Bob Guccione, Penthouse Founder, Dies at 79

R.I.P.: Bob Guccione, Penthouse Founder, Dies at 79

I came very close to working for him in 1984. I was offered the job of newsstand circulation director for Penthouse when I was working as the magazine product manager for a big retail company. Penthouse offered to double my salary, but there was a lot of risk in taking that job, in that Guccione was a volatile guy and the three previous newsstand circulation directors had each lasted less than a year before getting canned. Plus, a double salary wasn't that impressive when one factored in cost of maintaining a comparable lifestyle in New York. Plus, Guccione and I were about as different as two people could be. He was a colorful, libidinous and charismatic dreamer, and I was a pragmatic numbers-cruncher who appeared to be just about asexual when on duty. I suppose that's really why the company wanted me in the first place. They needed some "suits" on the team in order to exude an aura of competent and responsible professionalism when dealing with conservative companies like Wal-Mart and 7-Eleven, whose CEOs were not impressed by guys in open silk shirts and gold chains.

Anyway, none of that explains why I stayed in my nice cozy-but-boring job in Dallas. I had a new baby at the time. My son was just a few months old, and it seemed like a very bad time for a move to New York, where my wife had no interest in living.

But it was just a matter of timing. If the offer had come in during most chapters of my life, I would have taken the risk and signed on for the adventure. And I'd probably now be able to tell you some colorful stories about being sacked by the recently departed Mr. Guccione.