''Penthouse'' is a

men's magazine This is a list of men's magazines from around the world. These are magazines (periodical print publications) that have been published primarily for a readership of men. The list has been split into subcategories according to the target audienc ...

founded by

Bob Guccione Robert Charles Joseph Edward Sabatini Guccione ( ; December 17, 1930 – October 20, 2010) was an American visual artist, photographer and publisher. He founded the adult magazine '' Penthouse'' in 1965. This was aimed at competing with ''Playbo ...

and published by

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

–based Penthouse World Media, LLC. It combines urban lifestyle articles and

softcore pornographic Softcore pornography or softcore porn is commercial still photography, film, imagery, or even audio that has a pornographic or erotic component but is less sexually graphic or intrusive than hardcore pornography, defined by a lack of sexual pene ...

pictures of women that, in the 1990s, evolved into hardcore pornographic pictures of women. Although Guccione was American, the magazine was founded in the United Kingdom in 1965, and first published simultaneously in the UK and the U.S. in March 1965. From September 1969, an "American Edition" was made available in the United States. Since 2016, ''Penthouse'' has been under the ownership of Penthouse World Media (formerly known as Penthouse Global Media Inc.), which filed for bankruptcy in 2018. Its assets were subsequently acquired in June of that same year by WGCZ Ltd., the owners of

XVideos XVideos, stylized as XVIDEOS, is a Czech-French pornographic video sharing and viewing website. Founded in Paris in 2007, the website is now registered to the Czech company WGCZ Holding. , it is the 25th- most-visited website in the world and th ...

, when it won a bankruptcy auction bid. Later on, Penthouse Global Media was spun off from WGCZ and rebranded as Penthouse World Media. The magazine's

centerfold The centerfold or centrefold of a magazine is the inner pages of the middle Folio, sheet, usually containing a portrait, such as a pin-up or a Nudity, nude. The term can also refer to the model featured in the portrait. In saddle-stitched maga ...

models are known as ''Penthouse'' "Pets" and customarily wear a distinctive necklace in the form of a stylized key which incorporates both the

Mars Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun. It is also known as the "Red Planet", because of its orange-red appearance. Mars is a desert-like rocky planet with a tenuous carbon dioxide () atmosphere. At the average surface level the atmosph ...

and

Venus Venus is the second planet from the Sun. It is often called Earth's "twin" or "sister" planet for having almost the same size and mass, and the closest orbit to Earth's. While both are rocky planets, Venus has an atmosphere much thicker ...

symbols in its design. The first "Pet of the Month" was Denise Johns, who was also pictured on the cover. The first American Pet of the Month was Evelyn Treacher, who was on the cover of the first American edition in September 1969. The first Pet of the Year in the United States was Stephanie McLean, pictured on the cover of the September 1971 issue. In 2024, ''Penthouse'' started releasing physical copies of comic magazines.

Bob Guccione

At the height of its success, Guccione, who died in 2010, was considered one of the richest men in the United States. In 1982, he was listed in the ''Forbes'' 400 ranking of wealthiest people. An April 2002 ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' article reported Guccione as saying that ''Penthouse'' grossed $3.5 billion to $4 billion over the 30-year life of the company.

Publication history

''Penthouse'' magazine began publication in the UK in March 1965. In September 1969, in an attempt to compete with

Hugh Hefner Hugh Marston Hefner (April 9, 1926 – September 27, 2017) was an American magazine publisher. He was the founder and editor-in-chief of ''Playboy'' magazine, a publication with revealing photographs and articles. Hefner extended the ''Playboy ...

's ''

Playboy ''Playboy'' (stylized in all caps) is an American men's Lifestyle journalism, lifestyle and entertainment magazine, available both online and in print. It was founded in Chicago in 1953 by Hugh Hefner and his associates, funded in part by a $ ...

'', the first American edition was published. Guccione offered editorial content that was more sensational than that of ''Playboy'', and the magazine's writing was far more investigative than Hefner's upscale emphasis, with stories about government cover-ups and scandals. Writers such as

Seymour Hersh Seymour Myron Hersh (born April 8, 1937) is an American investigative journalist and political writer. He gained recognition in 1969 for exposing the My Lai massacre and its cover-up during the Vietnam War, for which he received the 1970 Pulitzer ...

James Dale Davidson James Dale Davidson is an American private investor and investment writer, co-writer of the newsletter ''Strategic Investment'', and co-author with William Rees-Mogg of ''Blood in the Streets: Investment Profits in a World Gone Mad'' (1987), ''Th ...

, and

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exposed numerous scandals and corruption at the highest levels of the United States Government. Contributors to the magazine included

Isaac Asimov Isaac Asimov ( ; – April 6, 1992) was an Russian-born American writer and professor of biochemistry at Boston University. During his lifetime, Asimov was considered one of the "Big Three" science fiction writers, along with Robert A. H ...

James Baldwin James Arthur Baldwin (né Jones; August 2, 1924 – December 1, 1987) was an American writer and civil rights activist who garnered acclaim for his essays, novels, plays, and poems. His 1953 novel '' Go Tell It on the Mountain'' has been ranked ...

Howard Blum Howard Blum () (born 1948) is an American author and journalist. Formerly a reporter for ''The Village Voice'' and ''The New York Times'', Blum is a contributing editor at '' Vanity Fair'' and the author of several non-fiction books, including t ...

Victor Bockris Victor Bockris (born 1949) is an English-born, U.S.-based author, primarily of biographies of artists, writers, and musicians. He has written about Lou Reed (and The Velvet Underground), Andy Warhol, Keith Richards, William S. Burroughs, Terr ...

, T. C. Boyle,

Alexander Cockburn Alexander Claud Cockburn ( ; 6 June 1941 – 21 July 2012) was a Scottish-born Irish-American political journalist and writer. Cockburn was brought up by British parents in Ireland, but lived and worked in the United States from 1972. Together ...

Harry Crews Harry Eugene Crews (June 7, 1935 – March 28, 2012) was an American novelist, short story writer, and essayist. He often made use of violent, grotesque characters and set them in regions of the Deep South. Life Harry Crews was born June 7, 1 ...

Cameron Crowe Cameron Bruce Crowe (born July 13, 1957) is an American filmmaker and journalist. He has received numerous accolades including an Academy Award, BAFTA Award, and Grammy Award as well as a nomination for a Tony Award. Crowe started his career a ...

Don DeLillo Donald Richard DeLillo (born November 20, 1936) is an American novelist, short story writer, playwright, screenwriter, and essayist. His works have covered subjects as diverse as consumerism, nuclear war, the complexities of language, art, televi ...

Alan Dershowitz Alan Morton Dershowitz ( ; born September 1, 1938) is an American lawyer and law professor known for his work in U.S. constitutional law, U.S. constitutional and American criminal law, criminal law. From 1964 to 2013, he taught at Harvard Law Sc ...

Edward Jay Epstein Edward Jay Epstein (December 6, 1935 – January 9, 2024) was an American investigative journalist and a political science professor at Harvard University, the University of California, Los Angeles, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. ...

Chet Flippo Chester White "Chet" Flippo (October 21, 1943 – June 19, 2013) was an American music journalist and biographer. Biography Born in Fort Worth, Texas, he graduated from Sam Houston State University in 1965, serving thereafter in the U.S. Navy ...

Albert Goldman Albert Harry Goldman (April 15, 1927 – March 28, 1994) was an American academic and author. Goldman wrote about the culture and personalities of the American music industry, both in books and as a contributor to magazines. He is known for ...

Anthony Haden-Guest Anthony Haden-Guest (born 2 February 1937) is an English-American writer, reporter, cartoonist, art critic, poet, and socialite who lives in New York City and London. He is a frequent contributor to major magazines and has had several books pu ...

, John Hawkes,

Nat Hentoff Nathan Irving Hentoff (June 10, 1925 – January 7, 2017) was an American historian, novelist, jazz and country music critic, and syndicated columnist for United Media. Hentoff was a columnist for ''The Village Voice'' from 1958 to 2009. F ...

Warren Hinckle Warren James Hinckle III (October 12, 1938 – August 25, 2016) was an American political journalist based in San Francisco. Hinckle is remembered for his tenure as editor of '' Ramparts'' magazine, turning a sleepy publication aimed at a lib ...

Abbie Hoffman Abbot Howard Hoffman (November 30, 1936 – April 12, 1989) was an American political and social activist who co-founded the Youth International Party ("Yippies") and was a member of the Chicago Seven. He was also a leading proponent of the ...

Nicholas von Hoffman Nicholas von Hoffman (October 16, 1929 – February 1, 2018) was an American journalist and author. He first worked as a community organizer for Saul Alinsky in Chicago for ten years from 1953 to 1963. Later, Von Hoffman wrote for ''The Washingt ...

Michael Korda Michael Korda (born 8 October 1933) is an English-born writer and novelist who was editor-in-chief of Simon & Schuster in New York City. Early years Born in London, Michael Korda is the son of English actress Gertrude Musgrove and the Hungarian ...

Paul Krassner Paul Krassner (April 9, 1932 – July 21, 2019) was an American writer and satirist. He was the founder, editor, and a frequent contributor to the freethought magazine ''The Realist'', first published in 1958. Krassner became a key figure in t ...

Michael Ledeen Michael Arthur Ledeen (; August 1, 1941 – May 17, 2025) was an American scholar and neoconservative foreign policy analyst. He was a consultant to the United States National Security Council, the United States Department of State, and the Unit ...

Anthony Lewis Joseph Anthony Lewis (March 27, 1927 – March 25, 2013) was an American public intellectual and journalist. He was a two-time winner of the Pulitzer Prize and was a columnist for ''The New York Times''. He is credited with creating the field o ...

Joyce Carol Oates Joyce Carol Oates (born June 16, 1938) is an American writer. Oates published her first book in 1963, and has since published 58 novels, a number of plays and novellas, and many volumes of short stories, poetry, and nonfiction. Her novels ''Black ...

James Purdy James Otis Purdy (July 17, 1914 March 13, 2009) was an American novelist, short-story writer, poet, and playwright who, from his debut in 1956, published over a dozen novels, and many collections of poetry, short stories, and plays. His work ha ...

Philip Roth Philip Milton Roth (; March 19, 1933 – May 22, 2018) was an American novelist and short-story writer. Roth's fiction—often set in his birthplace of Newark, New Jersey—is known for its intensely autobiographical character, for philosophical ...

, Harrison E. Salisbury,

Gail Sheehy Gail Sheehy (born Gail Henion; November 27, 1936 – August 24, 2020) was an American author, journalist, and lecturer. She was the author of seventeen books and numerous high-profile articles for magazines such as New York (magazine), ''New Y ...

, Robert Sherrill,

Mickey Spillane Frank Morrison Spillane (; March 9, 1918July 17, 2006), better known as Mickey Spillane, was an American crime novelist, called the "king of pulp fiction". His stories often feature his signature detective character, Mike Hammer. More than 225 ...

Ben Stein Benjamin Jeremy Stein (born November 25, 1944) is an American writer, lawyer, actor, comedian, and commentator on political and economic issues. He began his career as a speechwriter for U.S. presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford before enter ...

, Harry Stein,

Tad Szulc Tadeusz Witold Szulc (July 25, 1926 – May 21, 2001) was an author and foreign correspondent for ''The New York Times'' from 1953 to 1972. Szulc is credited with breaking the story of the Bay of Pigs invasion. Early life Szulc was born in W ...

Studs Terkel Louis "Studs" Terkel (May 16, 1912 – October 31, 2008) was an American writer, historian, actor, and broadcaster. He received the Pulitzer Prize for General Nonfiction in 1985 for ''The Good War'' and is best remembered for his oral histor ...

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, and

Dr. Ruth Westheimer Karola Ruth Westheimer (née Siegel; June 4, 1928 – July 12, 2024), better known as Dr. Ruth, was a German and American sex therapist and talk show host. Westheimer was born in Germany to a Jewish family. As the Nazis came to power, her paren ...

. The magazine was founded on humble beginnings. Due to Guccione's lack of resources, he personally photographed most of the models for the magazine's early issues.Anthony Haden-Gues
"Boom and Bust"
''The Observer'', February 1, 2004 Without professional training, Guccione applied his knowledge of painting to his

photography Photography is the visual arts, art, application, and practice of creating images by recording light, either electronically by means of an image sensor, or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film. It is empl ...

, establishing the diffused,

soft focus In photography, soft focus is a lens flaw, in which the lens forms images that are blurred due to uncorrected spherical aberration. A soft focus lens deliberately introduces spherical aberration which blurs fine texture in the image while reta ...

look that would become one of the trademarks of the magazine's pictorials. Guccione would sometimes take several days to complete a shoot. As the magazine grew more successful, Guccione openly embraced a life of luxury; his former mansion is said to be the largest private residence in

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

at . However, in contrast to

, who threw wild parties at his

Playboy Mansion The Playboy Mansion, also known as the Playboy Mansion West, is the former home of ''Playboy'' magazine founder Hugh Hefner, who lived there from 1971 until his death in 2017. Barbi Benton convinced Hefner to buy the home located in Holmby H ...

s, life at Guccione's mansion was remarkably sedate, even during the hedonistic 1970s. He reportedly once had his bodyguards eject a local radio personality who had been hired as a DJ and jumped into the swimming pool naked."The Twilight of Bob Guccione"
from ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

'' The magazine's pictorials offered more sexually explicit content than what was commonly seen in most openly sold

men's magazines This is a list of men's magazines from around the world. These are Magazine, magazines (periodical print publications) that have been published primarily for a readership of Man, men. The list has been split into subcategories according to the t ...

of the era. It was the first to show female

pubic hair Pubic hair (or pubes , ) is terminal hair, terminal body hair that is found in the sex organ, genital area and pubic region of adolescent and adult humans. The hair is located on and around the sex organs, and sometimes at the top of the inside ...

, followed by full-frontal nudity, and eventually, the exposed

vulva In mammals, the vulva (: vulvas or vulvae) comprises mostly external, visible structures of the female sex organ, genitalia leading into the interior of the female reproductive tract. For humans, it includes the mons pubis, labia majora, lab ...

and

anus In mammals, invertebrates and most fish, the anus (: anuses or ani; from Latin, 'ring' or 'circle') is the external body orifice at the ''exit'' end of the digestive tract (bowel), i.e. the opposite end from the mouth. Its function is to facil ...

. ''Penthouse'' has also featured a number of authorized and unauthorized photos of celebrities, such as

Madonna Madonna Louise Ciccone ( ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and actress. Referred to as the "Queen of Pop", she has been recognized for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, ...

and

Vanessa Williams Vanessa Lynn Williams (born March 18, 1963) is an American singer, actress, model, producer and dancer. She gained recognition as the first Black woman to win the Miss America title when she was crowned Miss America 1984. She would later Vanes ...

. In both cases, the photos were taken earlier in their careers and sold to ''Penthouse'' only after Madonna and Williams became famous. However, in the late 1990s, poor business decisions were made by Guccione, from not incorporating digital marketing in the technology age to changing the content of the magazine and publishing control gradually slipped away from him. In a desperate attempt to boost sales, the magazine began to showcase more "fetish" content, including subjects such as urination, bondage, and "

facial A facial is a family of skin care treatments for the face, including steam, exfoliation (physical and chemical), extraction, creams, lotions, facial masks, peels, and massage. They are normally performed in beauty salons, but are also a c ...

s." When this was featured, companies no longer wanted their products associated with or featured in ''Penthouse'' and quickly had their advertising removed. For the magazine, once respected and successful (and would outsell Playboy beginning in the late 1970s and continuing for several years there after), it was inevitably the beginning of its decline. Observers have commented that Guccione created an empire and also destroyed it. On January 15, 2016, a press release emanating from then-owner

Friend Finder Networks Friend Finder Networks (formerly Various, Inc.) is an American internet company founded in 1996 by Andrew Conru and Lars Mapstead. Its corporate headquarters are located in Boca Raton, Florida, with additional offices in California, New York, a ...

announced that ''Penthouse'' would end its print operations and move to all digital. However, managing director Kelly Holland quickly disavowed the decision and pledged to keep the print version of the magazine alive.

Key symbol

The magazine's symbol was initially a single

skeleton key A skeleton key (also known as a passkey) is a type of master keying, master key in which the serrated edge has been removed in such a way that it can open numerous Lock and key, locks, most commonly the warded lock. The term derives from th ...

, and in January 1973 became three keys. It was conceived by Bob Guccione and was in the table of contents of every issue from number 1 onward. According to the magazine in January 1973: :The ey symbolwas apt, not only because every penthouse requires a key, but because a key is traditionally a phallic symbol—in Italian the word is '' chiave'', yielding the verb '' chiavare'', slang for copulation. In designing the Penthouse key Bob neatly united the standard symbols for male and female, the circle and arrow and circle and cross. So the key enshrines the ineluctable equation: Man plus Woman equals Penthouse. Later, when the London Penthouse Club was launched, the key was triplicated to provide a distinctive symbol. Though some have suspected papal inspiration in this development (cf. 3#Christianity), Bob's explanation is simpler: "Three is my lucky number, and I've found things happen in threes."

Financial history

In 1982, Guccione was listed in the Forbes 400 ranking of wealthiest people, with a reported $400 million net worth. An April 2002 ''New York Times'' article quoted Guccione as saying that ''Penthouse'' grossed $3.5 billion to $4 billion over the 30-year life of the company, with a net income of almost $500 million. In 1999, hoping to raise cash and reduce debt, ''Penthouse'' sold several automotive magazine titles from its large portfolio Peterson Automotive, raising $33 million in cash. However, two of their retained publications, science and health magazines '' Omni'' and ''Longevity'' lost almost $100 million, contributing to financial problems.

Bankruptcy

On August 12, 2003, General Media, the parent company of the magazine, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Immediately upon filing,

Cerberus Capital Management Cerberus Capital Management, L.P. is an American global alternative investment firm with assets across credit, private equity, and real estate strategies.Leaders Magazine"Providing Economic Opportunity: An Interview with The Honorable Dan Qua ...

entered into a $5 million

debtor-in-possession A debtor in possession or DIP in United States bankruptcy law is a person or corporation who has filed a bankruptcy petition, but remains in possession of property upon which a creditor has a lien or similar security interest. A debtor becomes th ...

credit line with General Media to provide working capital. In October 2003, ''Penthouse'' magazine was put up for sale as part of a deal with its creditors. On November 13, 2004, Guccione resigned as chairman and CEO of Penthouse International, the parent of General Media. ''Penthouse'' filed for

bankruptcy Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the deb ...

protection on September 17, 2013. The magazine's then-current owner FriendFinder's current

common stock Common stock is a form of corporate equity ownership, a type of security. The terms voting share and ordinary share are also used frequently outside of the United States. They are known as equity shares or ordinary shares in the UK and other C ...

was wiped out and was no longer traded on the open market. In August 2013, FriendFinder's stock was delisted from

Nasdaq The Nasdaq Stock Market (; National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations) is an American stock exchange based in New York City. It is the most active stock trading venue in the U.S. by volume, and ranked second on the list ...

because it consistently failed to trade for more than $1. As of 2015, General Media Communications, Inc. publishes entertainment magazines and operates as a subsidiary of FriendFinder Networks Inc.

Ownership change

In February 2016, Penthouse Global Media – a new company headed by Penthouse Entertainment managing director Kelly Holland – acquired the ''Penthouse'' brand from FriendFinder Networks. Holland overhauled the brand and its properties, with guidance from then-publisher of ''Penthouse'''s Australian edition, Damien Costas. Costas had acquired the masthead in 2013, repositioning it away from adult content toward commentary on cultural and political issues. Penthouse Global Media filed for

Chapter 11 bankruptcy Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code ( Title 11 of the United States Code) permits reorganization under the bankruptcy laws of the United States. Such reorganization, known as Chapter 11 bankruptcy, is available to every business, w ...

on January 11, 2018, to address debt-related issues. Penthouse Global Media, Inc. were acquired by WGCZ Ltd., operators of

, on June 4, 2018, after winning a bankruptcy auction for US$11.2 million; other companies, such as

MindGeek Aylo is a Canadian multinational Pornography, pornographic Media conglomerate, conglomerate owned by Canadian private equity firm Ethical Capital Partners. It is primarily involved in internet pornography, operating a number of video sharing web ...

, also participated in the auction. Penthouse Global Media, Inc. was later spun off from WGCZ and renamed Penthouse World Media.

Awards and recognition

The magazine's editorial content was praised and recognized by those in the academic field. In 1975, for example, Guccione was honored by

Brandeis University Brandeis University () is a Private university, private research university in Waltham, Massachusetts, United States. It is located within the Greater Boston area. Founded in 1948 as a nonsectarian, non-sectarian, coeducational university, Bra ...

for focusing "his editorial attention on such critical issues of our day as the welfare of the

Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...

veteran and problems of criminality in modern society". In 2013, director Barry Avrich made a film about Guccione's life entitled '' Filthy Gorgeous: The Bob Guccione Story''. It was produced by Jeremy Frommer and

Rick Schwartz Rick Schwartz is an American film and television producer and financier based in New York, whose credits include ''The Departed'', ''Black Swan (film), Black Swan'', ''Gangs of New York'', ''Machete (2010 film), Machete'', ''The Others (2001 fi ...

, who have since created a premier website inspired by Bob Guccione as an extension of the film called Filthy Gorgeous Media.

Publishing milestones

Traci Lords and Vanessa Williams

The September 1984 issue of ''Penthouse'' magazine would eventually become

controversial Controversy (, ) is a state of prolonged public dispute or debate, usually concerning a matter of conflicting opinion or point of view. The word was coined from the Latin '' controversia'', as a composite of ''controversus'' – "turned in an opp ...

because of its centerfold,

Traci Lords Traci Elizabeth Lords (born Nora Louise Kuzma; May 7, 1968) is an American actress and singer. As a 15-year-old high-school dropout, she used Identity document forgery, fake identity documents to enter the sex industry, where she began appearin ...

. Lords posed nude for this issue at the beginning of her career as an adult film star. It was later revealed that Lords was

underage In law, a minor is someone under a certain age, usually the age of majority, which demarcates an underage individual from legal adulthood. The age of majority depends upon jurisdiction and application, but it is commonly 18. ''Minor'' may also ...

throughout most of her career in pornography and was only 16 when she posed for ''Penthouse''.Lords, Traci Elizabeth. ''Traci Lords: Underneath It All''. New York: HarperCollins, 2003. The same issue also caused controversy with nude pictures of

that caused her to be stripped of her

Miss America Miss America is an annual competition that is open to women from the United States between the ages of 18 and 28. Originating in 1921 as a "bathing beauty revue", the contest is judged on competition segments with scoring percentages: ''Priva ...

crown.

Move from softcore to hardcore pictorials and back

In 1998, ''Penthouse'' changed its format and began featuring sexually explicit pictures (i.e., actual oral, vaginal, and anal penetration), beginning with photos from the ''Stolen Honeymoon'' sex tape featuring

Pamela Anderson Pamela Denise Anderson (born July 1, 1967) is a Canadian-American actress, model and media personality. She rose to prominence after being selected as the February 1990 ''Playboy'' Playmate of the Month. She went on to make regular appearan ...

and

Tommy Lee Thomas Lee (born Thomas Lee Bass; October 3, 1962) is an American musician who co-founded and plays drums for the heavy metal band Mötley Crüe. He also founded rap metal band Methods of Mayhem and has pursued solo musical projects. Early ...

. It also began to regularly feature pictorials of

female An organism's sex is female ( symbol: ♀) if it produces the ovum (egg cell), the type of gamete (sex cell) that fuses with the male gamete (sperm cell) during sexual reproduction. A female has larger gametes than a male. Females and ...

models

urinating Urination is the release of urine from the bladder through the urethra in placental mammals, or through the cloaca in other vertebrates. It is the urinary system's form of excretion. It is also known medically as micturition, voiding, uresi ...

, which, until then, had been considered a defining limit of illegal obscenity as distinguished from legal pornography. A different approach to restoring sales was attempted by the UK version of the magazine in 1997. Under the editorship of Tom Hilditch, the magazine was rebranded as PH.UK and relaunched as middle-shelf "adult magazine for grown-ups". Fashion photographers (such as

Corinne Day Corinne Day (19 February 1962 – 27 August 2010) was a British fashion photographer, Documentary photography, documentary photographer and fashion model. Early life Corinne Day grew up in Ickenham with her younger brother and her grandparents ...

of '' The Face'' magazine) were hired to produce images that merged sex and fashion. The magazine's editorial content included celebrity interviews and tackled issues of sexual politics. The experiment attracted a great deal of press interest, but failed to generate a significant increase in sales. PH.UK closed in late 1998. Starting with the January 2005 issue, the new owners significantly softened the content of the magazine. ''Penthouse'' no longer showed male genitalia, real or simulated male-female sex, nor any form of explicit hardcore content (it does still feature female-female simulated sex on occasions). While this change was followed by the return of a limited number of mainstream advertisers to the magazine, it did not significantly raise the number of subscribers; total circulation is still below 350,000. Some of ''Penthouse''s secondary publications, such as ''Girls of Penthouse'', continue to feature occasional images of explicit sex, either classic sets from the 1990s issues or stills of adult video shoots staged by the company's Digital Media division.

Other ventures

Film

In 1974, Guccione invested in the film ''

Chinatown Chinatown ( zh, t=唐人街) is the catch-all name for an ethnic enclave of Chinese people located outside Greater China, most often in an urban setting. Areas known as "Chinatown" exist throughout the world, including Europe, Asia, Africa, O ...

'' and the end credits read ''A Paramount - Penthouse Presentation''. In 1976, Guccione used about $17.5 million

U.S. dollars The United States dollar (symbol: $; currency code: USD) is the official currency of the United States and several other countries. The Coinage Act of 1792 introduced the U.S. dollar at par with the Spanish silver dollar, divided it int ...

of his personal fortune to finance the controversial

historical epic Epic films have large scale, sweeping scope, and spectacle. The term is slightly ambiguous, sometimes designating a film genre and at other times simply big-budget films. Like epics in the classical literary sense, it is often focused on a hero ...

pornographic film Pornographic films (pornos), erotic films, adult films, blue films, sexually explicit films, or 18+ films, are films that represent Human sexual activity, sexually WIKT:explicit, explicit subject matter in order to sexual arousal, arouse, fasci ...

Caligula Gaius Caesar Augustus Germanicus (31 August 12 – 24 January 41), also called Gaius and Caligula (), was Roman emperor from AD 37 until his assassination in 41. He was the son of the Roman general Germanicus and Augustus' granddaughter Ag ...

'', with

Malcolm McDowell Malcolm McDowell (born Malcolm John Taylor; 13 June 1943) is an English actor. He first became known for portraying Mick Travis in Lindsay Anderson's ''if....'' (1968), a role he later reprised in ''O Lucky Man!'' (1973) and ''Britannia Hospital ...

in the

title role The title character in a narrative work is one who is named or referred to in the title of the work. In a performed work such as a play or film, the performer who plays the title character is said to have the title role of the piëce. The title o ...

and a supporting cast including

Helen Mirren Dame Helen Mirren (; born Ilyena Lydia Vasilievna Mironov; 26 July 1945) is an English actor. With a career spanning over six decades of Helen Mirren on screen and stage, screen and stage, List of awards and nominations received by Helen Mirre ...

John Gielgud Sir Arthur John Gielgud ( ; 14 April 1904 – 21 May 2000) was an English actor and theatre director whose career spanned eight decades. With Ralph Richardson and Laurence Olivier, he was one of the trinity of actors who dominated the Britis ...

Teresa Ann Savoy Teresa Ann Savoy, FRSA (18 July 1955 – 9 January 2017) was a British actress who appeared in a number of Italian films. Biography Savoy was 18 years old when she appeared in the October 1973 edition of Italian adult magazine ''Playmen'', us ...

, and

Peter O'Toole Peter Seamus O'Toole (; 2 August 1932 – 14 December 2013) was an English actor known for his leading roles on stage and screen. His numerous accolades include the Academy Honorary Award, a BAFTA Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, and four Golde ...

. The film, which was eventually released in late 1979, was produced in Italy (made at the Dear Studios in Rome) and was directed by

Tinto Brass Giovanni "Tinto" Brass (born 26 March 1933) is an Italian film director and screenwriter. In the 1960s and 1970s, he directed many critically acclaimed avant-garde films of various genres. Today, he is mainly known for his later work in the Erot ...

. In 2001, ''Penthouse Presents'' began running on

Hot Choice Hot Choice is a pay-per-view service that mainly airs adult content. It is run by In Demand Networks and is carried on some cable television systems. History Hot Choice was launched in 1988 as Viewer's Choice II; the channel retained the "Viewe ...

Other publications

Guccione also created the magazines '' Omni'', ''

Viva Viva may refer to: Companies and organisations * Viva (network operator), a Dominican mobile network operator * Viva Energy, an Australian petroleum company * Viva Entertainment, a Philippine media company * Viva Films, a Philippine film company ...

'', and ''Longevity''. Later Guccione started ''

Penthouse Forum ''Penthouse Forum'', sometimes simply ''Forum'', is a British/American pornographic magazine published by Penthouse World Media, the parent company of the American magazine '' Penthouse''. History and profile ''Penthouse Forum'' was started in M ...

'', which predominantly featured erotic writing and stories. In 1993, ''Penthouse'' published an adult

comic book A comic book, comic-magazine, or simply comic is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panel (comics), panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are often accompanied by descriptive prose and wri ...

spin-off entitled ''

Penthouse Comix ''Penthouse Comix'' is an American mass-market, magazine-sized comic book, published by Penthouse International/General Media Communications from spring 1994 through July 1998 and 2024 to present. Founded and initially edited by George Caragonne ...

'', featuring sexually explicit stories. After an initial success, ''Penthouse Comix'' expanded into a line of four illustrated magazines with the addition of ''Penthouse Max'', ''Penthouse Men's Adventure Comix'' and ''Omni Comix''. In 2023 Penthouse revived the comic label as Penthouse Comics. The first issue launched in February 2024 to 30,000 copies sold. ''Penthouse Variations'' is a monthly magazine containing ostensibly reader-generated

erotic stories Erotic literature comprises fictional and factual stories and accounts of eros (passionate, romantic or sexual relationships) intended to arouse similar feelings in readers. This contrasts erotica, which focuses more specifically on sexual feeli ...

(primarily) and some pictures and reviews. It is a spin-off magazine from ''Penthouse Letters''. It was initially published in 1978. ''Variations'' focuses on "kinkier" topics of

sexuality Human sexuality is the way people experience and express themselves sexually. This involves biological, psychological, physical, erotic, emotional, social, or spiritual feelings and behaviors. Because it is a broad term, which has varied ...

, such as bondage,

fetish clothing Fetish fashion is a range of styles of clothing and fashion accessories derived from the materials, garments and other items used in clothing fetish and other sexual fetish subcultures. They are intended to be extreme, revealing, skimpy or pro ...

exhibitionism Exhibitionism is the act of exposing in a public or semi-public context one's intimate parts – for example, the breasts, genitals or buttocks. As used in psychology and psychiatry, it is substantially different. It refers to an uncontrolla ...

voyeurism Voyeurism is the sexual interest in or practice of watching other people engaged in intimate behaviors, such as undressing, sexual activity, or other actions of a private nature. The term comes from the French ''voir'' which means "to see". ...

foot fetishism Foot fetishism, also known as foot partialism or podophilia, is a pronounced sexual interest in feet. It is the most common form of sexual fetishism for otherwise non-sexual objects or body parts. Characteristics For a foot fetishist, points ...

water sports Water is an inorganic compound with the chemical formula . It is a transparent, tasteless, odorless, and nearly colorless chemical substance. It is the main constituent of Earth's hydrosphere and the fluids of all known living organisms ...

female dominance A dominatrix ( ; or dominatrices ), or domme, is a woman who takes the dominant role in BDSM activities. The BDSM practice is called female dominance, or femdom. A dominatrix can be of any sexual orientation, but this does not necessarily l ...

, bisexual exploration,

transsexualism A transsexual person is someone who experiences a gender identity that is inconsistent with their assigned sex, and desires to permanently transition to the sex or gender with which they identify, usually seeking medical assistance (incl ...

and

sadomasochism Sadism () and masochism (), known collectively as sadomasochism ( ) or S&M, is the derivation of pleasure from acts of respectively inflicting or receiving pain or humiliation. The term is named after the Marquis de Sade, a French author known ...

, among others.

Home video

In 1983, Penthouse teamed up with

Vestron Video Vestron Video was the main subsidiary of Vestron, Inc., a home video company based in Stamford, Connecticut, that was active from 1981 to 1993, and is considered to have been a pioneer in the home video market. The name is now used for a collecto ...

to launch the Penthouse Video label. In 1991, Penthouse Video signed a deal with A*Vision Entertainment to release videos designed for an adult audience.

Casinos

In 1970, the Penthouse Club in London, England operated a casino. However, the next year the casino license was revoked by the gaming authorities. In 1972, Penthouse opened the Penthouse Adriatic Club casino on the island of

Krk Krk (; ; ; ; archaic German: ''Vegl'', ; ) is a Croatian island in the northern Adriatic Sea, located near Rijeka in the Bay of Kvarner and part of Primorje-Gorski Kotar county. Krk is tied with Cres as the largest Adriatic island, depending o ...

Yugoslavia , common_name = Yugoslavia , life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation , p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia , flag_p ...

(now

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

) at a cost of $45 million. However, the casino filed for bankruptcy the following year and was closed. In 1978, Penthouse began construction of the

Penthouse Boardwalk Hotel and Casino The Penthouse Boardwalk Hotel and Casino was a proposed hotel and casino that was to be built in Atlantic City, New Jersey, between Pacific Ave, South Missouri Ave, Columbia Place and Boardwalk, during the late 1970s. Due to finance, financial a ...

Atlantic City, New Jersey Atlantic City, sometimes referred to by its initials A.C., is a Jersey Shore seaside resort city (New Jersey), city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, Atlantic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Atlantic City comprises the second half of ...

. However, Penthouse was unable to raise additional funding and construction stopped in 1980. The project sat idle until

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...

acquired the site in 1993.

Auto racing

''Penthouse'' sponsors the "1X" car of driver Randy Hannagan in the

World of Outlaws World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series, originally known as the World of Outlaws (often abbreviated WoO) is an American national touring dirt track racing series. It is owned and operated by World Racing Group, and was rebranded when the World of O ...

sprint car series. The magazine previously sponsored cars in the

Formula One Formula One (F1) is the highest class of worldwide racing for open-wheel single-seater formula Auto racing, racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The FIA Formula One World Championship has been one ...

circuit from the late 1970s to the early 1980s. Teams included

Hesketh Racing Hesketh Racing was a Formula One constructor from the United Kingdom, which competed from 1973 to 1978. The team competed in 52 World Championship Grands Prix, winning one and achieving eight further podium finishes. Its best placing in the ...

and

RAM Racing RAM Racing was a Formula One racing team which competed during the racing seasons of 1976 to 1985. The team entered other manufacturers' chassis from 1976 to 1980, then ran March's team from 1981 to 1983, only entering a car entirely their ow ...

3D HD porn channel

January 2011, ''Penthouse'' announced the first 3D HD porn channel, to be available from the second quarter of 2011. Shot using dual lenses, it would consist of available Penthouse HD Channel lineup covering over 30 platforms in more than 15 countries. It was launched on 1 March 2011.

Wine and spirits

In January 2015, ''Penthouse'' announced its entry into the

wine Wine is an alcoholic drink made from Fermentation in winemaking, fermented fruit. Yeast in winemaking, Yeast consumes the sugar in the fruit and converts it to ethanol and carbon dioxide, releasing heat in the process. Wine is most often made f ...

and spirits industry. The line of products were to debut at the 2015

Adult Entertainment Expo The AVN Adult Entertainment Expo (AEE) is an adult entertainment convention and trade show held each January in Las Vegas, Nevada and is sponsored by ''AVN'' magazine. AEE is the largest pornography industry trade show in the United States. The ...

in Las Vegas. Called ''Libido Libations'', the spirits line is distributed by Prestige Imports LLC and produced by The Melchers Group BV. The wine offerings are the result of a partnership with California vintner John Crossland and Randal Tomich of the Australian winery Tomich Wines.

Legal disputes

Editorial lawsuit

In March 1975, ''Penthouse'' published an article headlined "La Costa: The Hundred-Million-Dollar Resort with Criminal Clientele", written by

Jeff Gerth Jeff Gerth is an American investigative reporter. He spent several years at ''The New York Times'', writing lengthy, probing stories. He won a Pulitzer Prize in 1999 for covering the transfer of American satellite-launch technology to China. He ...

and

Lowell Bergman Lowell Bergman (born July 24, 1945) is an American journalist, television producer, and professor of journalism. Bergman was a producer, reporter, and director of investigative reporting at ABC News. Later a producer for CBS’s ''60 Minutes,'' he ...

. The article indicated that the La Costa Resort and Spa in

Carlsbad, California Carlsbad is a beach city in the North County area of San Diego County, California, United States. The city is north of downtown San Diego and south of downtown Los Angeles. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population of ...

, was developed by

Mervyn Adelson Mervyn Lee Adelson (October 23, 1929 – September 8, 2015) was an American real estate developer and television producer who co-founded Lorimar Television. Early life Adelson was born to a Jewish family in Los Angeles on October 23, 1929 to Nat ...

and

Irwin Molasky Irwin Molasky (February 22, 1927 – July 4, 2020) was an American real estate developer and philanthropist from Las Vegas, Nevada. He was the Chairman of The Molasky Group of Companies. Early life Irwin Molasky was born to a Jewish family on Fe ...

using loans from the

Teamsters The International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT) is a trade union, labor union in the United States and Canada. Formed in 1903 by the merger of the Team Drivers International Union and the Teamsters National Union, the union now represents a di ...

Pension Fund and that the resort was a playground for organized crime figures. The owners, along with two officials of the resort, Morris B.

Moe Dalitz Morris Barney Dalitz (December 25, 1899 – August 31, 1989) was an American gangster, businessman, casino owner, and philanthropist. He was one of the major figures who shaped Las Vegas in the 20th century. He was often referred to as "Mr. Las ...

and Allard Roen, filed a libel lawsuit for $522 million against the magazine and the writers. In 1982, a jury absolved the magazine of any liability against the lawsuit from the owners. The plaintiffs appealed, but in December 1985, before a new trial could begin, the two sides settled. ''Penthouse'' issued a statement that they did not mean to imply that Adelson and Molaskey are or were members of organized crime. In turn the plaintiffs issued a statement lauding ''Penthouse'' publisher Guccione and his magazine for their "personal and professional awards". Total litigation costs were estimated to exceed $20 million.

''Guccione v. Penthouse Media Group''

In 2006, Guccione sued Penthouse Media Group for fraud, breach of contract, and conspiracy, among other charges. Some of the people named in the case included Marc Bell, Jason Galanis, Fernando Molina, Charles Samel, and Daniel C. Stanton.

National rampage protests

In December 1984, a group of

radical feminists Radical feminism is a perspective within feminism that calls for a Political radicalism, radical re-ordering of society in which male supremacy is eliminated in all social and economic contexts, while recognizing that women's experiences are al ...

began a civil disobedience campaign against ''Penthouse'' which they called a National Rampage. Led by Melissa Farley and Nikki Craft, they went into stores selling copies of the magazine and ripped them up, and they also burned an effigy of

in front of a bookstore in Madison, Wisconsin. In late 1985 the group began to focus on the printer of ''Penthouse'',

Meredith Corporation Meredith Corporation was an American media conglomerate based in Des Moines, Iowa, that owned newspapers, magazines, television stations, and websites. Its publications had a readership of more than 120 million and paid circulation of more than ...

. They bought shares in the company and attended their annual stockholder's meeting. The women were not allowed to speak, but they removed their coats, revealing images from a ''Penthouse'' shoot about Japanese rope bondage—among which two poses were construed by Farley to evoke dead bodies—ironed onto

heir Inheritance is the practice of receiving private property, titles, debts, entitlements, privileges, rights, and obligations upon the death of an individual. The rules of inheritance differ among societies and have changed over time. Offi ...

shirts.Pdf.
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International versions

: * Australia edition (Discontinued as of January 2023) * Bulgarian edition (discontinued) * Dutch edition * German edition * Greek edition * Hong Kong edition (discontinued) * Hungarian edition * New Zealand edition * Portuguese edition * Russian Edition * Spanish edition * Thai edition * United Kingdom edition (discontinued) * United States edition

References

External links

* {{official website
Cover archive at Galactic Central
1965 establishments in the United Kingdom Monthly magazines published in the United Kingdom Men's magazines published in the United Kingdom Online magazines published in the United Kingdom Defunct magazines published in the United Kingdom Magazines established in 1965 Magazines disestablished in 2016 Companies that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2003 Companies that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2013 Companies that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2018 Online magazines with defunct print editions Obscenity controversies in literature Pornographic men's magazines Sexual revolution Softcore pornography

Bob Guccione

Publication history

Key symbol

Financial history

Bankruptcy

Ownership change

Awards and recognition

Publishing milestones

Traci Lords and Vanessa Williams

Move from softcore to hardcore pictorials and back

Other ventures

Film

Other publications

Home video

Casinos

Auto racing

3D HD porn channel

Wine and spirits

Legal disputes

Editorial lawsuit

''Guccione v. Penthouse Media Group''

National rampage protests

International versions

See also

References

External links