‘Secrets of Penthouse’ unfolds the rise and fall of Bob Guccione’s porn empire

Review by Brian Lowry, CNN

(CNN) — Having carved out a niche in vaguely sleazy “Secrets of” docuseries beginning with Hugh Hefner and Playboy, A&E finds an ideal and perhaps inevitable playground for the franchise with “Secrets of Penthouse,” which basically serves as a four-part biography of the magazine’s founder, Bob Guccione. As trashy as one might expect, it’s also a rise-and-fall story, told heavily through Guccione’s children, about an empire built and lost.

Guccione launched Penthouse in Europe, offering more explicit photography than the better-established Playboy before jumping the Atlantic in 1969, targeting its rival with cheeky “We’re going rabbit hunting” ads.

For a time, there was ample room for both, allowing Guccione to earn millions – investing much of it in priceless artwork – and occupy a lavish New York mansion with Penthouse “Pets” (that is, its featured models) among the occasional residents, while proceeding to alienate himself from his four children.

Indeed, while Guccione carried on relationships with a number of his employees, and the discussion includes his unorthodox sexual appetites, he expressly forbade his sons from fraternizing with the magazine’s models. Not that they listened to him, according to his son Nick, who says he “didn’t have a father” growing up, and, along with his sister Nina, speaks freely about personal struggles related to his upbringing.

Not surprisingly, “Secrets of Penthouse” is most interesting in the “fall” part of Guccione’s business, as he foolishly expanded into areas separate from the magazine – sinking money into the star-studded “Caligula,” basically just a glorified porn film amid a more explicit cinematic wave in the 1970s; and losing millions fruitlessly trying to open an Atlantic City casino.

There’s also a cultural aspect to the Penthouse saga, as Guccione managed to simultaneously draw the wrath of feminists as well as evangelicals, punctuated by the episode in which he published explicit photos of Vanessa Williams, the first Black Miss America, prompting her to relinquish her crown.

“The hatred was visceral,” recalls Peter Bloch, Penthouse’s longtime editor, one of several former employees who detail Guccione’s bullheadedness and misguided decisions.

Other sordid chapters include the lawsuit brought by former Pet Anneka DiLorenzo, who accused Guccione of treating her as a “sex slave,” forcing her to sleep with men to advance his business interests.

Guccione died of cancer in 2010, living long enough to see the empire he had meticulously built essentially collapse around him. There’s a sense of karma, perhaps, in watching his almost Shakespearean descent from the Penthouse to the poor house, provided one doesn’t spend too much time dwelling on the voyeurism that’s central to making “Secrets of” such a viable concept.

“Secrets of Penthouse” airs September 4 and 5 at 9 p.m. ET on A&E.

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