"I never thought anything like this would ever happen to me ..." -- Bob Guccione
Last night, Penthouse magazine founder Bob Guccione passed away at the age of 79 in Plano, succumbing to lung cancer after a long fight. He was a champion for the First Amendment, a tireless smut peddler, and he helped produce one of the best, worst dirty movies ever made, Caligula.
You can read the details of how he ended up in the Lone Star State here from our sister paper the Dallas Observer. In the end he was broke and homeless, depending on the help of lawyers to get medical care. Hence, ending his run just north of Dallas. It was a weird life filled with decadence and and excess. Rolling Stone chronicled his life back in April 2004, uncovering his long decline and his family's various financial disputes.
Over the course of Penthouse's history, many celebrities and musicians graced its front page (in addition to the fully-nude women inside). Penthouse was raunchier and darker than the fun-loving and WASPy Playboy, but not as loose or bumpkin as Larry Flynt's Hustler. Let's just say that in Penthouse you could see bodily fluids on the reg. What? We were 17 years-old once.
Oh, and don't forget the Penthouse Forum, that bastion of amateur sex fiction. Who knew that being a golf instructor or a cable man would lead to such rich, fruitful sexual adventures? Screw them, they never published the letters we sent them. Us sackers at Kroger got plenty of tail, and they know it.
Here are our favorite celebrity Penthouse covers of all-time, and yes, Dita Von Teese is most definitely a celebrity. She was married to Marilyn Manson.
If you wish to pay your respects tonight, the Penthouse Club off Winrock is still open. In honor of Guccione's passing, the strippers will be wearing black pumps and thongs, and taking five dollars off all private dances. As always, they will continue to sell you a false fantasy.