Playboy czar Hugh Hefner almost choked on a sex toy but was saved in time by his partner, says his biography due to be released in October. The biography authored by Steven Watts seems to contain a number of salacious details. Snippets doing the rounds on the Internet are already whetting the appetite of those who are dazzled by his porn empire.

According to one account the 82-year-old Hefner faced death in a bizarre sex toy incident, presumably in 1977 when he was 52. His hot but quick-thinking partner saved the day “Hefner divulges he almost died doing what he loves best while he was dating ‘Playboy’ Playmate Sondra Theodore,” said a publishing source familiar with the book.

The incident happened when Hef and Sondra, the July 1977 Playmate, were in bed making love with a small sex toy. Somehow, the toy became lodged in Hef’s throat, said the source.

“He fell back on the bed, unable to breathe. But Sondra didn’t realize what had happened, said the source.

“Then Hef began choking and was about to pass out. Sondra quickly started pumping his chest until the toy was dislodged. What a way that would have been for him to go!”

The biography, titled “Mr. Playboy: Hugh Hefner and the American Dream,” details how after Hefner wed his first wife, Millie, in 1949, he enlisted his friend Eldon Sellers, who would later help him co-found Playboy, into a staging a foursome.