Penthouse Founder Bob Guccione Dies at 79

10/21/2010 at 07:00 AM EDT

Bob Guccione, the adult-magazine publisher who challenged Hugh Hefner's Playboy empire with his more risqué Penthouse magazine, has died of cancer at 79.

Guccione passed away on Wednesday in a Texas hospital.

He began publishing Penthouse in the U.S. in 1969 and resigned as publisher in 2003.
– Tim Nudd

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