One Special Lady of the era didn't enjoy sharing. "I didn't like playing second fiddle," says model Heather Waite, who met Hef in 1978. But, she allows, she knew what she was getting into. "Hef said that he kept his significant relationships to a minimum but slept with almost everyone. Which was true."

As then Mansion Secretary Lisa Loving describes it, Hef's Sondra-Heather juggling act had its moments reminiscent of the Barbi-Karen scenario. "I can remember just getting Sondra out the back gate and...Security would call and say, 'Heather Waite's at the front gate,' and about 11 seconds later, 'Sondra Theodore off the property.' Thank God, it worked again."