( CNN ) -- Penthouse magazine founder Bob Guccione died Wednesday of cancer at a Plano , Texas , hospital , his family said Wednesday night . Guccione , 79 , died at Plano Specialty Hospital , with his wife , April Dawn Warren Guccione and two of his children , Bob Jr. and Tonina , at his side , a family statement said . April Guccione 's mother , Georgann Flinchbaugh , told CNN her daughter , who had been married to the publishing and entertainment magnate since 2006 , was too distraught to talk . `` He was a wonderful man , '' Flinchbaugh said . `` She 's heartbroken . He was the love of her life . '' Bob Guccione : Life in the Penthouse . Guccione launched Penthouse magazine , one of several magazine ventures , in 1965 . He and Playboy magazine founder Hugh Hefner competed for the attention of men for several decades . A painter and art collector , the businessman was born into a family of Sicilian immigrants in Brooklyn , New York . Guccione 's consuming interest was painting , the family said , and in 1948 he wrote to a friend , `` I want to devote my life to the serious and profound intricacies of true and imaginative art . '' Eventually , he launched Penthouse , which was more explicit than Playboy , its main competitor . The Penthouse key became a well-known trademark . Guccione , who was married four times , also produced or invested in several movies , including `` Caligula '' and `` Chinatown . '' Writing in New York magazine , Anthony Haden-Guest said , `` Bob Guccione pushed the soft-core envelope , building one of the most profitable porn empires in the world . '' Services will be private , the family said .
Penthouse magazine founder Tony Guccione dies at 85 . He had fought long battle with cancer .