Hugh Hefner responds to internet rumours that he's dead

He was only watching The Big Sleep - he wasn't actually doing it.

Hugh Hefner has insisted he is not dead.

The 90-year-old responded to internet rumours that quickly spread over the weekend that he had popped his clogs.

He revealed via Twitter that he was actually watching the Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall classic instead, TMZ reported.

He posted a pic of himself alive and well with his 30-year-old wife Crystal, as well as a poster and scene from the 1946 noir thriller, based on the Raymond Chandler novel.

'Tonight's Mansion movie was Bogie and Bacall in The Big Sleep, he wrote.

While celebrity death hoaxes a a dime a dozen nowadays, 2016 has been a particular brutal year for celeb lifespans, so the rumour that sparked on Friday spread pretty fast.

The media mogul had not posted on the social media site for two months, his last posting came in September, when he slammed speculation about his ailing health.

He quipped: 'I wish the tabloids had informed me a little earlier in the week that I'm sick.

'I might have cancelled my weekend plans.'

- Daily Mail