Penthouse magazine publisher Bob Guccione died Wednesday at Plano Specialty Hospital in Plano, Texas at the age of 79, after a longtime battle with lung cancer, RadarOnline.com has learned.

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Penthouse magazine reached a high-water mark in 1984 when it published pictures of then-Miss America Vanessa Williams, causing a scandal that would cause her to give back the title, making her a household name in the process.