Tragic Kingdom

The Hideous Autopsy of the Playboy Life

Sondra Theodore was a naïve high school graduate in 1974. A good student, pianist, and Bible-school teacher as a teen, she dreamed of becoming an actress. One day, she told her mom she was going to Howard Hughes's house.

"What?" her mom said. "He's dead."

"Oh yeah, I meant Hugh Hefner."

"Oh, no," said her mom, "don't go there."

Sondra thought her mom was silly, and she and her friend set out for the large gothic-estate home known as the Playboy Mansion. She had never been to a Hollywood party before, and when she first arrived, it was like a scene out of The Great Gatsby.

She'd never been in bed with a man before...