Playboy editor and 1944 graduate Hugh Hefner loved Steinmetz.

“It was the best time of my life before I started the magazine,” he told students during a visit to Steinmetz in 2010. Mr. Hefner participated in track, drama club, student council, the Star and yearbook when he was a student.

“I think I speak for my brother as well, that this was a high point of our lives,” he said. “The dreams began here. When you’re in your teens you’re not sure what lies ahead, but if you’re a dreamer — and I’ve always been a dreamer — you dream big. With some luck you make them come true.”

[See the Nov. – Dec. 2010 Star for the full story.]

Mr. Hefner died at home, surrounded by loved ones, according to a press release from Playboy. The magazine said he died from natural causes.

[Photo provided to the Star by Hugh Hefner.]