Mt. Prospect man shares roots with Hugh Hefner

With the Playboy empire patriarch, Hugh Hefner, just having visited Chicago, Ken Kitzing of Mount Prospect thought Daily Herald readers would be interested in this photo of his former classmate.

Both men were born in 1926, and both attended Sayre School in Chicago and then Steinmetz High School (which Hefner visited on his recent trip).

This photo is of their 8th grade class at Sayre School, on the 1800 block of North Newland Avenue, taught by Mrs. Gilbert. Hefner is cross-legged in the front row, directly behind the class sign. Kitzing is also in the front row, second from the right.

The boy in the second row from the front, third from left, is James Brophy, a good friend of Hefner's, Kitzing said. Brophy became a scientist and a leader in the field of cold fusion, and was a high ranking administrator at the Illinois Institute of Technology and the University of Utah, before he died in 1991.

Kitzing writes: “Hugh was always interested in journalism and related things. He was the editor of the Sayre newspaper, The Pepper I have no idea where he came up with the name.

“He was always drawing cartoon strips and passing them around the classroom. They were usually science/fiction stories. He later served on the Steinmetz paper.

“He also collected odd things such as fossils and had cages with small animals, snakes etc. while in grammar school.”

Kitzing recalls that in 1965 Hefner hosted a party to mark the 25th anniversary of their grammar school graduation held at the old Playboy Mansion in the Gold Coast.