Boyle, Alexander Cockburn, Harry Crews, Cameron Crowe, Don DeLillo, Alan Dershowitz, Edward Jay Epstein, Joe Flaherty, Chet Flippo, Albert Goldman, Anthony Haden-Guest, John Hawkes, Nat Hentoff, Warren Hinckle, Abbie Hoffman, Nicholas von Hoffman, Michael Korda, Paul Krassner, Michael Ledeen, Anthony Lewis, Peter Manso, Joyce Carol Oates, James Purdy, Philip Roth, Harrison E. Contributors to the magazine included such writers as Isaac Asimov, James Baldwin, Howard Blum, Victor Bockris, T.C. Karpel, James Dale Davidson, and Ernest Volkman exposed numerous scandals and corruption at the highest levels of the United States Government. 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. Penthouse magazine began publication in 1965, in the UK and in North America in 1969, an attempt to compete with Hugh Hefner's Playboy.

An April 2002 New York Times article reported Guccione as saying that Penthouse grossed $3.5 billion to $4 billion over the 30-year life of the company. In 1982 he was listed in the Forbes 400 ranking of wealthiest people.

5.2 Move from softcore to hardcore pictorials and backДЄt the height of it's success, Guccione, who died in 2010, was considered one of the richest men in the United States.

Not only that, but those who keep tallies on the escalating totals tell us thatвЂ“at this point, anywayвЂ“the race is just too close to call. The reason given was вЂњ In an unprecedented break with tradition, we are not presenting the 1985 Pet of the Year in this December issue (in case you havenвЂ™t yet noticed!) The reason? ItвЂ™s simpleвЂ“your votes for your favorite Pets have almost literally snowed us under, and our local mailmen are threatening to demand time and a half for their extra burden. 1980 -Penthouse Pet of the Year Isabella ArdigoДЎ981 вЂ“ Penthouse Pet of the Year Danielle DeneuxДЎ982 вЂ“ Penthouse Pet of the Year Corinne AlphenДЎ983 вЂ“ Penthouse Pet of the Year Sheila KennedyДЎ984 вЂ“ Penthouse Pet of the Year Linda KentonДЎ985 вЂ“ Penthouse Pet of the Year No Pet of the Year Here is our guide to the era of big hair, New Wave, lots of blush, and Reagan / Falwell. It lead one reviewer to remark вЂњShe must have sold her breasts to Satan for ice skating skillsвЂќ. HardingвЂ™s attempt to further her 15 minutes of infamy sold some videos but looked too shady to be real. It was later pointed out that the video was pieced together from several encounters as her male partner had a mustache that appeared and vanished several times and at one point the waterbed they are using mysteriously teleports across the room. Embattled figure skater Tonya Harding had a вЂњLeakedвЂќ sex tape that was supposed to be from her wedding night. Their next sex tape escapade proved profitable but further hurt GuccioneвЂ™s credibility. They did triumph when Pet Corrine Alphen landed a lead role in the John Landis film вЂњAmazon Women on the MoonвЂќ, and again when they scooped the world with the leaked Pam Anderson / Tommy Lee sex tape. The worst missteps being dethroning the first African-American вЂњMiss AmericaвЂќ by publishing photos of her in the same issue where they featured a porn star вЂњpetвЂќ,В later discovered to be only 15 years old. It would top its rival PlayboyвЂ™s sales to start the decade, but missteps would cripple the magazineвЂ™s image before the eighties were over. The 1980вЂ™s saw highs and lows for Penthouse magazine.

Penthouse magazine gallery