One of the biggest trailblazers of the porn industry has passed away.
According to TMZ, Larry Flynt — the controversial publishing mogul behind Hustler magazine — died on Wednesday morning at 78 years old. Family sources told the outlet that Flynt passed away in Los Angeles from heart failure.
The father-of-four skyrocketed to fame after launching Hustler in 1974. In addition to bringing him fortune and notoriety, however, the dirty mag also brought him a slew of legal woes — which ended up making him an unlikely hero of first amendment rights. All of this was detailed in the Oscar-nominated 1996 film The People vs. Larry Flynt, in which he was played by Woody Harrelson.
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Flynt’s fame also sparked a tragedy in 1978, when serial killer Joseph Paul Franklin shot the mogul in a murder attempt. The shooting left the publisher paralyzed from the waist down, leaving him in a wheelchair, and causing him to suffer several other medical issues.
The Kentucky native was also president of Larry Flynt Publications, which produces other magazines like Barely Legal, pornographic videos, and pornographic television channels named Hustler TV.
You can’t say the guy wasn’t a visionary. RIP, Larry.
[Image via Johnny Louis/WENN]
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