REST IN POWER

 AND REMEMBER HELL IS THE PARTY PLACE

Larry Flynt, porn mogul and Hustler publisher, dies at 78

The self-styled free speech champion 

was best known for being the publisher of Hustler magazine. 

His family is yet to confirm the cause of his death.

      LARRY FLYNT WAS THE EIGHTIES

   

US porn mogul Larry Flynt, who was best known as the publisher for Hustler magazine, died at the age of 78 in Los Angeles, his publicist said, confirming earlier media reports. 

Celebrity news outlet TMZ, which broke the news, said Flynt died of heart failure. However, his family members are yet to confirm the cause of his death. 

Flynt was married five times and had five daughters and a son, as well as grandchildren. 

He described himself as a "smut peddler who cares" and was a self-styled free speech champion. 

Flynt published the first issue of Hustler in 1974, as a counterpart to Playboy magazine. He soon expanded his publishing business into other titles. He then expanded his business to include porn sites, clubs and a casino. His empire was estimated to be worth between $100 million to $500 million (€82.5 million to €412.7 million).

Self-styled free speech advocate

Flynt was a self-styled free speech advocate, involved in many controversies throughout his life. One of the most well-known ones was a 1988 case in which the US Supreme Court made a ruling protecting writers and artists mocking public personalities. 

The case, Hustler v Falwell, involved a parody ad about televangelist Jerry Falwell published in Hustler magazine.

In 1978, Flynt was shot by a white supremacist for publishing the photo of an interracial couple in Hustler. The shooting left him partially paralyzed, with permanent spinal cord damage. 

tg/sms (AFP, Reuters)