Bob Guccione, founder of Penthouse Magazine dies at 79
Penthouse may be as well-known as Playboy and Hustler, but its founder, Bob Guccione never had as much time in the spotlight as Hugh Hefner or Larry Flynt, but he was every bit as influential in the world of pornography. And last night, porn lost one of its greats as Bob Guccione died at the age of 79 at his home in Plano, Texas.
The one-time New Jersey resident, whose magazine’s explicit nudity served as a raunchier rival to the more high-brow Playboy, was also a painter whose works were featured in museums such as the Nassau County Museum of Art in New York.
Guccione claimed Penthouse earned $4 billion during his reign as publisher, and he was listed in the Forbes 400 ranking of wealthiest people with a net worth of about $400 million in 1982. The skin magazine brought down a religious icon and a beauty queen during the 1980s. It published nude photos of Miss America Vanessa Williams, which cost her the crown. It also featured sexually explicit tales of televangelist Jimmy Swaggart that toppled his ministry in 1988 and 1989. But Guccione’s empire ultimately fell apart thanks to several bad investments and changes in the pornography industry, which became flooded with competition as it migrated from print to video and the Internet.
He ultimately lost it all, as his company, his world-class art collection, and his huge Manhattan mansion were eventually sold. Married four times, Guccione had a daughter, Tonina, from his first marriage and three sons, Bob Jr., Tony, and Nick, and a daughter, Nina, from his second marriage.
If I would have been on the ball, I’d have commemorated with a Penthouse themed FOTD in his honor. Maybe I’ll do that tomorrow.
