When Hugh Hefner appeared before TV critics to promote "Playboy's 50th Anniversary Celebration" (Sunday, 6 p.m., A&E), I'm guessing it was supposed to somehow be sexy.

But it wasn't. It was just creepy.

Here was this 77-year-old man in pajamas and a bathrobe, accompanied by two buxom blondes (identified only as "Hef's friends," Holly and Bridget), taking the podium. And then having trouble answering the questions because he's hard of hearing.

Creepy. And silly. And, maybe, a little bit sad.

It's also a little bit creepy to do a two-hour special extolling the virtues of Playboy magazine as some sort of journalistic icon. "I was not really trying to create a sex magazine," Hefner said with a straight face. "I was trying to give sex a good name."

Of course, it's hard to argue with the fact that Playboy has become a pop-culture icon. Or even argue with Hefner when he said, "I think we live in, to some extent, a Playboy world. The media — all of it — has been influenced in such a dramatic way in terms of Playboy."

But seeing the guy in person is, well, creepy.

Not that Hefner is planning on changing anytime soon. Or stepping down as the chairman of Playboy.

"What I'm doing keeps me young," he insisted. "And I'll be . . . continuing to do this as long as I can. My mother lived to be 101 and was very vital when she passed away."

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E-MAIL: pierce@desnews.com