the seven-issue Men's Adventure Comix and the three-issue Omni Comix, the latter a companion to the science magazine Omni, which was also published by Guccione. (A T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents story did eventually find publication in a Guccione publication, in the first issue of Omni Comix.) According to comics writer and columnist Mark Evanier, the success of his books with Penthouse led to excess on his part, in particular drugs. He became a heavy cocaine user, and also began spending on extravagant items for himself and friends. He also went significantly overbudget on his magazines and on some other, non-Penthouse projects. His working patterns changed to the point where he was working all night in the Penthouse offices, before going home in the day, which concerned his close friends, who tried to intervene with him. According to Evanier, his employers also came to suspect Caragonne of financial "improprieties", and on the night of Friday, July 14, 1995, he discovered that he had been locked out of his office pending a full audit on his books. Death After Penthouse locked Caragonne out of his offices on July 14, 1995, writer Mark Evanier says a number of friends in Caragonne's circle spent the following two nights unsuccessfully pleading with him by phone to get professional treatment. Caragonne's movements after this are not accounted for until Thursday, July 20, when he went to the Marriott Marquis Hotel in Times Square, where he asked a bellhop, "Is it true this is the tallest hotel in Times Square?" After the bellhop replied that it was, Caragonne took an elevator to the top floor, the 45th floor, where an indoor atrium provides an impressive view of the lobby. Caragonne put on a Walkman containing a cassette of theme songs from the James Bond films, his favorite, and jumped. He fell 500 feet, his 400+ lb. body caroming off ledges and decorations before landing on a buffet table bustling with guests. Although no one else was killed, many of the witnesses, including some children, suffered emotional trauma and required years of treatment as a result of the event. Screenwriting G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero (1990) References External links 1965 births 1995 suicides American comics writers