:

    At age 12, he fatally shot his best friend in a hunting accident.
    In his mid-20s, he abandoned his wife and kids.
    In his bachelor pad, he tied together four double beds to create a 'playpen.'
    He was described as running Playboy's promotions department 'by outright terror,' occasionally triggering mass resignations by the entire staff.
    He was fired from Playboy after being accused of irregularities by British gaming authorities, including giving club memberships to hotel employees who steered wealthy guests to the Playboy casinos, allowing company executives to gamble in their own facilities, and procuring Bunnies for high rollers (1981).

Why he might not be annoying:

    One biographer wrote, '[Lownes] was everything Hefner aspired to be -- handsome, debonair, witty and elegantly attired.'
    He shared his English mansion with as many as forty Playboy Bunnies.
    There were rumors that his firing was really payback for Playmate of the Year Marilyn Cole choosing Lownes over Hef, with the gaming authorities' accusations serving merely as a convenient excuse.
    Without the income from the British casinos he had been running, Playboy came close to bankruptcy after his firing.

Credit: C. Fishel


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    In 2022, Out of 1 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 6 Votes: 66.67% Annoying
    In 2020, Out of 4 Votes: 75.00% Annoying
    In 2019, Out of 4 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2018, Out of 3 Votes: 66.67% Annoying
    In 2017, Out of 115 Votes: 69.57% Annoying
    In 2015, Out of 11 Votes: 63.64% Annoying