LOS ANGELES (NewsNation Now) — Larry Flynt, founder of “Hustler” pornographic magazine and champion of free speech, has died Wednesday. He was 78.
His nephew, Jimmy Flynt Jr., told The Associated Press that Flynt died of heart failure at his Hollywood Hills home in Los Angeles. Flynt has suffered from a variety of health problems since a 1978 assassination attempt that left him a paraplegic.
Flynt founded the Hustler Club in 1965, which evolved into a series of clubs across the country. In 1972, he expanded to an advertorial newsletter, which later became a magazine in 1974. Flynt also established Hustler TV, three pornographic television channels under Larry Flynt Publications.
At its peak, Hustler reportedly had a circulation of 3 million.
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Flynt was known for aggravating his critics with stunts like wearing a diaper made from an American flag to court and was involved in a number of legal battles.
In of his most memorable cases, the U.S. Supreme Court made an important First Amendment ruling in favor of Flynt in a libel battle with evangelist Jerry Falwell.
Flynt published a fake ad in Hustler which depicted Falwell saying his first sexual encounter had been with his mother in an outhouse. Falwell sued for $50 million and won a lower court ruling but in 1988 the Supreme Court said the ad was a parody and protected by free speech standards.
Porn mogul Larry Flynt talks about the 40th anniversary of ‘Hustler’ magazine at his offices in Beverly Hills,California on August 26, 2014. As “Hustler” celebrates its 40th anniversary, porn mogul Larry Flynt explained that he would continue to publish the magazine if it remains profitable but would go digital if it starts losing money. Flynt also reflected on his fight for freedom of speech and the political landscape in America. AFP PHOTO/Mark RALSTON (Photo by MARK RALSTON / AFP) (Photo by MARK RALSTON/AFP via Getty Images) 
LOS ANGELES, CA – APRIL 30: Author Larry Flynt attends the 16th Annual Los Angeles Times Festival of Books – Day 1 at USC on April 30, 2011 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by David Livingston/Getty Images) 
LAS VEGAS – JANUARY 12: Hustler magazine publisher Larry Flynt accepts an award during the 25th annual Adult Video News Awards Show at the Mandalay Bay Events Center January 12, 2008 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images) 
LAS VEGAS – JANUARY 12: Hustler magazine publisher Larry Flynt (L) signs autographs for fans at the Adult Video News Adult Entertainment Expo at the Sands Expo Center January 12, 2007 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The three-day AVN expo is the largest adult entertainment trade show in the world, drawing over 29,000 people and featuring close to 340 vendors. The show runs through tomorrow. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images) 
HOLLYWOOD – AUGUST 16: Publisher Larry Flynt (L) and director of ‘Larry Flynt: The Right To Be Left Alone’ Joan Brooker-Marks attend the opening night reception of DocuWeek at the ArcLight Cinema on August 16, 2007 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Charley Gallay/Getty Images) 
BEVERLY HILLS, CA – DECEMBER 11: Publisher Larry Flynt arrives at the American Civil Liberties Union Bill of Rights dinner and silent auction held at the Regent Beverly Wilshire Hotel on December 11, 2006 in Beverly Hills, California. (Photo by Mark Mainz/Getty Images) 
Hustler Magazine Publisher Larry Flynt talks to the media after announcing his intention to run for governor of California 04 August 2003 at his office in Beverly Hills, CA. Flynt’s candidacy comes amid intense speculation over possible candidates for the 07 October 2003 recall election triggered by Republican foes of beleaguered Democratic Governor Gray Davis. Flynt, who fought all the way to the US Supreme Court for his right to express himself, was shot and paralyzed in 1978 by a white supremacist and anti-porn activist who objected to an explicit inter-racial spread in his magazine. AFP PHOTO/HECTOR MATA (Photo credit should read HECTOR MATA/AFP via Getty Images) 
Hustler Magazine Publisher Larry Flynt talks to the media after announcing his intention to run for governor of California 04 August 2003 at his office in Beverly Hills, CA. Flynt’s candidacy comes amid intense speculation over possible candidates for the 07 October 2003 recall election triggered by Republican foes of beleaguered Democratic Governor Gray Davis. Flynt, who fought all the way to the US Supreme Court for his right to express himself, was shot and paralyzed in 1978 by a white supremacist and anti-porn activist who objected to an explicit inter-racial spread in his magazine. AFP PHOTO/HECTOR MATA (Photo credit should read HECTOR MATA/AFP via Getty Images)
Flynt once ran for president against Ronald Reagan, promoting himself as “the smut peddler who cares.” He also was a self proclaimed First Amendement crusader.
“Just because I publish pornography does not mean that I am not concerned about the social ills that all of us are,” Flynt once said.
Flynt was born in 1942 and grew up in Kentucky and Indiana. He dropped out of school after the eighth grade. Following stints in the armed forces and a General Motors plant, he and his brother opened the Hustler Club, which evolved into the now Larry Flynt Publications.
Flynt’s 1996 autobiography is titled “An Unseemly Man: My Life as a Pornographer, Pundit and Social Outcast.” His life was the basis of the 1996 movie “The People vs. Larry Flynt,” which starred Woody Harrelson and was based in part on Flynt’s Supreme Court case.
He was married five times and has four surviving children.
The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.
