'Hustler' Magazine Founder Larry Flynt Passes Away At 78

Larry Flynt Picture Courtesy: AFP

Larry Flynt, best known for starting 'Hustler' magazine, has died at the age of 78.

E!News quoted NBC News as saying that the founder of 'Hustler' died in Los Angeles on the morning of Wednesday (local time). Flynt's representative told NBC News that the 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."

With the launch of 'Hustlers' in the 1970's, Flynt became a well-known figure in the adult entertainment world. At the time, he owned and operated topless bars across the mid-west, which shared the same name as the publication. As reported by E!News, 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 paralysed by the attack, as per E!News.

Serial killer and self-proclaimed white supremacist Joseph Paul Franklin later claimed he was responsible for the shooting. At the time, Franklin said he carried out the act after seeing an interracial photoshoot published in 'Hustler'.

In the 1996 biopic 'The People vs. Larry Flynt,' Flynt's assassination attempt and legal battles were highlighted. Woody Harrelson, who portrayed the late magazine publisher, earned an Academy Award nomination for his performance.

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