1 00:00:00,200 --> 00:00:03,880 Speaker 1: In twenty seventeen, author Patricia Bosworth was interviewed by Alec 2 00:00:03,920 --> 00:00:07,560 Speaker 1: Baldwin on his old w NYC show called Here's the Thing. 3 00:00:07,880 --> 00:00:11,119 Speaker 1: What's the first book you attempt? Oh? I didn't start 4 00:00:11,200 --> 00:00:13,560 Speaker 1: writing a book for ten years. I had a long 5 00:00:13,600 --> 00:00:17,599 Speaker 1: apprenticeship at various magazines, including a place called Magazine Management, 6 00:00:17,640 --> 00:00:22,639 Speaker 1: a schlockhouse where Mario Puzo was writing The Godfather. No, yeah, 7 00:00:22,680 --> 00:00:25,000 Speaker 1: he was writing The Godfather. Well he was on staff 8 00:00:25,000 --> 00:00:28,000 Speaker 1: at a magazine, Yes he was. You did he write? 9 00:00:28,160 --> 00:00:32,639 Speaker 1: He wrote sex action pieces and sex action Well, that's 10 00:00:32,680 --> 00:00:36,519 Speaker 1: what they're called sex action there. I want you and 11 00:00:36,560 --> 00:00:40,599 Speaker 1: I to start an online site. We are okay, We're 12 00:00:40,600 --> 00:00:43,279 Speaker 1: going to call it sex Action. Alec and Patty talk 13 00:00:43,320 --> 00:00:46,199 Speaker 1: about a ton of stuff in this interview. Patty had 14 00:00:46,240 --> 00:00:48,199 Speaker 1: just released a book about coming of age in the 15 00:00:48,240 --> 00:00:50,440 Speaker 1: fifties and the men in her life at that time. 16 00:00:50,960 --> 00:00:54,120 Speaker 1: And then something super interesting comes up right during the 17 00:00:54,200 --> 00:00:57,320 Speaker 1: last minute or so of the broadcast. What's the next 18 00:00:57,440 --> 00:00:59,840 Speaker 1: memoir for you? Actually, I'd like to write about the 19 00:00:59,880 --> 00:01:03,240 Speaker 1: next ten years, meaning the six the sixties into seventies, 20 00:01:03,400 --> 00:01:06,040 Speaker 1: where I get into feminism and I work in pornography, 21 00:01:06,120 --> 00:01:08,600 Speaker 1: which I did for a while with Bob Guccioni, and 22 00:01:10,760 --> 00:01:16,200 Speaker 1: I edited a female porn magazine called Viva. At the 23 00:01:16,240 --> 00:01:19,480 Speaker 1: time of this interview, Patty's a famous author, though she'd 24 00:01:19,480 --> 00:01:22,960 Speaker 1: worked at several magazines and written a few memoirs. She 25 00:01:23,040 --> 00:01:26,520 Speaker 1: eventually became best known as a Hollywood biographer, writing the 26 00:01:26,560 --> 00:01:30,240 Speaker 1: Definitive Tomes on stars like Montgomery Clift and Marlon Brando. 27 00:01:30,760 --> 00:01:34,080 Speaker 1: Patty met a lot of famous powerful men in her life, 28 00:01:34,360 --> 00:01:38,840 Speaker 1: including Bob Guccioni. What was he like? Gucciani? He was 29 00:01:38,880 --> 00:01:40,959 Speaker 1: a complicated man. I mean, you know, he wanted to 30 00:01:40,959 --> 00:01:43,679 Speaker 1: be a painter. He felt he was doing good. He 31 00:01:43,760 --> 00:01:48,040 Speaker 1: was an accidental pornographer. He was he was. Patty liked Bob, 32 00:01:48,440 --> 00:01:51,480 Speaker 1: or at least she was intrigued by him. She was smart, 33 00:01:51,640 --> 00:01:55,320 Speaker 1: open minded, and progressive, and she's good at reading people. 34 00:01:55,960 --> 00:01:59,760 Speaker 1: SE's past, the gold Chain's sleazy Veneer. He was very 35 00:02:00,040 --> 00:02:05,400 Speaker 1: mark and he actually published some wonderful articles in fantasy. 36 00:02:05,800 --> 00:02:09,079 Speaker 1: Remember I remember reading about Barry Seals from the Whole 37 00:02:09,160 --> 00:02:14,240 Speaker 1: Mina Arkansas Conspiracy. Right. We did a lot of and 38 00:02:14,320 --> 00:02:17,040 Speaker 1: Viva had great writing in it too. He did well. 39 00:02:17,080 --> 00:02:19,920 Speaker 1: I think that when you're done with that memoir, I 40 00:02:19,960 --> 00:02:22,400 Speaker 1: want you to remember to allow time for you and 41 00:02:22,400 --> 00:02:28,079 Speaker 1: I for sex action. It's a winner, okay, But Patty 42 00:02:28,120 --> 00:02:30,760 Speaker 1: wouldn't get a chance to write sex action or that 43 00:02:30,880 --> 00:02:34,960 Speaker 1: next memoir. Three years after this interview, in twenty twenty, 44 00:02:35,160 --> 00:02:39,160 Speaker 1: she unfortunately passed from COVID complications. The New York Times 45 00:02:39,200 --> 00:02:43,280 Speaker 1: published an obituary for her, and in if they mentioned quote. 46 00:02:43,320 --> 00:02:46,840 Speaker 1: Creating a biography, Miss Bobsworth wrote on her website was 47 00:02:47,400 --> 00:02:51,360 Speaker 1: like solving a mystery, always looking for clues. I felt 48 00:02:51,400 --> 00:02:54,679 Speaker 1: the same way while making this show. Uncovering the details 49 00:02:54,680 --> 00:02:57,240 Speaker 1: and legacy of a magazine that was published over fifty 50 00:02:57,320 --> 00:03:00,320 Speaker 1: years ago is a little bit like cracking a story. 51 00:03:00,760 --> 00:03:03,880 Speaker 1: And if Viva were a mystery novel, Patty would be 52 00:03:03,919 --> 00:03:07,359 Speaker 1: a big character. She took the magazine to a new level. 53 00:03:08,040 --> 00:03:10,959 Speaker 1: The great writing that she mentioned to Alec A lot 54 00:03:10,960 --> 00:03:14,400 Speaker 1: of that comes during Patty's tenure as editor. Her vision, 55 00:03:14,520 --> 00:03:19,120 Speaker 1: her editing, her leadership, her entire vibe lent a fresh 56 00:03:19,200 --> 00:03:22,360 Speaker 1: perspective to a place that was still figuring itself. Out 57 00:03:23,120 --> 00:03:26,320 Speaker 1: Here she is in twenty seventeen on the City University 58 00:03:26,320 --> 00:03:29,720 Speaker 1: of New York talk show One to One. I was adventuresome. 59 00:03:29,800 --> 00:03:33,320 Speaker 1: I wanted adventures I wanted different kinds of experiences. I 60 00:03:33,360 --> 00:03:37,480 Speaker 1: didn't want to be curtailed. I yes, I did break 61 00:03:37,520 --> 00:03:40,160 Speaker 1: the rules, There's no question about it. Once Patty lands 62 00:03:40,200 --> 00:03:43,360 Speaker 1: the job as Viva's executive editor, she breaks the rules 63 00:03:43,400 --> 00:03:47,200 Speaker 1: there too. Sometimes this pays off, and as you'll see, 64 00:03:47,680 --> 00:03:51,560 Speaker 1: sometimes it doesn't. Patty's years at Viva are the good times. 65 00:03:52,040 --> 00:03:54,280 Speaker 1: If this were a movie, this episode would be It's 66 00:03:54,360 --> 00:03:58,200 Speaker 1: on the Come Up montage, only instead of Rocky dragging 67 00:03:58,200 --> 00:04:00,839 Speaker 1: a giant tire or a bunch of rag tag high 68 00:04:00,840 --> 00:04:04,400 Speaker 1: schoolers dancing into tension, it's a bunch of women sitting 69 00:04:04,400 --> 00:04:08,280 Speaker 1: at typewriters cranking out one smart article after the next. 70 00:04:09,240 --> 00:04:13,000 Speaker 1: Once Patty steps in, Viva starts gaining a devoted readership, 71 00:04:13,320 --> 00:04:15,960 Speaker 1: though not as large as Bob would like, and lands 72 00:04:15,960 --> 00:04:18,839 Speaker 1: a few big advertisers, though still not as many as 73 00:04:18,920 --> 00:04:24,480 Speaker 1: Kathy would like. It's finally on the right track. But 74 00:04:24,680 --> 00:04:28,960 Speaker 1: could a cool rebel like Patty Bosworth actually control Viva? 75 00:04:29,360 --> 00:04:33,320 Speaker 1: And how long could the magazine's good times role. Like 76 00:04:33,440 --> 00:04:37,039 Speaker 1: all great movie montages, this one's about to come to 77 00:04:37,120 --> 00:04:44,520 Speaker 1: a screeching halt from Crooked Media, and iHeartMedia. I'm Jennifer 78 00:04:44,600 --> 00:04:49,480 Speaker 1: Romilini and This is Stiffed, Episode four, Fallus in Wonderland 79 00:04:59,680 --> 00:05:06,000 Speaker 1: at one Christmas three way. Now, Patricia Bosworth is no 80 00:05:06,040 --> 00:05:09,520 Speaker 1: longer here to tell us this story herself, But according 81 00:05:09,560 --> 00:05:11,880 Speaker 1: to an article she wrote about the experience for Vanity 82 00:05:11,920 --> 00:05:15,440 Speaker 1: Fair in two thousand and five, when Bob Guccioni first 83 00:05:15,440 --> 00:05:18,680 Speaker 1: called her in nineteen seventy four, she was forty one, 84 00:05:19,200 --> 00:05:22,839 Speaker 1: working as the managing editor of Harper's Bazaar. In that 85 00:05:22,920 --> 00:05:26,600 Speaker 1: initial phone call, Bob tells Patty that Viva is quote 86 00:05:26,880 --> 00:05:31,240 Speaker 1: the world's most sophisticated erotic magazine for women, and he's 87 00:05:31,279 --> 00:05:36,360 Speaker 1: looking for a really classy editor like her to run it. Now, 88 00:05:36,400 --> 00:05:39,920 Speaker 1: Patty is classy, but she was a lot more than that, 89 00:05:40,720 --> 00:05:43,400 Speaker 1: truth be told, we could make an entire podcast about 90 00:05:43,440 --> 00:05:47,960 Speaker 1: the life of Patricia Bosworth Crumb. Before Bob's phone call, 91 00:05:48,320 --> 00:05:51,360 Speaker 1: before her time at Viva, Patty had already lived a 92 00:05:51,400 --> 00:05:55,880 Speaker 1: big enviably glamorous life. She'd been a successful model who'd 93 00:05:55,880 --> 00:05:59,120 Speaker 1: pose for photographers like Diane Arbis, and she was also 94 00:05:59,160 --> 00:06:03,200 Speaker 1: an actress trained by Lee Straussburg at the famous actor's studio, 95 00:06:03,839 --> 00:06:06,920 Speaker 1: and even featured in the Oscar nominated film A Nun's 96 00:06:06,960 --> 00:06:11,120 Speaker 1: Story alongside Audrey Hepburn. Here's Patty and Audrey in a 97 00:06:11,160 --> 00:06:14,320 Speaker 1: scene from the film You're blushing. It happened to me 98 00:06:14,400 --> 00:06:17,479 Speaker 1: too in my ward. We shouldn't blush. I'm sure we shouldn't. 99 00:06:17,839 --> 00:06:20,640 Speaker 1: How can we help It must mean some wrong awareness 100 00:06:20,680 --> 00:06:24,320 Speaker 1: of self. In New York in the sixties, Patty is 101 00:06:24,360 --> 00:06:27,600 Speaker 1: deep in the scene she shares cabs with Marilyn Monroe, 102 00:06:28,200 --> 00:06:31,080 Speaker 1: she rides on the back of actor Steve McQueen's motorcycle 103 00:06:31,160 --> 00:06:35,200 Speaker 1: through Central Park. Like I said, she had a cool life. 104 00:06:35,920 --> 00:06:38,839 Speaker 1: But by the time Bob Guccioni calls in nineteen seventy four, 105 00:06:39,200 --> 00:06:42,960 Speaker 1: Patty's left her actress model days behind. She's now a 106 00:06:43,040 --> 00:06:46,760 Speaker 1: well known journalist and editor, and she's well respected too. 107 00:06:47,400 --> 00:06:51,039 Speaker 1: She's a big name for Viva It's first, all of 108 00:06:51,080 --> 00:06:54,080 Speaker 1: which is a big deal, especially to Bob and Cathy. 109 00:06:54,880 --> 00:06:59,400 Speaker 1: As Viva Sex advice calumnist. Doctor Judy explains, Bob and 110 00:06:59,560 --> 00:07:06,120 Speaker 1: Cathy wanted to have their magazines have some creds to them, 111 00:07:06,200 --> 00:07:09,960 Speaker 1: have some substance to it, So Bob woos Patty big time. 112 00:07:10,320 --> 00:07:12,920 Speaker 1: He tells her that while his partner Kathy's listed at 113 00:07:12,920 --> 00:07:16,120 Speaker 1: the top of the masthead and technically Viva's editor in chief. 114 00:07:16,480 --> 00:07:18,720 Speaker 1: She's pretty much out of the day to day editorial. 115 00:07:19,200 --> 00:07:22,600 Speaker 1: Here's editor Robin woolaner, Well, she wasn't really a boss 116 00:07:22,640 --> 00:07:27,440 Speaker 1: because her day job was really selling ads, So Kathy 117 00:07:27,480 --> 00:07:31,920 Speaker 1: didn't review. I don't know what kind of review Kathy did. 118 00:07:32,400 --> 00:07:34,880 Speaker 1: She was the publisher of the magazine, not the editor. 119 00:07:35,080 --> 00:07:38,480 Speaker 1: So while Kathy's out scaring up ads, Patty comes in 120 00:07:38,520 --> 00:07:42,280 Speaker 1: as the actual head of editorial. She assigns articles, brings 121 00:07:42,280 --> 00:07:45,960 Speaker 1: in new writers. She makes Viva her own. Her task is, 122 00:07:46,040 --> 00:07:50,200 Speaker 1: as Bob tells her, to make Viva revolutionary. She has 123 00:07:50,240 --> 00:07:54,360 Speaker 1: a budget, a full staff control. Here's editor Betty Jane 124 00:07:54,400 --> 00:07:58,760 Speaker 1: talking about her new boss. I love Patty. She was 125 00:07:59,280 --> 00:08:07,520 Speaker 1: so small and so kind, and she had an open mind. 126 00:08:07,920 --> 00:08:12,640 Speaker 1: You know. You would propose something perhaps that was slightly 127 00:08:12,640 --> 00:08:16,120 Speaker 1: off the beaten track or whatever, and she'd want to hear. 128 00:08:17,040 --> 00:08:21,200 Speaker 1: Hotti is the staff's first true creative ally. She's curious 129 00:08:21,200 --> 00:08:25,160 Speaker 1: and imaginative, and she brings her reporters chops to Viva 130 00:08:25,320 --> 00:08:28,360 Speaker 1: begins to do something that's never been done before. She 131 00:08:28,400 --> 00:08:31,880 Speaker 1: asks a lot of questions and considers what female readers 132 00:08:31,960 --> 00:08:35,120 Speaker 1: might actually want out of an erotic magazine. She has 133 00:08:35,160 --> 00:08:39,080 Speaker 1: a cohesive, big picture vision. The magazine is now stacked 134 00:08:39,080 --> 00:08:43,160 Speaker 1: with great editors and award winning writing, not to mention 135 00:08:43,320 --> 00:08:46,720 Speaker 1: plenty of cos that's right. As we discussed in the 136 00:08:46,800 --> 00:08:51,120 Speaker 1: last episode at Cathy's urging, Viva's more sexually explicit than ever, 137 00:08:51,559 --> 00:08:55,040 Speaker 1: but with the arrival of editor Patty, it's smarter than ever. 138 00:08:55,120 --> 00:08:59,640 Speaker 1: Two It's a winning combination, and readers they start to 139 00:08:59,640 --> 00:09:02,920 Speaker 1: take I've never written to a magazine before, but I 140 00:09:02,960 --> 00:09:05,520 Speaker 1: wanted you to know. My boyfriend and ike Viva. By 141 00:09:05,559 --> 00:09:09,640 Speaker 1: our bedside. It's like having a threesome. There's something for everybody. 142 00:09:09,880 --> 00:09:13,040 Speaker 1: My husband and I were discussing Viva's sexual fantasy's column 143 00:09:13,040 --> 00:09:15,720 Speaker 1: in bed, but ours became more than a fantasy. I 144 00:09:15,760 --> 00:09:19,040 Speaker 1: asked him to fuck my underarm and it worked. Finally, 145 00:09:19,120 --> 00:09:22,720 Speaker 1: a publication which does not downgrade my intellect, degrade my humanity, 146 00:09:22,840 --> 00:09:25,880 Speaker 1: nor debase my feminine sensitivity. Just read a letter in 147 00:09:26,000 --> 00:09:29,560 Speaker 1: Viva's October issue and felt I must reply. The letter 148 00:09:29,559 --> 00:09:34,040 Speaker 1: concerns and models quote big, ugly, disgusting penis. I would 149 00:09:34,040 --> 00:09:38,040 Speaker 1: like to change those adjectives to quote large, beautiful, and exciting, 150 00:09:38,200 --> 00:09:40,679 Speaker 1: because that's what I experienced when I'm looking at a 151 00:09:40,760 --> 00:09:47,160 Speaker 1: large cock in Viva, so the readers are satisfied, and 152 00:09:47,240 --> 00:09:50,400 Speaker 1: after a rocky start, even the editors are finally having 153 00:09:50,480 --> 00:09:54,280 Speaker 1: some fun. Molly Haskell, Viva's film critic, remembers it like this, 154 00:09:54,880 --> 00:09:58,000 Speaker 1: Viva was asking sort of making feminism sexy. That would 155 00:09:58,000 --> 00:09:59,760 Speaker 1: be the way I would describe it. Just it was. 156 00:10:00,200 --> 00:10:03,520 Speaker 1: It wasn't just these door oh you know, women suffragets 157 00:10:03,679 --> 00:10:05,839 Speaker 1: with the sort of image of what used to be 158 00:10:06,000 --> 00:10:11,319 Speaker 1: the early feminist. Maybe what she's describing here is the loose, confident, 159 00:10:11,600 --> 00:10:15,600 Speaker 1: sexy and yes, fun feeling of this new Viva. Patty 160 00:10:15,679 --> 00:10:18,720 Speaker 1: helps guide Viva's erotic photo shoots, and the women are 161 00:10:18,760 --> 00:10:22,959 Speaker 1: often now literally on top straddling hairy chested dudes dressed 162 00:10:22,960 --> 00:10:26,079 Speaker 1: in nothing but fur. There are men eating women's asses. 163 00:10:26,440 --> 00:10:30,000 Speaker 1: There's kind of lingus everywhere you look. On the cover 164 00:10:30,080 --> 00:10:33,600 Speaker 1: of Patty's December Viva there's even group sex. Two men 165 00:10:33,679 --> 00:10:36,520 Speaker 1: with a woman in the middle, all naked in bed, 166 00:10:37,120 --> 00:10:39,880 Speaker 1: wrapped up in a set of silky red sheets like 167 00:10:39,920 --> 00:10:42,920 Speaker 1: a bow. It's a Christmas three way right there on 168 00:10:42,960 --> 00:10:46,800 Speaker 1: the cover. A work of art. Here's Leslie j Bob's 169 00:10:46,840 --> 00:10:52,040 Speaker 1: head of pr The covers were gorgeous. Inside it was gorgeous. 170 00:10:52,080 --> 00:10:55,120 Speaker 1: It was so well produced, and I thought this is 171 00:10:55,160 --> 00:10:58,319 Speaker 1: a work of art. I just loved looking at it. 172 00:10:58,640 --> 00:11:01,120 Speaker 1: And it's not just the sec in viva that's better. 173 00:11:02,040 --> 00:11:05,640 Speaker 1: The vibe in the office is two. The editors are 174 00:11:05,640 --> 00:11:10,280 Speaker 1: stretching themselves creatively, and like editor Robin remembers, they're writing 175 00:11:10,280 --> 00:11:13,680 Speaker 1: a ton. There was one issue where I had three 176 00:11:13,920 --> 00:11:18,760 Speaker 1: articles that I wrote, and we thought that would look 177 00:11:18,840 --> 00:11:23,160 Speaker 1: really rinky dink, so I wrote one is under my 178 00:11:23,240 --> 00:11:27,520 Speaker 1: own name. I wrote one as Peggy Renolo Peggy's my 179 00:11:27,559 --> 00:11:30,880 Speaker 1: middle name, and Renolow was Rolander backwards. And I can't 180 00:11:30,920 --> 00:11:32,520 Speaker 1: remember what I did on the third when it just 181 00:11:32,640 --> 00:11:35,000 Speaker 1: might have not had a byline. But that was a 182 00:11:35,120 --> 00:11:38,360 Speaker 1: personal best. And the editors are even finding their way 183 00:11:38,400 --> 00:11:41,640 Speaker 1: into the whole hot guys thing, enjoying the perks of 184 00:11:41,679 --> 00:11:44,640 Speaker 1: their job. We would have, like, you know, a profile 185 00:11:44,679 --> 00:11:47,000 Speaker 1: of Chevy Chase because we thought it was hot. It 186 00:11:47,040 --> 00:11:49,920 Speaker 1: wasn't based on research of what women wanted. It was 187 00:11:49,960 --> 00:11:52,360 Speaker 1: what do we want, you know, what what did we 188 00:11:52,400 --> 00:11:54,760 Speaker 1: think would be cool or interesting? Who did we think 189 00:11:54,880 --> 00:11:59,000 Speaker 1: was hot? We were the target demographic and we wanted 190 00:11:59,040 --> 00:12:02,360 Speaker 1: a magazine for Austin our friends. Here's Betty Jane. Again, 191 00:12:02,600 --> 00:12:05,920 Speaker 1: we had each other facts and we were colleagues, you know, 192 00:12:06,000 --> 00:12:08,839 Speaker 1: because it would take maybe more than one person to 193 00:12:08,880 --> 00:12:14,000 Speaker 1: get a piece off the ground. Sometimes you would be collaborating. 194 00:12:14,320 --> 00:12:17,440 Speaker 1: And in the seventies, this kind of collaboration between women's 195 00:12:17,520 --> 00:12:22,040 Speaker 1: novel something most of them had never experienced before. I remember, 196 00:12:22,480 --> 00:12:25,520 Speaker 1: you know, part of the fifties was, or before the 197 00:12:25,640 --> 00:12:28,400 Speaker 1: continue way you didn't want to work for women because 198 00:12:28,400 --> 00:12:31,959 Speaker 1: they were going to be competitive and snappy and bitchy 199 00:12:32,040 --> 00:12:35,600 Speaker 1: and give you a hard time. So that was another 200 00:12:35,679 --> 00:12:40,679 Speaker 1: thing that I found liberating, finding women who maybe had 201 00:12:40,720 --> 00:12:43,959 Speaker 1: a little more power than you, but we're not trying 202 00:12:43,960 --> 00:12:47,720 Speaker 1: to stuffle you. The Viva editors are becoming tight, like 203 00:12:47,800 --> 00:12:50,960 Speaker 1: the best kinds of co workers. They're friends. We would 204 00:12:51,000 --> 00:12:53,560 Speaker 1: see each other outside of the office as well as 205 00:12:53,679 --> 00:12:56,840 Speaker 1: in the office. You know, we all go for drinks 206 00:12:56,960 --> 00:13:01,720 Speaker 1: or if somebody had an occasion, maybe Whoever's apartment. I 207 00:13:01,720 --> 00:13:05,359 Speaker 1: don't remember ever having a grim knows to the grindstone 208 00:13:05,480 --> 00:13:08,160 Speaker 1: kind of work atmosphere, and at least part of this 209 00:13:08,240 --> 00:13:11,720 Speaker 1: positive culture comes from Patty, who, as a writer herself, 210 00:13:12,200 --> 00:13:15,080 Speaker 1: knows how important it is to give the staff agency 211 00:13:15,840 --> 00:13:19,240 Speaker 1: her leadership style is collaborative, which makes them feel more 212 00:13:19,280 --> 00:13:22,600 Speaker 1: in control. The thing about acting which is so frustrating 213 00:13:22,720 --> 00:13:26,400 Speaker 1: is it's very passive. You cannot control your life. And 214 00:13:26,440 --> 00:13:29,160 Speaker 1: I got tired of being rejected so much, and also 215 00:13:29,280 --> 00:13:33,520 Speaker 1: tired of not being able to control my life. And 216 00:13:33,920 --> 00:13:36,280 Speaker 1: as soon as I became a writer, I had this control. 217 00:13:36,360 --> 00:13:40,160 Speaker 1: I felt more active, more energized. So Patty makes the 218 00:13:40,160 --> 00:13:43,360 Speaker 1: staff feel in control, and in turn they're happy. Like 219 00:13:43,480 --> 00:13:45,640 Speaker 1: you are at a job where your ideas are valued 220 00:13:45,679 --> 00:13:48,680 Speaker 1: and you're treated well. They're bonding outside of work for 221 00:13:48,760 --> 00:13:51,840 Speaker 1: non work events. They're also attending a whole lot of 222 00:13:51,840 --> 00:13:56,120 Speaker 1: work functions, mostly at their boss's house, which isn't just 223 00:13:56,240 --> 00:13:59,360 Speaker 1: any house. At this time. Bob and Cathy live in 224 00:13:59,400 --> 00:14:02,760 Speaker 1: one of the large just private residences in Manhattan, a 225 00:14:02,880 --> 00:14:07,400 Speaker 1: twenty six room, six story townhouse run by twenty two servants, 226 00:14:07,640 --> 00:14:10,880 Speaker 1: with an art collection worth one hundred and fifty million dollars, 227 00:14:11,520 --> 00:14:16,199 Speaker 1: including a gold piano once owned by Judy Garland. Here's 228 00:14:16,240 --> 00:14:21,840 Speaker 1: Viva Sex columnist doctor Judy again a real fantasyland castle 229 00:14:22,080 --> 00:14:24,880 Speaker 1: in his own image. You walk in and you're like 230 00:14:24,960 --> 00:14:28,240 Speaker 1: in a museum. Every place you look is fancy artwork 231 00:14:28,440 --> 00:14:34,600 Speaker 1: and sculptures and a pool, and it was just breathtaking 232 00:14:34,960 --> 00:14:38,320 Speaker 1: to be in that environment. And here's editor Pat Lindon. 233 00:14:38,600 --> 00:14:41,040 Speaker 1: There's this a great, big, sort of central living room 234 00:14:41,080 --> 00:14:45,160 Speaker 1: area with all this art. I mean, you know, Fra 235 00:14:45,360 --> 00:14:48,640 Speaker 1: Angelica and you know these major old painters. There was 236 00:14:48,640 --> 00:14:51,560 Speaker 1: a Picasso blue period there, but not all of the 237 00:14:51,720 --> 00:14:55,320 Speaker 1: editors were quite as impressed. Here's Annie. It was trumpy. 238 00:14:55,400 --> 00:14:57,480 Speaker 1: I mean it it was kind of trumpy. You know. 239 00:14:58,120 --> 00:15:02,000 Speaker 1: It was a lot more kind of Austin Hours style. 240 00:15:02,520 --> 00:15:05,440 Speaker 1: You know, Trump is like the five and dime Versailles, 241 00:15:05,520 --> 00:15:08,160 Speaker 1: you know. But I think Bob Guccioni had his own 242 00:15:08,240 --> 00:15:11,880 Speaker 1: kind of kitch. He could turn a great painting into 243 00:15:12,040 --> 00:15:15,800 Speaker 1: an accessory of kitsch. But at this time, the Viva 244 00:15:15,920 --> 00:15:18,520 Speaker 1: editors like their jobs enough that they don't really care 245 00:15:18,560 --> 00:15:20,440 Speaker 1: about how often they have to go to Bob and 246 00:15:20,560 --> 00:15:24,440 Speaker 1: Cathy's intense house. Since Patti's come on board, the two 247 00:15:24,480 --> 00:15:27,320 Speaker 1: have mostly left the staff alone, and with Patty their 248 00:15:27,360 --> 00:15:31,200 Speaker 1: works become more meaningful. She green lights stories they love. 249 00:15:31,880 --> 00:15:35,800 Speaker 1: They're interviewing feminist politicians like Bella Abzug, reporting on cutting 250 00:15:35,880 --> 00:15:40,120 Speaker 1: edge contraception like the IUD, publishing stories on why sex 251 00:15:40,160 --> 00:15:44,320 Speaker 1: workers deserve a union. Molly Haskell's writing about the choice 252 00:15:44,360 --> 00:15:48,120 Speaker 1: to not have children. Book reviewer Annie Gottlieb's promoted is 253 00:15:48,160 --> 00:15:50,840 Speaker 1: now writing essays on living without a man on her own. 254 00:15:51,680 --> 00:15:55,320 Speaker 1: Things are getting better and better. The magazine's smarter and 255 00:15:55,480 --> 00:15:59,520 Speaker 1: Smarter and the Viva team they're about to publish their 256 00:15:59,560 --> 00:16:04,320 Speaker 1: most important editorial package yet. Betty Jane remembers how it 257 00:16:04,360 --> 00:16:09,680 Speaker 1: came to be. We wanted a spread on rape, on 258 00:16:10,400 --> 00:16:14,840 Speaker 1: date rape. You know what women were facing out there, 259 00:16:15,000 --> 00:16:19,760 Speaker 1: and how it wasn't reported, and how most women suffered 260 00:16:19,800 --> 00:16:23,600 Speaker 1: in silence. And this spread will turn out to be 261 00:16:23,760 --> 00:16:28,120 Speaker 1: a groundbreaking special report on sexual assault, one of the 262 00:16:28,160 --> 00:16:31,120 Speaker 1: first of its kind, one that gets Viva and its 263 00:16:31,240 --> 00:16:35,040 Speaker 1: editors a lot of attention, though it's not exactly the 264 00:16:35,080 --> 00:16:53,040 Speaker 1: attention they were hoping for. Act two, Rubber meets the Road. 265 00:17:00,080 --> 00:17:03,040 Speaker 1: In order to understand the story I'm about to tell you, 266 00:17:03,040 --> 00:17:06,359 Speaker 1: you need to understand a few fundamentals about how magazines 267 00:17:06,400 --> 00:17:11,679 Speaker 1: are made. So because of printing schedules and shipping schedules, 268 00:17:12,200 --> 00:17:15,800 Speaker 1: magazines work on a long lead time. They're usually made 269 00:17:15,920 --> 00:17:19,200 Speaker 1: months before they come out. For example, in the two thousands, 270 00:17:19,200 --> 00:17:21,760 Speaker 1: when I was working on them, I'd be editing a 271 00:17:21,840 --> 00:17:24,480 Speaker 1: holiday gift guide in the dead ass heat of August. 272 00:17:25,280 --> 00:17:29,240 Speaker 1: But in the seventies, before the Internet, before email, before computers, 273 00:17:29,280 --> 00:17:32,880 Speaker 1: even everything in a magazine was done by hand. This 274 00:17:32,960 --> 00:17:36,960 Speaker 1: took a super long time, and a magazine like Viva, 275 00:17:37,040 --> 00:17:41,040 Speaker 1: with its complicated layouts and expensive photoshoots, it took even 276 00:17:41,080 --> 00:17:45,000 Speaker 1: longer because of the way it was bound, because of 277 00:17:45,040 --> 00:17:50,640 Speaker 1: the really high end printing and photography. We'd be working 278 00:17:51,000 --> 00:17:56,600 Speaker 1: in June on the Christmas cover. Viva's production schedules around 279 00:17:56,680 --> 00:18:00,639 Speaker 1: six months before its publication date, and this is important 280 00:18:00,680 --> 00:18:03,879 Speaker 1: because while the Special Report on Rape is published in 281 00:18:03,920 --> 00:18:07,919 Speaker 1: November nineteen seventy four, the editors had been working on 282 00:18:07,920 --> 00:18:11,800 Speaker 1: it for months before. Viva Special Report on Rape covers 283 00:18:11,800 --> 00:18:15,280 Speaker 1: a ton including a self defense handbook, a guide to 284 00:18:15,400 --> 00:18:18,040 Speaker 1: rape centers all over the country, which is important in 285 00:18:18,040 --> 00:18:21,719 Speaker 1: a pre google time, and a sexual assault survey created 286 00:18:21,760 --> 00:18:25,400 Speaker 1: by famous Second Way of feminist Andrea Media and Kathleen Thompson, 287 00:18:25,880 --> 00:18:30,760 Speaker 1: authors of the famously influential book Against Rape. The survey 288 00:18:30,880 --> 00:18:34,560 Speaker 1: is among the first of its kind, and this being Viva, 289 00:18:34,800 --> 00:18:39,240 Speaker 1: an erotic magazine for women, there's even a thoughtful, sensitive, 290 00:18:39,560 --> 00:18:43,720 Speaker 1: non shaming examination of rape as a sexual fantasy and 291 00:18:43,880 --> 00:18:49,240 Speaker 1: what that might mean. Here's doctor Judy. Women really liked 292 00:18:49,359 --> 00:18:55,080 Speaker 1: the idea of being totally overpowered, thrown on the bed, 293 00:18:55,520 --> 00:18:59,560 Speaker 1: tossed around, you know, slap down to their face, you know, 294 00:18:59,640 --> 00:19:02,320 Speaker 1: into the into the bed sheets, are up against the 295 00:19:02,400 --> 00:19:08,600 Speaker 1: wall and madly, widely taken. And as sex therapists, we 296 00:19:08,520 --> 00:19:11,840 Speaker 1: were constantly saying, why do they like that? With Viva's 297 00:19:11,920 --> 00:19:15,240 Speaker 1: rape issue, the editors, led by Patty, are defining what 298 00:19:15,359 --> 00:19:20,080 Speaker 1: Viva could be a bridge between feminism, activism, sexuality, and 299 00:19:20,280 --> 00:19:25,560 Speaker 1: groundbreaking journalism. And also with this rape issue, Patty's following 300 00:19:25,600 --> 00:19:29,199 Speaker 1: her marching orders. She's following what Bob told her in 301 00:19:29,280 --> 00:19:33,000 Speaker 1: her interview when he told her Viva could be revolutionary 302 00:19:33,560 --> 00:19:37,520 Speaker 1: and she could be the one to make it revolutionary. Together, 303 00:19:37,600 --> 00:19:40,960 Speaker 1: the editors have tackled a relevant, important issue for women 304 00:19:41,320 --> 00:19:46,639 Speaker 1: from a number of smart, original, even groundbreaking angles. These 305 00:19:46,720 --> 00:19:49,160 Speaker 1: are the kinds of stories they always wanted to do. 306 00:19:50,359 --> 00:19:53,879 Speaker 1: The team is proud of their work, but after the 307 00:19:53,960 --> 00:19:58,680 Speaker 1: rape issue comes out, Bob unexpectedly calls a meeting, and, 308 00:19:58,920 --> 00:20:01,679 Speaker 1: like all of Bob's business dealings at this point, he 309 00:20:01,760 --> 00:20:06,040 Speaker 1: conducts it out of his house. Here's editor Pat Lindon again, 310 00:20:06,840 --> 00:20:10,480 Speaker 1: and so you'd go knock on the door and the 311 00:20:10,840 --> 00:20:12,879 Speaker 1: guy would be there to sort of make sure you 312 00:20:12,920 --> 00:20:16,080 Speaker 1: were okay, and the dogs would then come running at you. 313 00:20:16,240 --> 00:20:19,920 Speaker 1: Just heard of big dogs. Bob and Cathy's dogs. All 314 00:20:20,119 --> 00:20:24,320 Speaker 1: thirteen of them were Rhodesian ridgebacks. Each of them weighed 315 00:20:24,320 --> 00:20:27,520 Speaker 1: about eighty five pounds, and the floor was marble, and 316 00:20:27,680 --> 00:20:29,680 Speaker 1: you know, you'd hear them scraping along and they'd come 317 00:20:29,680 --> 00:20:32,880 Speaker 1: plowing at you. They were just friendly, but it's kind 318 00:20:32,880 --> 00:20:38,720 Speaker 1: of scary to have this thirteen Rhodesian ridgebacks. So the 319 00:20:38,840 --> 00:20:42,240 Speaker 1: editors arrive at Bob's house. They navigate past the giant 320 00:20:42,280 --> 00:20:45,000 Speaker 1: dogs and into a dining room turned meeting room to 321 00:20:45,080 --> 00:20:48,760 Speaker 1: meet their boss, the king on his throne. All these 322 00:20:48,840 --> 00:20:52,120 Speaker 1: months while the magazine was in production, they hadn't heard 323 00:20:52,119 --> 00:20:55,080 Speaker 1: a peep from Bob about the rape issue. And maybe 324 00:20:55,119 --> 00:20:58,320 Speaker 1: that's because he's mostly not reading the magazine, mostly only 325 00:20:58,320 --> 00:21:01,480 Speaker 1: cares about Beavera's pictures. But now that the issue is 326 00:21:01,480 --> 00:21:04,880 Speaker 1: out in the world, the headline rape has very much 327 00:21:04,920 --> 00:21:09,120 Speaker 1: caught his eye. Here's editor Betty Jane, and we all 328 00:21:09,160 --> 00:21:13,840 Speaker 1: sit down at this dining room table, this long table, 329 00:21:14,520 --> 00:21:18,200 Speaker 1: and she started yelling at us because she said, this 330 00:21:18,240 --> 00:21:21,919 Speaker 1: is an entertainment magazine and you don't put rape in 331 00:21:22,040 --> 00:21:24,840 Speaker 1: the color or in the magazine at all. That's not 332 00:21:24,920 --> 00:21:28,119 Speaker 1: what the magazine is supposed to be. And everybody was 333 00:21:28,240 --> 00:21:33,440 Speaker 1: totally silent, shame feeling looking down at the table. Bob 334 00:21:33,480 --> 00:21:36,879 Speaker 1: thinks Viva should be lighthearted and fun, a slinky, sex 335 00:21:36,960 --> 00:21:41,120 Speaker 1: positive romp, not a magazine that tackles serious issues about 336 00:21:41,160 --> 00:21:46,480 Speaker 1: predatory men and sexual violence. She was very angry that 337 00:21:46,560 --> 00:21:51,200 Speaker 1: we had printed this article, and actually we had gotten 338 00:21:51,240 --> 00:21:53,800 Speaker 1: a lot of response to it because we has invited 339 00:21:53,840 --> 00:21:58,240 Speaker 1: women to share their experiences and we got a lot 340 00:21:58,240 --> 00:22:02,040 Speaker 1: of feedbacks talking about the survey by the Against Rape 341 00:22:02,080 --> 00:22:05,480 Speaker 1: authors which asked women to share their sexual assault stories, 342 00:22:05,920 --> 00:22:09,240 Speaker 1: stories which start pouring in by the hundreds almost right 343 00:22:09,320 --> 00:22:13,720 Speaker 1: after the magazine arrives in subscribers' mailboxes a few weeks 344 00:22:13,760 --> 00:22:16,840 Speaker 1: before this meeting. Viva will turn out to be one 345 00:22:16,880 --> 00:22:19,400 Speaker 1: of the first magazines in the world to publish rape 346 00:22:19,400 --> 00:22:22,800 Speaker 1: survivors stories, to allow them to share their experiences in 347 00:22:22,840 --> 00:22:27,000 Speaker 1: their own words. Readers will send letters praising the rape 348 00:22:27,000 --> 00:22:31,399 Speaker 1: issue for months, letters like this one. Your report on 349 00:22:31,520 --> 00:22:35,359 Speaker 1: rape offered a compassionate, but forthright view. I must thank 350 00:22:35,480 --> 00:22:40,520 Speaker 1: Viva for the exceptional editorial coverage. See this is the 351 00:22:40,600 --> 00:22:44,600 Speaker 1: Viva magazine many of its readers actually want. But still 352 00:22:44,760 --> 00:22:47,879 Speaker 1: Bob doesn't like it. And back in the meeting in 353 00:22:47,960 --> 00:22:51,520 Speaker 1: his house, Betty Jane, for one, is not at all 354 00:22:51,560 --> 00:22:55,680 Speaker 1: into Bob's reaction. I don't know what possessed me, because 355 00:22:55,760 --> 00:23:01,960 Speaker 1: I don't think of myself as a speaker. But I 356 00:23:02,000 --> 00:23:05,480 Speaker 1: couldn't let the silences go by, and I said, well, 357 00:23:06,320 --> 00:23:10,480 Speaker 1: you know, Mr GUCCIONI you know, yes, it is entertainment, 358 00:23:10,680 --> 00:23:14,600 Speaker 1: but it's involvement too. I mean, this was a this 359 00:23:14,640 --> 00:23:16,760 Speaker 1: was an important issue. When we got a lot of 360 00:23:17,280 --> 00:23:22,480 Speaker 1: read a mail on it silence, Nobody backed me up, 361 00:23:22,880 --> 00:23:27,280 Speaker 1: nobody opened their eyes. And two days later Patty called 362 00:23:27,280 --> 00:23:30,639 Speaker 1: me into her office. She had tears in her eyes 363 00:23:31,800 --> 00:23:36,000 Speaker 1: and she said, I have to buire you. So that 364 00:23:36,119 --> 00:23:39,040 Speaker 1: was where the rubber met the road. In her two 365 00:23:39,080 --> 00:23:42,240 Speaker 1: thousand and five Vanity Fair article, Patty remembered it like this. 366 00:23:42,840 --> 00:23:44,919 Speaker 1: I'd accepted the job and was telling them maybe I 367 00:23:44,920 --> 00:23:47,920 Speaker 1: could help Viva fulfill in need and inform and inspire 368 00:23:47,960 --> 00:23:51,400 Speaker 1: women whom was I kidding? Viva would never be anything 369 00:23:51,480 --> 00:23:56,560 Speaker 1: but hopeless, and maybe the saddest part of all this, 370 00:23:57,560 --> 00:24:01,160 Speaker 1: Bob had not only fooled Patty, but in the process 371 00:24:01,240 --> 00:24:04,000 Speaker 1: he'd given her and all of the Viva editors real 372 00:24:04,119 --> 00:24:08,080 Speaker 1: hope about what Viva could be. Because of the magazine's 373 00:24:08,119 --> 00:24:12,000 Speaker 1: long lead production time, the editors had six months to hope, 374 00:24:12,640 --> 00:24:15,480 Speaker 1: six months to fulfill the promise of the magazine without 375 00:24:15,520 --> 00:24:19,439 Speaker 1: Bob hovering over and watching their every move, And in 376 00:24:19,480 --> 00:24:23,080 Speaker 1: those months they'd seen what they could do. Like so 377 00:24:23,119 --> 00:24:27,199 Speaker 1: many women forever, they'd felt hopeful because they'd seen what 378 00:24:27,320 --> 00:24:30,399 Speaker 1: was possible when men like Bob Guccioni got out of 379 00:24:30,440 --> 00:24:34,560 Speaker 1: their way. But the thing is, even though Bob hired 380 00:24:34,600 --> 00:24:38,280 Speaker 1: women like Kathy and Patty to run the magazine and 381 00:24:38,480 --> 00:24:40,920 Speaker 1: editors like Betty, Jane and Annie to edit and write 382 00:24:40,920 --> 00:24:45,439 Speaker 1: in it, he once again never actually stepped aside and 383 00:24:45,520 --> 00:24:49,080 Speaker 1: let them do their jobs. Here's Leslie j Bob's head 384 00:24:49,080 --> 00:24:51,920 Speaker 1: of pr again, and it would always be. Bob says, 385 00:24:52,160 --> 00:24:55,280 Speaker 1: he doesn't want to do that. Bob says it was 386 00:24:55,320 --> 00:24:59,760 Speaker 1: really Bob's magazine. Viva was Bob's magazine. But now the 387 00:25:00,040 --> 00:25:03,760 Speaker 1: hides inside vivar about to turn again, because by the 388 00:25:03,800 --> 00:25:07,160 Speaker 1: mid seventies, the tides outside Viva are about to turn 389 00:25:07,240 --> 00:25:11,720 Speaker 1: for Bob Guccioni in a big public way. Still to 390 00:25:11,800 --> 00:25:14,200 Speaker 1: come on the News Hour, The never ending battle over 391 00:25:14,280 --> 00:25:21,959 Speaker 1: pornography within house publisher Bob Guccioni and others. Stiffed as 392 00:25:22,000 --> 00:25:26,000 Speaker 1: an original podcast from iHeartMedia and Crooked Media. It's produced 393 00:25:26,040 --> 00:25:30,000 Speaker 1: by Crooked Media. It's hosted and written by me Jennifer 394 00:25:30,080 --> 00:25:34,320 Speaker 1: Romalini and produced by Megan Donnas. Sidney Rapp is our 395 00:25:34,320 --> 00:25:39,760 Speaker 1: associate producer, Story editing by Mary Knopf, music sound design 396 00:25:39,800 --> 00:25:44,040 Speaker 1: and engineering by Hannis Brown. Our fact checker is Julia Paskin. 397 00:25:44,760 --> 00:25:49,399 Speaker 1: Additional production support from Nafola Cato and Ines Maza from 398 00:25:49,480 --> 00:25:53,080 Speaker 1: Crooked Media. Our executive producers are Sarah Geismer, Katy Long, 399 00:25:53,160 --> 00:25:56,560 Speaker 1: and Mary Knopf, with special thanks to Alison Falzetta and 400 00:25:56,680 --> 00:26:01,560 Speaker 1: Lyra Smith from iHeartMedia. Our executive producers Beth Anne Macaluso 401 00:26:02,000 --> 00:26:15,040 Speaker 1: and Julia Weaver h