Bob Guccione

Bob Guccione
Guccione in 1993
Born	December 17, 1930(1930-12-17) Brooklyn, New York, U.S.
Died	October 20, 2010(2010-10-20) (aged 79) Plano, Texas, U.S.
Eye color	Blue
Hair color	Brown
Ethnicity	Italian American

Bob Guccione (pronounced ˝goo-chee-OAN-ee˝,^[1] December 17, 1930 – October 20, 2010) was the founder and publisher of the adult magazine Penthouse. He resigned from his publisher position in November 2003.

Early life

Robert Charles Joseph Edward Sabatini Guccione was born in Brooklyn, New York, of Sicilian descent, and raised as a Roman Catholic in Bergenfield, New Jersey. His father Anthony was an accountant. His mother, Nina, was a house wife. He considered, but rejected, entering the priesthood.^[2] He attended high school at Blair Academy, a prep school in Blairstown, New Jersey.

Guccione married the first of his four ^[3] wives, Lilyann Becker, before the age of 20, and had a daughter, Tonina. The marriage soon failed. He left his wife and child to go to Europe, where he wanted to be a painter. He eventually met an English woman, Muriel, moved to London with her, and married her. They had two children, Bob Jr. and Tony. To support his family he managed a chain of laundromats, until he got work as a cartoonist on an American weekly newspaper, The London American, while Muriel started a business selling pinup posters. He occasionally created cartoons for Bill Box's humorous greeting card company, Box Cards.^[4][5][6]

Career

Penthouse began publication in 1965 in England and in North America from 1969. The magazine was an attempt to compete with Hugh Hefner's Playboy on several levels. One approach Guccione took was offering editorial content that was more sensational than that of Playboy. The magazine's writing was aimed more at the middlebrow reader than Hefner's upscale emphasis, with stories about government cover-ups and scandals.^[4] Due to his lack of resources, Guccione himself photographed most of the models for the magazine's early issues.^[4] Without professional training, Guccione applied his knowledge of painting to his photography, establishing the diffused, soft focus look that would become one of the trademarks of the magazine's pictorials. Guccione would sometimes take several days to complete a shoot.

As the magazine grew more successful, Guccione openly embraced a life of luxury; his former mansion is said to be the largest private residence in Manhattan at 22,000 square feet (2,000 m²). However, in contrast to Hugh Hefner (who threw wild parties at his Playboy Mansions), life at Guccione's mansion was remarkably sedate even during the hedonistic 1970s.^[4] He reportedly once had his bodyguards eject a local radio personality who had been hired as a DJ for jumping into the swimming pool naked.^[7]

The magazine's pictorials offered more sexually explicit content than was commonly seen in most openly sold men's magazines of the era, being the first to show female pubic hair, then full-frontal nudity, and then the exposed vulva and anus.^[4] Penthouse has also, over the years, featured a number of authorized and unauthorized photos of celebrities such as Madonna and Vanessa Lynn Williams. In both cases, the photos were taken earlier in their careers and sold to Penthouse only after Madonna and Williams became famous. In Williams' case, this led to her forced resignation as Miss America in 1984. The issue in which Williams was first featured also included a layout featuring porn actress Traci Lords, who was later revealed to be underage during most of her porn career (including her Penthouse session). In the late 1990s, the magazine began to show more "fetish" content such as urination, bondage, and "facials".^[4]

In 1976, Guccione used about US $17.5 million of his personal fortune to finance the controversial historical epic pornographic film, Caligula, with Malcolm McDowell in the title role and a supporting cast including Helen Mirren, John Gielgud, and Peter O’Toole. The film, which was eventually released in late 1979, was produced in Italy (made at the legendary Dear Studios in Rome) and was directed by Tinto Brass. Guccione also created the magazines Omni, Viva, and Longevity.^[4] Later Guccione started Penthouse Forum which was more textual in content. In the early 2000s, Penthouse published a short-lived comic book spin-off entitled Penthouse Comix featuring sexually explicit stories.

Decline and resignation

Several wildly unsuccessful investments by Guccione—including the Penthouse Boardwalk Hotel and Casino (which lost $160 million),^[4] and a (never-built) nuclear fusion power plant—added to his publishing empire's financial woes.^[8] Guccione's efforts to regain sales and notoriety, which included attempts to get Monica Lewinsky to pose for the magazine; (which was parodied in a sketch on Saturday Night Live in 1998,^[9] but did not have someone impersonating Guccione) and offering the Unabomber a free forum for his views, failed to increase readership. With the rise of online access to (often free) pornography in the latter 1990s, Penthouse's circulation numbers began to suffer even more. In 2003, General Media (the publishing company for Penthouse) declared bankruptcy. Guccione resigned as chairman of the board and CEO of Penthouse International, Inc. The magazine as of 2010 was still in publication, and had an online presence; its circulation had fallen to about 463,000 in 2003.^[10]

Legal dispute

In 2006, Guccione sued Penthouse Media Group for fraud, breach of contract, and conspiracy, among other charges. Some of the people named in the case included Marc Bell, Jason Galanis, Dr. Fernando Molina, Charles Samel, and Daniel C. Stanton.^[11]

Other work

Guccione gave Anna Wintour her first job as a fashion editor for his magazine Viva.^[12] He was an investor in the films Chinatown and The Day of the Locust.^[13]

Personal life

Family

Guccione's English-reared son, Bob Guccione, Jr. (b. 1956), was given editorship of Spin, but father and son soon fell out over editorial decisions, and Bob Jr. eventually found independent investors to continue the magazine. Father and son remained estranged for a long time, but reportedly reconciled before Bob Guccione, Sr.'s death in 2010.^[14] Nicky, Guccione's youngest child, retained some contact since Nicky gave Guccione his only grandchild, Benjamin.^[15]

Marriages

He married his long-time companion, Kathy Keeton, a native of South Africa in 1988. In 1997 Keeton died of complications from surgery to remedy an obstruction in her digestive tract; she was 58.^[16] In her last few months, Keeton befriended an ex-model named April Dawn Warren. Gossip maintained that Warren was Keeton's hand-picked successor.^[15] After a long engagement, Guccione married Warren in 2006 and they remained together until his death.^[15] Guccione continued to list Keeton on the Penthouse masthead posthumously as President but later added Warren to the masthead after she spent 10 years as creative director of the magazine. She and Guccione were working on a book of reminiscences, Good to Know, until shortly before his death in late 2010. ^[17]

Illness

Guccione was later diagnosed with throat cancer and stated: “My cancer was only a tiny tumor about the size of an almond at the base of my tongue”, he explains. “The cure is probably every bit as bad as the disease. It's affected my ability to swallow ... the mobility of my tongue ... it makes it very difficult for me to talk..."^[18] He was later diagnosed with terminal lung cancer.

Residence

Guccione brought artisans in from France and Italy to build the largest private residence in Manhattan. As a tribute to Guccione the artisans carved both his and his wife's face into the marble columns near the entrance. According to New York magazine, "It's one of the biggest private houses in Manhattan, with 30 rooms, and it costs $5 million a year to maintain."^[19] In November 2003, the mansion on Manhattan's Upper East Side was foreclosed on by Kennedy Funding of New Jersey,^[20] the mortgage holder along with an affiliate of multi billion-dollar hedge fund Elliot Associates of New Jersey. In January 2004, a group of investors came to Guccione’s aid during his Sheriff-enforced eviction. A London-based investor named Jason Galanis led an investment group that purchased the house for $26.5 million in cash.^[21][22][23] The house was purchased by NY Real Estate LLC, an entity set up to acquire the mansion. Galanis contributed $2.6 million, and two New York hedge funds, Laurus Funds and Alexandre Asset Management, made a mortgage loan of $24 million to NY Real Estate LLC, which was owned by Penthouse International, the parent and debtor-in-possession of General Media.

As a result of the continuing contentious bankruptcy which lasted over a year, the promissory notes due to Laurus were considered in technical breach of covenants which resulted in severe financial penalties in excess of $8 million. Penthouse International elected to forego refinancing the house due to the combination of the penalties and the unfavorable lifetime lease of $1.00/year that was granted to Guccione, which made the property unmarketable. Laurus sued Guccione to take possession of the house from the tenant.^[24] It was reportedly sold for $49 million, well below the asking price of $59 million, to Wall Street financier Philip Falcone.^[25]

Guccione also had to sell his country house in Staatsburg, New York. Guccione’s Manhattan mansion. It has 27 rooms, eight fireplaces, and a Roman-style indoor swimming pool on the first floor. It was marketed as the “Milbank Mansion” rather than the "Guccione Mansion" and sold in 2008 for $49 million to investor Philip Falcone—a $10 million reduction from the original $59 million asking price. The estate was purchased by actress Uma Thurman and hotelier Andre Balazs.^[26]

Guccione also owned a 15-room, Baroque stucco mansion on a 75-acre property on the Hudson River, which was foreclosed upon and sold for $4 million.^[27]

Art collection

Although Guccione was a talented painter, during his life he went unrecognized as a successful artist. He was also a world-renowned collector of fine art.^[28] Highlights of the Guccione collection included a portrait by Amedeo Modigliani (1884–1920) and a portrait of the artist's son, Paulo, by Pablo Picasso (1881–1973). He also owned paintings by Sandro Botticelli, Albrecht Dürer, El Greco, Marc Chagall, Salvador Dalí, Giorgio de Chirico, Edgar Degas, Fernand Léger, Gilbert Stone, Henri Matisse, Jules Pascin, Camille Pissarro, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Georges Henri Rouault, Chaïm Soutine, and Vincent van Gogh.

The Guccione art collection was sold at auction by Sotheby's in November 2002 to pay Guccione's personal debts originally incurred in the Atlantic City venture.^[29] The collection was appraised by Christie's at $59 million two years before. However, September 11, 2001 had depressed the art market and the Guccione collection failed to achieve its appraised price. The aggregate sale price was $19 million, which was used to pay Swiss Re, the lender. Swiss Re sued Guccione in New York State Court for a $4 million shortfall on the loan balance.^{[citation needed]}

Guccione had a history of leveraging his prized asset. He borrowed $20 million from AIG, the insurance company. Subsequently they refinanced with Swiss Re Insurance.^[30]

Forbes 400

Guccione was once listed in the Forbes 400 ranking of wealthiest people, with $400 million net worth in 1982.^[31] An April 2002 New York Times article quoted Guccione as saying that Penthouse grossed $3.5 billion to $4 billion over the 30-year life of the company, with a net income of almost 500 million dollars.^[32]

Death

Guccione died of cancer on October 20, 2010, two months before his 80th birthday, at Plano Specialty Hospital in Plano, Texas.^[2][33] He had been suffering from lung cancer for some time, according to his wife, April Dawn Warren Guccione.^[3][33] She was at his side when he died.^[33]

References

1. ^ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oxh6RfgpehM&feature=related Bob Guccione dies. Retrieved 2010-12-18.
2. ^ ^{a b} McFadden, Robert D. "Bob Guccione, Penthouse Founder, Dies at 79", The New York Times, October 20, 2010; accessed October 20, 2010
3. ^ ^{a b} McFadden, Robert D. (October 20, 2010). "Bob Guccione, Penthouse Founder, Dies at 79". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/21/business/media/21guccione.html. 
4. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h} Anthony Haden-Guest "Boom and Bust", The Observer, February 1, 2004
5. ^ Bob Guccione episode on E! True Hollywood Story
6. ^ Bob Guccione (Producer), Penthouse (magazine) Caligula Cast and Crew; accessed September 20, 2007. "Coming from a conventional background--he was born in Brooklyn, raised in Bergenfield, New Jersey, and educated at Blair Academy--Guccione became interested in less than conventional activities after he left school."
7. ^ "The Twilight of Bob Guccione" from Rolling Stone
8. ^ Rolling Stone, "The Twilight of Bob Guccione"; accessed October 20, 2010
9. ^ Saturday Night Live website
10. ^ Associated Press (2011-10-20). "Penthouse Magazine Founder Bob Guccione Dead". CBS News (CBS). http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/10/20/business/main6977030.shtml. Retrieved 2011-05-21. "Audit Bureau of Circulations" 
11. ^ Bloomberg News coverage of 2006 lawsuit filed by Guccione
12. ^ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anna_Wintour
13. ^ Vanity Fair profile of Guccione
14. ^ John Colapinto (2004-04-01). "The twilight of Bob Guccione". Rolling Stone. p. 58. 
15. ^ ^{a b c} The Twilight of Bob Guccione | Rolling Stone Culture
16. ^ Pogrebin, Robin (September 23, 1997). "Kathy Keeton Guccione, 58, President of Magazine Company". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/1997/09/23/business/kathy-keeton-guccione-58-president-of-magazine-company.html. 
17. ^ "Guccione and April thriving". New York Post. July 5, 2010. http://www.nypost.com/p/pagesix/guccione_and_april_thriving_q5KPpBsFp1s7N1OfQyit3O. 
18. ^ Guccione battle with throat cancer from New York magazine
19. ^ New York Magazine, "The Porn King in Winter"
20. ^ Real Estate Weekly, “Kennedy's funds get around”, June 23, 2004
21. ^ "XBiz", IBill Settles With Penthouse Founder Guccione, May 19, 2006
22. ^ "The House that Porn Built"
23. ^ "I Bill, You Bill, We All Scream for iBill: Is the check finally in the mail?" by Dash Hamilton, September 1, 2005]
24. ^ South Florida Business Journal, "Penthouse owner sued by Guccione", February 24, 2006
25. ^ Keil, Braden (March 5, 2008). "The $49M Town House". New York Post. http://www.nypost.com/seven/03052008/news/regionalnews/the_49m_town_house_100518.htm. 
26. ^ http://www.zillow.com/blog/2010-10-21/not-just-porn-for-bob-guccione-real-estate-porn-too/
27. ^ Schiffman, Betty. "Miss Jackson Sells" Forbes.com; 2006; Accessed October 22, 2010.
28. ^ “From Bob Guccione, an Exhibition in Shocking Good Taste” by Peter Marks from New York Times (February 18, 1994)
29. ^ Sotheby's Auction from Shareholder.com
30. ^ Guccione Gets $35 Million Reprieve from Kennedy Funding website
31. ^ Nina Munk. New York Times, September 25, 2005, Don't Blink. You'll Miss the 258th-Richest American
32. ^ New York Times, "Cybersmut and Debt Undermine Penthouse", April 8, 2002
33. ^ ^{a b c} via Associated Press. Notice of Guccione's death, The New York Times, October 20, 2010; accessed October 20, 2010

External links

• Official Penthouse magazine web site
• Bob Guccione biography from The Biography Channel
• Bob Guccione: Life in the Penthouse in LIFE
• Most Expensive Homes In America 2003 in Forbes
• Bob Guccione: Penthouse king laid low from BBC
• Bob Guccione at AllRovi
• Bob Guccione at the Internet Movie Database
• Bob Guccione at the Adult Film Database

Persondata
Name	Guccione, Bob
Alternative names
Short description	Publisher, businessman, art collector
Date of birth	December 17, 1930
Place of birth	Brooklyn, New York, U.S.
Date of death	October 20, 2010
Place of death	Plano, Texas, U.S.