I just posted two more old columns on this site. One is this one about understudies and stand-bys in Broadway shows — those arguably luckless folks who sometimes have to go on for the stars but who occasionally wind up being the stars. The other newly-posted column is this one, which was written back in 1997 about that year's Academy Awards.
I decided to illustrate the latter with the above, rather famous photo of the streaker who crashed the 1974 Oscar ceremony while David Niven was presenting. You've probably seen this picture before. So have I, and it didn't strike me until just now but doesn't it look like the photo is a fake? I'm no expert but if you were a photographer who was there at that moment, what you'd ideally want is a shot of Niven and the naked guy that could be cropped so as to include both but exclude penis. Now, perhaps by dumb luck, the cameraman got one in those few seconds…but something about the angle suggests to me it's a composite. Also, this is not the sharpest copy but it looks like the resolution and grain on Mr. Niven is slightly different and there's a tiny hint of a halo around his head, as if the picture of him was cut out from another print and pasted in. Perhaps I'm wrong or perhaps no secret was made of it being a patch job. Just thought I'd mention it.
By the way: In our eternal quest to pass on useless info to you: The streaker was a guy named Robert Opel who later spent time in jail for showing up nude at meetings of the L.A. City Council. (I once attended a meeting of the L.A. City Council and I'm amazed that anyone was awake enough to notice.) In fact, Mr. Opel did an array of really stupid, attention-getting stunts before he found the worst possible way to get his name in the papers. In 1997, he was shot to death, reportedly because he hadn't paid a huge bill to his drug dealer. What some people won't do to get a little publicity…