Where Is Hollywood?
On April 2, 1974, Hollywood’s biggest movie stars gathered in the Los Angeles Music Center. They had come for the forty-sixth annual Academy Awards ceremony. Winners in more than twenty-one categories would receive a gold-plated, thirteen-and-a-half-inch statuette called Oscar.
The awards for best director, best actor, and best actress were announced. There was one award left. What movie would win for best picture?
David Niven, a longtime leading man in many films, appeared onstage. He was there to introduce the legendary actress Elizabeth Taylor. She was going to announce the winner for best picture, the last and most important award of the night.
But before Elizabeth Taylor came out, the audience started to laugh. Niven looked confused. He hadn’t said anything funny. The audience kept laughing and clapping, so Niven glanced over his shoulder.
A man was running across the stage behind him. Two of his fingers were raised in a peace sign and . . . he was naked!
The runner dashed offstage. The audience kept laughing. Now Niven was, too. “That was almost bound to happen,” he said. Everyone knew what he meant. Running naked in public places was a silly fad in the early seventies. It was called streaking.
There have been a lot of crazy, weird moments in the history of Hollywood and the movies. But few have topped the incident with the “Streaker Guy” seen on TV by forty-five million people all over the world.
Who Is Oscar?
