The censors had an immediate reaction and contacted Penthouse to inform them that this was not acceptable. The next month, a model was more clearly shown with her pubic area visible. In a pictorial in June, 1970 a model was shown at a distance walking on a beach with a bikini top but no bottom.
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This fit perfectly with the sultry, hyper sexual style of photo he was looking for.Īfter the Rabbit Hunting series of ads (again showcasing Guccione’s talent for parody, and cartoon prowess), Penthouse wasted no time in pushing the limits of the established US obscenity laws. By day 3 many would be VERY aggressively trying to seduce him. The usual 3 day shoots would start with the model thinking “What a nice guy” when he didn’t make a pass at them. Guccione had another firm rule -He didn’t fraternize with the models he was shooting, even though many made advances toward him. After asking a UK photographer friend to explain to him how the device worked, he began to use carefully placed light and shadow, along with a soft filtered look to establish what would become the “Penthouse Style”. Guccione had never used a camera professionally before starting the magazine. Playboy tended to go for the brightly lit, Bubblegum Pin-up style of photo with a brightly smiling model. People who had heard of the more racy British version of Playboy were chomping at the bit to get their hands on the magazine.įrom the beginning, the “Penthouse Pictorial” style was very different from the “Playboy Pictorial“. They opened a New York office, devised a “Rabbit Hunting” advertising campaign, and began the American edition of Penthouse Magazine. In 1969, building on the roaring success in the British Isles, Guccione and Keaton decided the time was right to take on the biggest competitor on their home turf. This trend would continue through the life of Keaton’s tenure at the magazine. She soon rose in responsibility and began to hire other female employees. It was a rarity for women to be in advertising sales in the 1960’s, but the South African born beauty Keaton had a knack for it. He offered her a job selling advertising for his fledgling magazine, and a business partnership was born. Guccione went to the show and was instantly taken with Keaton. The star’s manager contacted him, irate over the parody, and insisted that if he saw the talent of the show’s star, Kathy Keaton, he would never make fun of it again.
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In 1965 Guccione, who continued to use the art of parody he learned as a cartoonist, made a parody flyer of a West End burlesque show.
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All this did was give the magazine a LOT of free publicity, and soon it was difficult to keep on newsstand shelves due to demand. The politicians in the UK wanted to either ban it or educate people about the “Dangers of Pornography”. It was an immediate success and caused immediate controversy. Using the information gleaned from the Pin-up business Guccione launched the UK edition of Penthouse Magazine in 1965. The articles would be more cutting edge and controversial, the pictorials would feature more nudity and more suggestive poses than Playboy. It would take the Playboy business model but go further. He envisioned a magazine that would emulate playboy but have a very definite British slant.
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At the time they were living in the United Kingdom and Bob became fascinated with the American publication, Playboy. His first wife started a mail order business selling pin-up photographs. Early on he took jobs as a cartoonist to make ends meet and even spent some time managing a string of laundry mats. Bob was always interested in art and trained to be a painter. Robert Charles Joseph Edward Sabatini “Bob” Guccione, was born in Brooklyn, New York on December 17th 1930 to Italian-American parents Anthony and Nina. The collectible Penthouse Magazine issues offered by Doodle Dan’s Deals offer a chance to own a piece of a world that will never exist again.
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At the heart of it all was a very unique character who helmed this ship to the heights of worldwide publishing before seeing it dashed on the rocks of a changing market and extreme financial missteps. It’s a story that could only happen against the backdrop of the turbulent 1960’s, the sexual revolution of the 1970’s and the resultant backlash of the more puritanical 1980s. The Penthouse magazine story is a unique tail of rags to riches and back. You Can click on any image to view details) (Included is a view of Penthouse Playmates from 1969 to 2016 at the end.