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''Penthouse'' is a
men's magazine This is a list of magazines primarily marketed to men. The list has been split into subcategories according to the target audience of the magazines. This list includes mostly mainstream magazines as well as Adult magazine, adult ones. Not include ...
founded by Bob Guccione. It combines urban lifestyle articles and
softcore pornographic Softcore pornography or softcore porn, is commercial still photography or film that has a pornographic or erotic component but is less sexually graphic and intrusive than hardcore pornography, defined by a lack of visual sexual penetration. Softc ...
pictures of women that, in the 1990s, evolved into
hardcore Hardcore, hard core or hard-core may refer to: Arts and media Film * ''Hardcore'' (1977 film), a British comedy film * ''Hardcore'' (1979 film), an American crime drama film starring George C Scott * ''Hardcore'' (2001 film), a British documen ...
pornographic pictures of women. Although Guccione was American, the magazine was founded in 1965 in the United Kingdom. Beginning in September 1969, it was sold in the United States as well. ''Penthouse'' has been owned by Penthouse Global Media Inc. since 2016. The assets of Penthouse Global Media were bought out by WGCZ Ltd. (the owners of XVideos) in June 2018 after winning a bankruptcy auction bid. The magazine's
centerfold The centerfold or centrefold of a magazine is the inner pages of the middle sheet, usually containing a portrait, such as a pin-up or a nude. The term can also refer to the model featured in the portrait. In saddle-stitched magazines (as opp ...
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 and the second-smallest planet in the Solar System, only being larger than Mercury. In the English language, Mars is named for the Roman god of war. Mars is a terrestrial planet with a thin at ...
and
Venus Venus is the second planet from the Sun. It is sometimes called Earth's "sister" or "twin" planet as it is almost as large and has a similar composition. As an interior planet to Earth, Venus (like Mercury) appears in Earth's sky never f ...
symbols in its design.


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 The ''Forbes'' 400 or 400 Richest Americans is a list published by ''Forbes'' magazine of the wealthiest 400 American citizens who own assets in the U.S., ranked by net worth. The 400 was started by Malcolm Forbes in 1982 and the list is pub ...
ranking of wealthiest people. An April 2002 ''
New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' 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 1965, in the UK and in North America in 1969, an attempt to compete with Hugh Hefner's ''
Playboy ''Playboy'' is an American men's Lifestyle magazine, lifestyle and entertainment magazine, formerly in print and currently online. It was founded in Chicago in 1953, by Hugh Hefner and his associates, and funded in part by a $1,000 loan from H ...
''. 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 "Sy" Hersh (born April 8, 1937) is an American Investigative journalism, investigative journalist and political writer. Hersh first gained recognition in 1969 for exposing the My Lai Massacre and its cover-up during the Vietnam Wa ...

Craig S. Karpel
James Dale Davidson, and Ernest Volkman exposed numerous scandals and corruption at the highest levels of the United States Government. Contributors to the magazine included such writers as Isaac Asimov, James Baldwin, Howard Blum,
Victor Bockris Victor Bockris (born 1949) is an English-born, U.S.-based author, primarily biographies of artists, writers, and musicians. He has written about Lou Reed (and The Velvet Underground), Andy Warhol, Keith Richards, William S. Burroughs, Terry Sou ...
, T. C. Boyle, Alexander Cockburn, Harry Crews,
Cameron Crowe Cameron Bruce Crowe (born July 13, 1957) is an American journalist, author, writer, producer, director, actor, lyricist, and playwright. Before moving into the film industry, Crowe was a contributing editor at '' Rolling Stone'' magazine, for w ...
,
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 television, nuclear war, sports, the complexities of language, perf ...
,
Alan Dershowitz Alan Morton Dershowitz ( ; born September 1, 1938) is an American lawyer and former law professor known for his work in U.S. constitutional law and American criminal law. From 1964 to 2013, he taught at Harvard Law School, where he was appoin ...
,
Edward Jay Epstein Edward Jay Epstein (born 1935) is an American investigative journalist and a former political science professor at Harvard University, the University of California, Los Angeles, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Early life and educa ...

Joe Flaherty
Chet Flippo,
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 best known f ...
, Anthony Haden-Guest, 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. Fo ...
,
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 li ...
, Abbie Hoffman,
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 Hungaria ...
,
Paul Krassner Paul Krassner (April 9, 1932 – July 21, 2019) was an American author, journalist, and comedian. He was the founder, editor, and a frequent contributor to the freethought magazine ''The Realist'', first published in 1958. Krassner became a key ...
,
Michael Ledeen Michael Arthur Ledeen (; born August 1, 1941) is an American historian, and neoconservative foreign policy analyst. He is a former consultant to the United States National Security Council, the United States Department of State, and the United St ...
, Anthony Lewis
Peter Manso
Joyce Carol Oates,
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, Harrison E. Salisbury, Gail Sheehy, Robert Sherrill,
Mickey Spillane Frank Morrison Spillane (; March 9, 1918July 17, 2006), better known as Mickey Spillane, was an American crime novelist, whose stories often feature his signature detective character, Mike Hammer. More than 225 million copies of his books have ...
, Ben Stein, 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 War ...

Jerry Tallmer
Studs Terkel,
Nick Tosches Nicholas P. Tosches (; October 23, 1949 – October 20, 2019) was an American journalist, novelist, biographer, and poet. His 1982 biography of Jerry Lee Lewis, '' Hellfire'', was praised by ''Rolling Stone'' magazine as "the best rock and roll ...
,
Gore Vidal Eugene Luther Gore Vidal (; born Eugene Louis Vidal, October 3, 1925 – July 31, 2012) was an American writer and public intellectual known for his epigrammatic wit, erudition, and patrician manner. Vidal was bisexual, and in his novels and e ...
, Irving Wallace, and
Ruth Westheimer Karola Ruth Westheimer ( Siegel; born June 4, 1928), better known as Dr. Ruth, is a German-American sex therapist, talk show host, author, professor, Holocaust survivor, and former Haganah sniper. Westheimer was born in Germany to a Jewish fam ...
(Dr. Ruth). 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 art, application, and practice of creating durable 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 employe ...
, establishing the diffused,
soft focus In photography, soft focus is a lens flaw, in which the lens forms images that are blurred due to spherical aberration. A soft focus lens deliberately introduces spherical aberration in order to give the appearance of blurring the image while ...
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 (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...
at . However, in contrast to Hugh Hefner, 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 1974 until his death in 2017. Barbi Benton convinced Hefner to buy the home located in Holmby Hill ...
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. It was first known for its ...
''
The magazine's pictorials offered more sexually explicit content than was commonly seen in most openly sold
men's magazines This is a list of magazines primarily marketed to men. The list has been split into subcategories according to the target audience of the magazines. This list includes mostly mainstream magazines as well as adult ones. Not included here are auto ...
of the era; it was the first to show female pubic hair, followed by full-frontal nudity and then the exposed
vulva The vulva (plural: vulvas or vulvae; derived from Latin for wrapper or covering) consists of the external female sex organs. The vulva includes the mons pubis (or mons veneris), labia majora, labia minora, clitoris, vestibular bulbs, vulv ...
and anus. ''Penthouse'' has also, over the years, featured a number of authorized and unauthorized photos of celebrities such as Madonna and
Vanessa Williams Vanessa Lynn Williams (born March 18, 1963) is an American singer, actress, and fashion designer. She gained recognition as the first African-American woman to receive the Miss America title when she was crowned Miss America 1984. She resign ...
. In both cases, the photos were taken earlier in their careers and sold to ''Penthouse'' only after Madonna and Williams became famous. In the late 1990s, as poor business decisions were made and publishing control was gradually slipping away from Guccione, in a desperate attempt to boost sales,the magazine began to show more "fetish" content 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 comm ...
s". Thus began the downward spiral of the magazine. Gone was the artistic and unique, soft focus lens erotic photography and the investigative journalism that brought the magazine to success and respect. Prominent companies no longer wanted their products featured in Penthouse and quickly had their advertising removed. On January 15, 2016, a press release emanating from then-owner FriendFinder Networks announced that Penthouse would shutter 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.


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 an effort to raise cash and to reduce debt, ''Penthouse'' sold its portfolio of several automotive magazine titles in 1999, for $33 million cash to Peterson Automotive, the national automotive-publishing group. While these titles were successful, it is widely reported that the science and health magazines '' Omni'' and ''Longevity'' cost ''Penthouse'' almost $100 million, contributing to its eventual financial troubles.


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 private equity firm,Leaders Magazine"Providing Economic Opportunity: An Interview with The Honorable Dan Quayle, Chairman, Cerberus Global Investments, LLC". specializing in distressed investing. ...
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 the ...
credit line with General Media to provide General Media working capital. In October 2003, it was announced that ''Penthouse'' magazine was being 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 protection on September 17, 2013. The magazine's 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 Comm ...
was wiped out and was no longer traded on the open market. In August 2013, FriendFinder's stock was delisted from Nasdaq 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. Penthouse Global Media filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on January 11, 2018 to address debt-related issues. All assets of Penthouse Global Media, Inc. were bought out by WGCZ Ltd., operators of
Xvideos XVideos, stylized as XVIDEOS, is a 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 most visited pornographic website and the tenth most visite ...
, on June 4, 2018 after winning a bankruptcy auction for US$11.2 million; other companies, such as
MindGeek MindGeek (formerly Manwin) is a Luxembourg-based, privately held company with Canada as its center of operations that primarily focuses on pornography. It is owned by Feras Antoon, Bernd Bergmair (Bernard Bergemar), David Marmorstein, and — m ...
, also participated in the auction.


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 , mottoeng = "Truth even unto its innermost parts" , established = , type = Private research university , accreditation = NECHE , president = Ronald D. Liebowitz , ...
for focusing "his editorial attention on such critical issues of our day as the welfare of the
Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...
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, 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 opposite d ...
because of its centerfold,
Traci Lords Traci Lords (born Nora Louise Kuzma; May 7, 1968) is an American actress and singer. She entered the adult film industry using a fake birth certificate to conceal that she was two years under the legal age of eighteen. Lords starred in adult f ...
. 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 throughout most of her career in pornography and was only 15 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
Vanessa Williams Vanessa Lynn Williams (born March 18, 1963) is an American singer, actress, and fashion designer. She gained recognition as the first African-American woman to receive the Miss America title when she was crowned Miss America 1984. She resign ...
that caused her to be stripped of her Miss America crown.


Move from softcore to hardcore pictorials and back

In 1998, ''Penthouse'' decided to change its format and began featuring sexually explicit pictures (i.e., actual oral, vaginal, and anal penetration), beginning with photos from the famed ''Stolen Honeymoon'' sex tape featuring Pamela Anderson and Tommy Lee. It also began to regularly feature pictorials of
female Female ( symbol: ♀) is the sex of an organism that produces the large non-motile ova (egg cells), the type of gamete (sex cell) that fuses with the male gamete during sexual reproduction. A female has larger gametes than a male. Females ...
models urinating, 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 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. The new owners significantly softened the content of the magazine starting with the January 2005 issue. ''Penthouse'' no longer showed male genitalia, real or simulated male-female sex, or any form of explicit hardcore content (it does still feature female-female simulated sex on occasion, however). While this change allowed the return of a limited number of mainstream advertisers to the magazine, it has not significantly raised 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 1976, Guccione used about US $17.5 million of his personal fortune to finance the controversial historical epic pornographic film '' Caligula'', with
Malcolm McDowell Malcolm McDowell (born Malcolm John Taylor; 13 June 1943) is a British actor, producer, and television presenter. He is best known for portraying Alex DeLarge in ''A Clockwork Orange.'' He was born in the Horsforth suburb of Leeds and raised i ...
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 piece. The title of ...
and a supporting cast including Helen Mirren,
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 Brit ...
, Teresa Ann Savoy, and Peter O'Toole. 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. In 2001, ''Penthouse Presents'' began running on Hot Choice.


Other publications

Guccione also created the magazines '' Omni'', '' Viva'', and ''Longevity''. Later Guccione started '' Penthouse Forum'', which predominantly featured erotic writing and stories. In 1993, ''Penthouse'' published an adult
comic book A comic book, also called comicbook, comic magazine or (in the United Kingdom and Ireland) simply comic, is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are of ...
spin-off entitled ''
Penthouse Comix ''Penthouse Comix'' was an American mass-market, magazine-sized comic book, published by Penthouse International/General Media Communications from spring 1994 through July 1998. Founded and initially edited by George Caragonne and Horatio Weisfel ...
'', 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''. ''Penthouse Variations'' is a monthly magazine containing ostensibly reader-generated erotic stories (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, such as bondage, fetish clothing, exhibitionism,
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 and related fetishes Foot f ...
,
water sports Water (chemical formula ) is an inorganic, transparent, tasteless, odorless, and nearly colorless chemical substance, which is the main constituent of Earth's hydrosphere and the fluids of all known living organisms (in which it acts as a s ...
,
female dominance A dominatrix (; ) or femdom is a woman who takes the dominant role in BDSM activities. A dominatrix can be of any sexual orientation, but this does not necessarily limit the genders of her submissive partners. Dominatrices are known for inflic ...
, bisexual exploration,
transsexualism Transsexual people experience a gender identity that is inconsistent with their assigned sex, and desire to permanently transition to the sex or gender with which they identify, usually seeking medical assistance (including sex reassignmen ...
and sadomasochism, among others.


Home video

In 1991, Penthouse Video had 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 (; it, Veglia; ruo, Krk; dlm, label= Vegliot Dalmatian, Vikla; la, Curicta; grc-gre, Κύρικον, Kyrikon) is a Croatian island in the northern Adriatic Sea, located near Rijeka in the Bay of Kvarner and part of Primorje-Gorski Kot ...
in
Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...
(now
Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...
) 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 during the late 1970s. Due to financial and legal difficulties, the hotel was never completed and a casino license was nev ...
in Atlantic City, New Jersey. 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 served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of P ...
acquired the site in 1993.


Auto racing

''Penthouse'' sponsors the "1X" car of driver
Randy Hannagan Randy is a given name, popular in the United States and Canada. It is primarily a masculine name. It was originally derived from the names Randall (given name), Randall, Randolf (given name), Randolf, Randolph (given name), Randolph, as well as ...
in the World of Outlaws sprint car series. The magazine previously sponsored cars in the
Formula One Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...
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.


3D HD porn channel

January 2011, ''Penthouse'' announced the first 3D HD porn channel, which will be available in second quarter 2011. They shoot using dual lenses, and it will consist of available Penthouse HD Channel lineup covering over 30 platforms in more than 15 countries.


Wine and spirits

In January 2015, ''Penthouse'' announced its entry into the
wine Wine is an alcoholic drink typically made from fermented grapes. Yeast consumes the sugar in the grapes and converts it to ethanol and carbon dioxide, releasing heat in the process. Different varieties of grapes and strains of yeasts are m ...
and spirits industry. The line of products were to debut at the 2015
Adult Entertainment Expo An adult is a human or other animal that has reached full growth. In human context, the term ''adult'' has meanings associated with social and legal concepts. In contrast to a " minor", a legal adult is a person who has attained the age of major ...
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 and
Lowell Bergman Lowell Bergman (born July 24, 1945) is an American journalist, television producer and professor of journalism. In a career spanning nearly five decades Bergman worked as a producer, a reporter, and then the director of investigative reporting at ...
. The article indicated that the
La Costa Resort and Spa The Omni La Costa Resort & Spa is a luxury destination resort hotel opened in 1965, located in Carlsbad, California, and is owned by Omni Hotels & Resorts, based out of Dallas, Texas. The resort is located in the San Diego area hills and is known ...
in Carlsbad, California, was developed by Mervyn Adelson and Irwin Molasky using loans from the
Teamsters The International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT), also known as the Teamsters Union, is a 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 ...
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 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, Dr. 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 radical re-ordering of society in which male supremacy is eliminated in all social and economic contexts, while recognizing that women's experiences are also affected by other ...
began a civil disobedience campaign against ''Penthouse'' which they called a National Rampage. Led by Melissa Farley and
Nikki Craft Nikki Craft (born 1949) is an American radical feminist activist and writer. Activism 1970s In 1975, Craft presented the Rockwell International board of directors with "...naked doll splashed with blood-colored paint" to protest their B-1 bo ...
, they went into stores selling copies of the magazine and ripped them up, and they also burned an effigy of Bob Guccione in front of a bookstore in Madison, Wisconsin. In late 1985 the group began to focus on the printer of ''Penthouse'', Meredith Corporation. 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 heirshirts.Pdf.
/ref>


International versions

As of 2015: * Australia edition * 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 * United States edition


See also

*
List of Penthouse Pets This is a list of the models who have appeared in the American edition of '' Penthouse'' magazine and were either named Pet of the Month or Pet of the Year from September 1969 to the present. Pet of the Year names are in bold type and are typic ...
*
List of men's magazines This is a list of magazines primarily marketed to men. The list has been split into subcategories according to the target audience of the magazines. This list includes mostly mainstream magazines as well as adult ones. Not included here are auto ...
* '' Oh, Wicked Wanda!'' * '' Hustler'' * ''
Playboy ''Playboy'' is an American men's Lifestyle magazine, lifestyle and entertainment magazine, formerly in print and currently online. It was founded in Chicago in 1953, by Hugh Hefner and his associates, and funded in part by a $1,000 loan from H ...
'' *
Pubic Wars The Pubic Wars, a pun on the Punic Wars, was a rivalry between the American pornographic magazines ''Playboy'' and '' Penthouse'' during the 1960s and 1970s. Each magazine strove to show just a little bit more nudity on their female models than the ...
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Penthouse Comix ''Penthouse Comix'' was an American mass-market, magazine-sized comic book, published by Penthouse International/General Media Communications from spring 1994 through July 1998. Founded and initially edited by George Caragonne and Horatio Weisfel ...


References


External links

* {{official
Cover archive at Galactic Central
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 Online magazines with defunct print editions Obscenity controversies in literature Pornographic men's magazines Sexual revolution