About Bob Guccione
Robert Charles Joseph Edward Sabatini Guccione ( goo-chee-OH-nee; 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 Playboy, but with more explicit erotic content, a special style of soft focus photography, and in-depth reporting of government corruption scandals and the art world. By 1982 Guccione was listed in the Forbes 400 wealth list, and owned one of the biggest mansions in Manhattan. However, he made some extravagant investments that failed, and the growth of free online pornography in the 1990s greatly diminished his market. In 2003, Guccione's publishers filed for bankruptcy and he resigned as chairman. == Early life == Guccione was born in Brooklyn, New York, of Italian (Sicilian) descent and raised Catholic in Bergenfield, New Jersey, the eldest child of Anthony, an accountant, and Nina, a housewife. An altar boy, he considered but rejected entering the priesthood. He attended high school at Blair Academy, a prep school in Blairstown, New Jersey. In his teens, Guccione married his first wife, Lilyann Becker.
Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.