![]() ![]() For a man who dedicated his life to pushing public pornographic boundaries, these are rather tame tidbits, and they’re just about all that Secrets of Penthouse has to offer in terms of salaciousness.Īlso discussed are Guccione’s many follies and troubles, beginning with Caligula-an epic erotic-movie flop about the Roman emperor that starred Malcolm McDowell, Peter O’Toole, and Helen Mirren and cost him $17 million-and a sexual harassment lawsuit filed by Anneka DiLorenzo, who claimed that Guccione pimped her out to clients. When it comes to eye-opening surprises, the best A&E’s docuseries can muster is that Guccione once showed teenage Pet Jane Hargrave a bestiality video (which taught her that pigs have corkscrew penises) and had Pet and part-time flame Sheila Kennedy give him a golden shower in his bathtub. At his peak, he was one of the richest men in the world, replete with the largest private residence in Manhattan: a 22,000-foot estate that featured an indoor swimming pool, solid gold-lined bathroom fixtures, regal staircases, and $100 million of art by, among others, Picasso, Chagall, and Matisse. Penthouse was the more explicit and overtly sexual of the two newsstand publications, and it was an immediate hit, catapulting Guccione to the heights of fame and fortune. ![]() Inspired by Muriel’s success selling pinup postcards of bikini-clad women through the mail, Guccione founded Penthouse, a direct competitor to Hugh Hefner’s gold-standard adult magazine that distinguished itself via its “edge”-namely, its decision to show women in their entire full-frontal glory. Given the decidedly unflattering portrait it paints, few will find themselves pouring one out for the late smut titan.Ī Brooklyn native from a Sicilian clan who grew up just across the Hudson in New Jersey, Guccione had his paradigm-changing epiphany while living with his second wife, Muriel Hudson, in London. 4) is devoid of shocking revelations.įormer Penthouse Pets and porn stars Jenna Jameson, Janine Lindemulder, and Sunny Leone wax nostalgic about the heyday of the Playboy rival, but the real focus of this paper-thin non-fiction affair is Guccione’s children, two of whom participate and all of whom the mogul wound up alienating thanks to his prioritization of money and power over family. Secrets of Penthouse’s title promises bombshells about Bob Guccione’s tawdry nudie-mag empire, yet those looking for sensationalism or titillation will be disappointed to discover that A&E’s four-part docuseries (Sept. ![]()
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