Flint's brother, Jimmy, confirmed the news but did not cite a specific cause of death.

Flint was a controversial media mogul who created a business with an estimated turnover of $150 million.

At its height, Hustler magazine started as a newsletter promoting Flint Strip clubs in the American Midwest.

Later, at its peak, Hustler circulated to some three million people.

It became infamous for publishing explicit photos that made its competitors.

Playboy seemed mild.

As the magazine slipped, Flint stayed ahead of trends by investing in adult oriented television channels, a casino, film, distribution and merchandise.

He was also a self styled champion of the First Amendment, who frequently fought obscenity charges and other legal battles.

He survived an assassination attempt in 1978 which left him paralyzed from the waist down, restricted to a $17,000 gold plated wheelchair.

For the rest of his life, Flint often turned courtroom appearances into spectacles, his obscene outburst once prompting his own lawyer to ask a judge to have him bound and gagged In perhaps his most famous case, the U.

S Supreme Court made an important First Amendment ruling in favor of Flint in a libel battle with evangelist Jerry Falwell.

Flint also ran for president against Ronald Reagan in 1983 and in 2003 campaign to be governor of California.

His life was the basis of the 1996 movie The People vs Larry Flynt, which starred Woody Harrelson and was based in part on Flint Supreme Court case.