With a long career as the ultimate Playboy, we never would have guessed Hugh Hefner had served in the military. When he finished high school, he served in the United States Army during World War II, between 1944 and 1946. Not a soldier on the frontline, Hefner was doing what he did best: writing. The Army newspaper needed people and Hefner was the man for the job.
We're not sure if his time writing for the Army inspired him, but Hefner's career only went up from there. He became a copywriter for Esquire magazine and subsequently quit when they wouldn't give him a $5 raise. It was then that he decided to launch Playboy, which was basically the opposite career to the one his mother had hoped for. Coming from a religious family, she had hoped Hefner would become a missionary.