Adult entertainment pioneer Larry Flynt has died at the age of 78.
According to NBC News, the founder of Hustler died in Los Angeles on the morning of Wednesday, Feb. 10. Flynt’s rep told NBC Newsthe 78-year-old died “from the recent onset of a sudden illness,” adding, “He passed quietly in his sleep at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center with his wife Liz and daughter Theresa by his side.”
Flynt became a well-known figure in the adult entertainment world when he launched Hustler magazine in the ’70s. At the time, he owned and operated topless bars across the midwest, which shared the same name as the publication.
He later became a fierce advocate of the first amendment, defending his right to publish parodies and other sensitive subject matter that some considered offensive.
During one 1978 trial in which he was facing a charge of distributing obscene materials, Flynt and his lawyer were shot by an unidentified gunman. Flynt was left partially paralyzed by the attack.
