Hugh Hefner died from heart failure after contracting an aggressive strain of e-coli which was resistant to drugs, it has been revealed.
The 91-year-old’s death certificate was obtained by The Blast on Tuesday, less than a week after his death.
It lists Playboy mogul Hefner’s causes of death as cardiac arrest, respiratory failure, septicemia and e-coli.
The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health could not determine how Hefner contracted the deadly bacteria.
He died on September 27 at the Playboy Mansion in Beverly Hills surrounded by family.
Hugh Hefner’s death certificate reveals he died of heart failure, respiratory failure, septicemia and e-coli
Hefner (above in 2014) is survived by his third wife, 31-year-old Crystal Harris (pictured) and his four children from two previous marriages
Hefner was buried on Saturday in an intimate ceremony which was attended only by family.
He had four children from two marriages before wedding Crystal Harris, his third wife, in 2012.
The Playboy founder was buried next to Marilyn Monroe at Los Angeles’ Westwood Village Park.
Monroe was on the cover of the very first edition of Playboy which Hefner published in 1953. He bought the crypt next to hers in the cemetery before he died for $75,000.
It was previously reported that an infection crippled Hefner, making him bed-ridden for the two years before his death.
It is not known whether that infection was the e-coli that medical examiners identified in his death certificate.
Hefner was suffering from an infection for months before he died. He is seen above in heartbreaking footage taken not long before his death, struggling to walk unassisted
Hefner’s public appearances rapidly declined in recent years. One of his final outings was in May 2016 when he was unable to walk unassisted.
Since his death, he has been the subject of tributes from Hollywood titans as well as members of his family.
Harris, who was kept out of inheriting any of the business by an iron clad prenup but who still inherited a $7million home from her husband’s passing, broke her silence this weekend after attending his funeral.
‘I haven’t been able to bring myself to write most people back to thank them for their condolences. I am heartbroken. I am still in disbelief.
‘He changed my life, he saved my life. He made me feel loved every single day. He was a beacon to the world, a force unlike anything else.
‘There never has and never will be another Hugh M. Hefner,’ she told People.
Harris claimed before her husband’s death that Viagra caused him to lose his hearing.
Hefner was laid to rest on Saturday at a private ceremony at Los Angeles’ Westwood Village Park. Before he died, he bought the crypt next to Marilyn Monroe’s (above) which is where he now lies
Hefner’s son Cooper announced his death in a statement released by Playboy on September 27.
‘My father lived an exceptional and impactful life as a media and cultural pioneer and a leading voice behind some of the most significant social and cultural movements of our time in advocating free speech, civil rights and sexual freedom.
‘He defined a lifestyle and ethos that lie at the heart of the brand, one of the most recognizable and enduring in history.
‘He will be greatly missed by many, including his wife Crystal, my sister Christie, and my brothers David and Marston, and all of us at Playboy Enterprises.’
Cooper, 26, is the COO of Playboy. He stands to inherit a fourth of his father’s $43million fortune.