Recent Photos of Hugh Hefner Show Toll His Failing Health Had Taken

At 91 years old, Hugh Hefner passed away from natural causes on Wednesday in his home. Now, recent photos have surfaced of the Playboy founder that show the toll his ailing health took on him.

In the photos and video obtained by the Daily Mail (see them here), Hefner is not wearing his signature robe, but instead a set of his light blue pajamas, and is seen hunched over a walker. In the short video, Hefner struggles to walk.

The photos and video were reportedly taken in January after the publishing icon had entertained guests at the Playboy Mansion during one of his regular movie nights.

The photos come on the heels of a report that said Hefner’s health started to decline after he contracted a serious infection in his back two years ago. His condition reportedly became so debilitating that he could barely walk without assistance and was later bedridden.

Hefner’s public appearances grew scarcer and scarcer, and the last time he attended a public event was in May of 2016 to announce the Playmate of the Year, Eugena Washington.

Sources also say that Hefner caught a bug a few weeks ago, and his ailing immune system could not fight it off.

During a tearful Instagram tribute to Hefner, former Playmate Pamela Anderson decribed Hefner’s declining health, writing in her post that his “back hurt” him “so much” and that he was using a walker.

“You didn’t want me to see. You couldn’t hear,” she continued. “You had a piece of paper in your pocket you showed me – with my name Pamela with a heart around it.”

Hefner’s family may have been aware of his declining health; over the summer, Hefner’s youngest sons Marston and Cooper (who he shared with ex-wife Kimberly Conrad) shared photos of spending quality time and playing backgammon with their dad.