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Hefner, who founded an empire on the allure of an unavailable nude making eye contact from a magazine page, says he's a misunderstood romantic who created a world befitting his own comfortably elastic definition of the term.

This world is on view in "The Girls Next Door," premiering Sunday on the E! channel. The eight-part series from executive producer Kevin Burns promises to introduce viewers to "the secret side of an American legend." signonsandiego