Hefner's black books up for auction

CHICAGO, Dec. 12 (UPI) -- Three of Hugh Hefner's "little black books" of telephone numbers of stars and girlfriends reportedly are headed to the auction block.

Despite the fact many of the people in the books are dead or long-since moved since the Playboy creator wrote them out in Chicago in the 1960s, they're expected to fetch at least $25,000 each, the newspaper said.

The books are being auctioned off by Christie's as part of Playboy's 50th anniversary.

The names and numbers include such notable early associates as Barbi Benton, Vincent Bugliosi, Warren Beatty, Oleg Cassini, Tony Curtis, Lauren Hutton, Harvey Kurtzman, Don Lewis, Leroy Neiman, Shel Silverstein, Gene Siskel and Gay Talese.

In addition to Hef's "little black books," there are more than 300 other items from Playboy's archives up for auction, including original manuscripts, cartoons, paintings, celebrity and fashion photographs, and memorabilia.