The controversial legacy of Penthouse founder Bob Guccione

The New Yorker was born a Catholic and once considered becoming a priest. But he always considered himself an artist and - while living in London during the "swinging sixties", he founded a magazine intended to rival Playboy - describing itself as "the magazine of sex, politics and protest".

In the early years he photographed many of the models himself to save cash and it became the first publication to show full frontal nudity.

At one point worth more than $400bn, his own fortunes declined in the 1980s, with unsuccessful ventures into film-making and property investments and he resigned as the magazine's publisher seven years ago.

Feminist opposition
But in 2010, there is still opposition to the top shelf magazine industry - for which his magazine helped paved the way. Anna van Heeswijk, a campaigner for the feminist campaign group Object told Channel 4 News that Penthouse "really opened up the floodgates so we now see the situation where porn has become so mainstream that it can be bought in lads' mags on sale next to comics in the supermarket"

Guccione always considered his empire as a rival to Hugh Hefner's Playboy group, which included magazines, casinos and clubs.

But Barbara Haigh - a former Playboy Bunny Girl who worked in the London Playboy club - told Channel 4 News today that the Playboy Bunnies always saw themselves as a cut above the Guccione's Penthouse Pets.

"We all looked down our noses at them of course we did - we were far superior," she said. "A Playboy Bunny was something special."