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At 79, Bob Guccione has conked out. To be honest, although I remember eagerly getting my grubby hands on American Penthouse back in the 70's because it had harder pictures than Playboy etc, it always seemed way too serious. I think they liked their readers to feel that they were at the cutting edge of international affairs and privy to the White House's most sensitive secrets when really, they just wanted to wank off at the girls.

I heard an interview with Guccione about 20 years ago and was amazed at what an interesting, intelligent guy he seemed. I was expecting some sort of sleazy sour guy obsessed with making money, yet he was obviously very well read and seemed worried about falling education standards and lack of interest in the process of government.

I think he'd been really ill for some time anyway. There's no doubt about how sick he was now!

Deano,if it wasn't for you his name might have been overlooked on this forum.
A true giant of the early glamour publishing industry who died of lung cancer.Well the old so-&-so smoked himself to death.
He started Penthouse in the late 1960s in the London area.Well known for having his pockets sewn up,as in being a bit tight before the money flowed.

Weren't they all.

I met & photographed his second wife,cabaret dancer,KATHY KEETON,in the early 1960s,who also died of cancer,she ran his empire once established in America.

He finally lost control of his publishing outfit years later and only became a figurehead in name only.

Goodbye old friend,may you still keep photographing the Tottie in white,but give up the smoking.

Sad news indeed. Somewhat of a pioneer as I recall in so far as Penthouse were first to show pubes, then first to show a bit of pink and first to show penetration (with fingers).

Didn't he try and build a (nuclear?) power station at some point... I vaguely remember an article about it in one of his mags?

Deano, you say the mag was way too serious (it probably was) but at a time when the only alternative was Playboy, Penthouse seemed to be more politically edgy than Playboy. Didn't they uncover a few political scandals?

TheProf wrote:

(snip)
> Well known for having his pockets sewn up,as in being a bit tight
> before the money flowed.
>
> Weren't they all.
(snip)

Thanks for that interesting insight into the man. I have heard that two of his Pet of the Year winners were rather short changed upon winning their titles and didn't receive anything like the prizes promised. However, one of them (Jeanette Starrian) basically refused to fulfill her obligations with public appearances etc and thus broke her agreement anyway. The other one was Cheryl Rixon - who grew up near me and was a local bikini model and general purpose dolly bird before going all international - probably had unrealistic expectations of Hollywood movie roles etc.

Bob Singleton wrote:


> Deano, you say the mag was way too serious (it probably was)
> but at a time when the only alternative was Playboy, Penthouse
> seemed to be more politically edgy than Playboy. Didn't they
> uncover a few political scandals?

They may well have done but I never bothered to read the articles!
Actually, I was amazed at how they would score interviews with really big names in American politics and entertainment etc. I always thought doing an interview for a rude magazine would be considered inappropriate for these high fliers.

Deano! wrote:


> Actually, I was amazed at how they would score interviews with
> really big names in American politics and entertainment etc. I
> always thought doing an interview for a rude magazine would be
> considered inappropriate for these high fliers.
>


All the writers were "top name" freelancers of the time, so they probably got interviews with the big names on the basis of who the interviewer was, rather than where it might end up.

Bob G.could charm Nelson off his column.
A friend of mine,who I broke the news to this morning,started the mag together before he found him too much with his dealings..

He was the classic American gift of the gab exponent,both in business & with the girls...all soft focus and mush.You either liked him or you didn't.

The girls on the otherhand came from very well to do families.Most had a few pounds in the bank thanks to daddy.Bob G knew how the pick the best girls with the silver tongue of his.

That sold the mag,class tottie.And boy did he have the pick of the letters from chics that wrote in wanting to appear on it's pages.He also had the cheque book (when he unlocked it) to pay for the service.

On our mags we were left with the minnows but the punters didn't mind because it was a different class of top shelf 'tits and bums' without all the bullshit of reading material.

Great days of 1960-70s publishing.

Great one here with L. Ron Hubbard Jr, talking about his father, who by all account's was a complete cunt.

Alas you have to be a total cunt to get anywhere in this world nowadays - ask George Osborne.