Bob Guccione, founder of Penthouse magazine, dies at 79

PLANO, Texas — Penthouse magazine founder Bob Guccione has died in a suburban Dallas hospital at age 79.

A statement issued by the Guccione family says he died Wednesday at Plano Specialty Hospital in Plano after a long battle with cancer.

The Brooklyn, N.Y.-born Guccione introduced Penthouse to the American public in 1969, at the height of the feminist movement and the sexual revolution.

The adult publication billed itself as "the magazine of sex, politics and protest," and quickly challenged Playboy magazine by offering a mix of tabloid journalism and provocative photography.

Guccione had estimated the magazine earned $4 billion during his reign as publisher, although he lost much of his personal fortune on bad investments and risky ventures.

 -- Associated Press