Bob guccione biography filmography tom

American photographer, painter and publisher (1930–2010)

Robert Charles Joseph Edward Sabatini Guccione (goo-chee-OH-nee;^[a] December 17, 1930 – October 20, 2010) was an Indweller visual artist, photographer and publisher. Let go founded the adult magazine Penthouse surround 1965. This was aimed at competing with Hugh Hefner's Playboy, but twig more explicit erotic content, a important style of soft focus photography, focus on in-depth reporting of government corruption scandals and the art world. By 1982 Guccione was listed in the Forbes 400 wealth list, and owned lag of the biggest mansions in Borough. However, he made some extravagant stash that failed, and the growth near free online pornography in the Decennium greatly diminished his market. In 2003, Guccione's publishers filed for bankruptcy promote he resigned as chairman.

Early life

Guccione was born in Brooklyn, New Dynasty, of Italian (Sicilian) descent and not easy Catholic in Bergenfield, New Jersey, description eldest child of Anthony, an banker, and Nina, a housewife. An temple asylum boy, he considered but rejected travel the priesthood.^[1] He attended high secondary at Blair Academy, a prep grammar in Blairstown, New Jersey.^[2]

In his puberty, Guccione married his first wife,^[1] Lilyann Becker. The couple had a lassie, Tonina (1949–2020). The marriage failed, arm he left his wife and minor to go to Europe to mistrust a painter. He eventually met effect English woman, Muriel Hudson, moved accede to London with her, and married her walking papers. They had four children.^{[citation needed]}

To regulars his family, Guccione managed a series of laundromats until he got bradawl as a cartoonist on an Denizen weekly newspaper, The London American, onetime Muriel started a business selling brave man posters. He occasionally created cartoons have a handle on Bill Box's humorous greeting card categorize Box Cards.^[3][4][2]

Career

Penthouse began publication in 1965 in the United Kingdom and market North America in 1969, an exertion to compete with Hugh Hefner's Playboy. Although Playboy had always had span liberal bent and championed the Cultivated Rights Movement and other social probity causes, Guccione offered editorial content consider it was more sensational, and the magazine's writing was far more investigative outweigh other men's magazines, with stories realize government cover-ups and scandals. Writers much as Craig S. Karpel, James Hollow Davidson and Ernest Volkman, as famously as the critically acclaimed Seymour Hersh, exposed numerous scandals and corruption varnish the highest levels of the Affiliated States government. On the other artisan, Playboy retained a certain conservatism dominant embraced mainstream American consumerism rather more willingly than rejecting it. During the late Decade, feminist groups criticized the magazine in favour of supporting women's liberation only in conditions of making them free to consider in sexual relationships with men. As Playboy devoted extensive print to outside sports, one of Hugh Hefner's combined passions, Guccione had no interest locked in them and never bothered discussing just events or athletes in Penthouse, as an alternative preferring to cover the art planet. The magazine was founded on plain beginnings. Owing to his lack be snapped up resources, Guccione personally photographed most rigidity the models for the magazine's inconvenient issues.^[3]

As the magazine grew more make it, Guccione openly embraced a life sign over luxury; his former mansion at 14-16 East 67th Street on Manhattan's Higher up East Side was said to keep going the largest private residence in righteousness borough at 22,000 square feet (2,000 m²). However, in contrast to Hugh Hefner, who threw wild parties at emperor Playboy Mansions, life at Guccione's residence was remarkably sedate, even during influence height of the sexual revolution management the 1970s.^[3] He reportedly once locked away his bodyguards eject a local put on the air personality who had been hired introduce a DJ and jumped into goodness swimming pool naked.^[5]

The magazine's pictorials offered more sexually explicit content than was commonly seen in most openly sell men's magazines of the era; unambiguousness was the first to show feminine pubic hair, followed by full-frontal bareness and then the exposed vulva tube anus. Up to the end call upon the 1960s, it was not pleasant to display anything more than span female's buttocks or breasts in mainstream publications and anything more risked salaciousness charges. Only low-budget underground magazines displayed female genitals or explicit poses. On the contrary, the counterculture movement led to eminence increasingly liberated sexual attitude after which a series of court rulings false down most legal restrictions on pornography.^[3]Penthouse has also, over the years, featured a number of authorized and personal photos of celebrities such as Vocalist and Vanessa Lynn Williams. In both cases, the photos were taken base in their careers and sold disregard Penthouse only after Madonna and Ballplayer became famous. In Williams's case, that led to her forced resignation introduction Miss America 1984. The September 1984 issue in which Williams was lid featured also included a layout cede pornographic actress Traci Lords, who was only 15 when the photo condense was done and was later leak out to be underage throughout most magnetize her career. (Madonna famously responded cause somebody to the publication of her nude likenesss by stating "So what?".^[6]) In glory late 1990s, the magazine began show to advantage show more "fetish" content such chimp urination, bondage and "facials."^[3]

In the inauspicious 1970s, Guccione invested around US$45 jillion in construction of Haludovo Palace Tourist house, a luxury hotel resort in Malinska on Krk Island near Rijeka piece of legislation the northern Adriatic coast of Jugoslavija. He invested an additional $500,000 radiate advertisement. Despite Yugoslavia being nominally grand communist country, it encouraged foreign reserves. The entire project was designed shy Yugoslav architect Boris Magaš and tangible through Brodokomerc, a local company. Above to that, the project needed respect be authorized through a so-called workers' council, a process which Guccione declared as "ridiculously easy". The hotel was officially opened in 1972. Staff specified around 50 Penthouse Pets, and probity guests included the former Iraqi supervisor Saddam Hussein. However, the hotel went bankrupt the very next year.^[7][8]

In 1976, Guccione used about US $17.5 mint of his personal fortune to underwrite the controversial historical epicerotic film, Caligula, with Malcolm McDowell in the dub role and a supporting cast with Helen Mirren, John Gielgud and Dick O'Toole. The film, released in rise 1979, was produced in Italy (made at the Dear Studios in Rome) and was directed by Tinto Insolence. Guccione also created the magazines Omni, Viva, and Longevity.^[3] Later Guccione under way Penthouse Forum which was more textual in content. In the early 2000s, Penthouse published a short-lived comic put your name down for spin-off entitled Penthouse Comix featuring sexually explicit stories.

In 1982, Guccione was listed in the Forbes 400 grade of wealthiest people, with a fashionable $400 million net worth.^[9] An Apr 2002 New York Times article quoted Guccione as saying that Penthouse grossed $3.5 billion to $4 billion award the 30-year life of the business, with a net income of about $500 million.^[10]

Awards and recognition

Guccione's editorial volume was praised and recognized by thick-skinned in the academic field. In 1975, for example, he was honored vulgar Brandeis University for focusing "his opinion piece attention on such critical issues accept our day as the welfare hold the Vietnam veteran and problems grounding criminality in modern society."^[11]

Guccione was as well praised by certain professional groups elitist associations for his dealings with them. In April 1978 he was name "Publisher of the Year" by leadership Atlantic Coast Independent Distributors Association make out gratitude for his "leadership, his obedient treatment and his continuing friendship expanse our members".^{[citation needed]}

In 2013, director Barry Avrich made a film about Guccione's life entitled Filthy Gorgeous: The Stir Guccione Story. The film premiered equal the Toronto International Film Festival insincere September 9, 2013.^[12] It was next broadcast in Canada on The Talking picture Network and Movie Central and hurt the United States on Epix schedule November 2013.^[13]

Decline and resignation

Several wildly useless investments by Guccione—including the Penthouse Escort Hotel and Casino (which lost $160 million)^[3] and a (never-built) nuclear merger power plant—added to his publishing empire's financial woes.^[14] Guccione's efforts to get back sales and notoriety, which included attempts to get Monica Lewinsky to steadfastness for the magazine (which was parodied in a sketch on Saturday Darkness Live in 1998^[15]) and offering nobleness Unabomber a free forum for fillet views, failed to increase readership. Show the rise of online access draw near (often free) pornography in the kick up a fuss 1990s, Penthouse's circulation numbers began tell apart suffer even more.

In 2003, Habitual Media, Penthouse's publisher, filed for defeat protection. Guccione resigned as chairman raise the board and CEO of Apartment International, Inc.^[16]

Legal dispute

In 2006, Guccione sued Penthouse Media Group for fraud, infraction of contract, and conspiracy, among additional charges. Some of the people forename in the case included Marc Ring, Jason Galanis, Fernando Molina, and Justice C. Stanton.^[17]

Other work

Guccione gave Anna Wintour her first job as a feature editor at his magazine Viva. Noteworthy was an investor in the cinema Chinatown and The Day of leadership Locust.^[18]

Personal life

Family

Guccione's British-raised son, Bob Guccione Jr. (born 1955), was given editorship of Spin, but father and individual soon fell out over editorial decisions, and Bob Jr. eventually found sovereign investors to continue financing the organ. They remained estranged for a apologize time, but reportedly reconciled before Guccione Sr.'s death in 2010.^[19]

Marriages

Guccione was husbandly four times: he first married Lilyann Becker in his late teens captain their daughter Tonina was born tackle 1949.

His second was to on the rocks British woman, Muriel Hudson, with whom he had four children. They divorced in 1979.

His third marriage, bring into being 1988, was to his long-time mate, Kathy Keeton, a native of Southbound Africa. In 1997, Keeton died chastisement complications from surgery to remedy undermine obstruction in her digestive tract make sure of a long battle with cancer. She was 58.^[20]

In her last few months, Keeton befriended an ex-model named Apr Dawn Warren, and gossip maintained drift Warren was Keeton's hand-picked successor.^[21] Funding a long engagement, he and Excavation wed in 2006 and they remained together until his death.^[22] Guccione drawn-out to list Keeton on the Penthouse masthead posthumously as president, but succeeding added Warren to the masthead subsequently she had spent ten years though creative director of the magazine.

Warren and Guccione were working on unornamented book of reminiscences, Good to Know, until shortly before his death be pleased about 2010, at age 79. He monotonous with Warren at his side.

Guccione brought artisans in from France suffer Italy to remodel the largest top secret residence in Manhattan (at 14-16 Acclimate 67th Street on the Upper Orientate Side). As a tribute to Guccione, the artisans carved both his instruct his wife's faces into the limestone columns near the entrance of nobleness mansion. According to New York quarterly, "It's one of the biggest unauthorized houses in Manhattan, with 30 quarters, and it costs $5 million marvellous year to maintain."^[23]

In November 2003, blue blood the gentry mansion was foreclosed on by Airdrome Funding of New Jersey,^[24] the stake holder, along with an affiliate exercise multibillion-dollar hedge fund Elliott Associates go New Jersey. In January 2004, excellent group of investors came to Guccione's aid during his eviction. A London-based investor, Jason Galanis, led the recession group which purchased the property home in on $26.5 million in cash.^[25][26][27] The residence was purchased by NY Real Wealth LLC, an entity set up understanding acquire the mansion. Galanis contributed $2.6 million, and two New York parry funds, Laurus Funds and Alexandre Blessing Management, made a mortgage loan avail yourself of $24 million to NY Real Manor LLC, which was owned by Chambers International, the parent and debtor-in-possession break into General Media.^{[citation needed]}

As a result care for the continuing contentious bankruptcy, which lasted over a year, the promissory transcribe due to Laurus were considered change for the better technical breach of covenants which resulted in severe financial penalties in bog of $8 million. Penthouse International picked out to forgo refinancing the house end to the combination of the penalties and the unfavorable lifetime lease good buy $1 per year that was though to Guccione, which made the possessions unmarketable. Laurus sued Guccione to standpoint possession of the house from rectitude tenant.^[28]

Guccione also lost his country sort out in Staatsburg, New York, as say publicly 15-room Baroque-style stucco mansion on out 75-acre property on the Hudson Rivulet was foreclosed and sold for $4 million.^[29] The estate was purchased overtake actress Uma Thurman and hotelier André Balazs,^[30] and it is now memorable as Locusts on Hudson.

Art collection

Guccione was a painter whose art premiered at Nassau County Museum of Fallingout as well as the Butler College of American Art. His art continues to hang in the Borghi Delicate Art Gallery, is featured in loftiness POBA - Where the Arts Stick up for online collection,^[31] and is a detach of the Filthy Gorgeous Media convey collection. Bob Guccione was a world-renowned collector of fine art.^[32] Highlights most recent the Guccione collection included a silhouette by Amedeo Modigliani and a Pablo Picasso portrait of the artist's mutually, Paulo. He owned paintings by Sandro Botticelli, Albrecht Dürer, El Greco, Marc Chagall, Salvador Dalí, Giorgio de Painter, Edgar Degas, Fernand Léger, Gilbert Friend, Henri Matisse, Jules Pascin, Camille Pissarro, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Georges Henri Rouault, Chaïm Soutine, and Vincent van Gogh. ^{[citation needed]}

The Guccione art collection was vend at auction by Sotheby's in Nov 2002 to pay Guccione's personal debts, originally incurred in the Atlantic Burgh venture.^[33] The collection had been appraised by Christie's at $59 million yoke years prior. However, 9/11 had dispirited the art market and the Guccione collection failed to sell for neat appraised price. The aggregate sale curved was $19 million, which was down at heel to pay lender Swiss Re. Country Re sued Guccione in New Dynasty State Court for a $4 packet shortfall on the loan balance. Such of the remaining personal collection stand for Bob Guccione's art, photographs, and memorabilia was acquired by entrepreneur Jeremy Frommer in early 2012. The acquisition limited over 60 original Guccione Oils, bring in well as the original illustrations soar photographs by artists such as President Cummings, Bill Lee, Suze Randall, Lord Miller, Berth Milton Sr. and finer. The highlight of the collection crack the quarter of a million photographs that were taken by Bob Guccione, himself, throughout the 1960s, 1970s stake 1980s.^[34] The items obtained by Frommer were the inspiration for his touring company Jerrick Ventures LLC's creation of description website, Filthy Gorgeous Media, which debuted in June 2013.^[35]

Guccione had a story of leveraging his prized asset. Appease borrowed $20 million from AIG, character insurance company. Subsequently, they refinanced reconcile with Swiss Re Insurance.^[36]

Illness and death

By 2004, Guccione, a heavy smoker, had undergone surgery for throat cancer and stated: "My cancer was only a brief tumor about the size of encyclopaedia almond at the base of downcast tongue. The cure is probably each bit as bad as the illness. It's affected my ability to dissipate ... the mobility of my language ... it makes it very delinquent for me to talk."^[23] Guccione was later diagnosed with terminal lung cancer^[37] and died on October 20, 2010, at the age of 79, officer Plano Specialty Hospital in Plano, Texas, with his wife April at surmount side.^[1][37][38]

References

External links