Bob Guccione, who brought full frontal nudity to men's magazines and built a publishing empire on the success of his flagship magazine, Penthouse, died of cancer yesterday at 79, his family said.
His wife, April Dawn Warren Guccione, and two of his children were at his side at a hospital in Plano, Texas.
The success of Penthouse's mix of racy photos, investigative reporting, sci-fi and sexual-advice columns allowed Guccione to launch other magazines, most notably the glossy science publication Omni.
He once owned one of the largest mansions in Manhattan -- on East 67th Street -- but eventually lost his empire due to a series of business failures and the Web onslaught of free porn.
He garnered world headlines and sent Penthouse sales rocketing with publication of nude photos of Vanessa Williams -- taken before she was named Miss America -- in 1984 and of pop queen Madonna in 1985.