Bob Guccione, who brought full-frontal nudity to the newsstands and built a multimillion dollar publishing empire on the success of his flagship Penthouse magazine, died of cancer in Plano, Texas, on Wednesday, his family said. He was 79.
He earned world headlines and sent Penthouse sales rocketing with publication of nude photographs of Miss America, Vanessa Williams, in 1984 and of pop queen Madonna in 1985.
With its frontal pictures of naked women, the magazine drew immediate criticism that only spurred its popularity.
In 1969, Penthouse invaded the United States and challenged Playboy with more sexually explicit stories and photographs, many taken by Guccione himself in soft-focus. The magazine also was among the first to run a column for Vietnam veterans.
The Madonna photos, taken years before when she was a model, sparked a bitter fight between Penthouse and Playboy, each claiming their pictures were sexier and rushed them into print in July of 1985.
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