Joey Skaggs (born 1945) is an American
prankster who has organized numerous successful
media prank
A media prank is a type of media event, perpetrated by staged speeches, activities, or press releases, designed to trick legitimate journalists into publishing erroneous or misleading articles. The term may also refer to such stories if planted by ...
s, hoaxes, and other presentations. Skaggs is one of the originators of the phenomenon known as
culture jamming
Culture jamming (sometimes also guerrilla communication) is a form of protest used by many anti-consumerist social movements to disrupt or subvert media culture and its mainstream cultural institutions, including corporate advertising. It atte ...
. Skaggs has used Kim Yung Soo, Joe Bones, Joseph Bonuso, Giuseppe Scaggioli, Dr. Joseph Gregor, and the Rev. Anthony Joseph as aliases.
[Korean Dog Soup]
" ''Snopes
''Snopes'' , formerly known as the ''Urban Legends Reference Pages'', is a Fact checking, fact-checking website. It has been described as a "well-regarded reference for sorting out myths and rumors" on the Internet. The site has also been see ...
''
Artistic career
In his youth, Skaggs studied at the
High School of Art and Design
The High School of Art and Design is a career and technical education high school in Manhattan, New York City, New York State, United States. Founded in 1936 as the School of Industrial Art, the school moved to 1075 Second Avenue in 1960 and more ...
and received a BFA from the
School of Visual Arts
The School of Visual Arts New York City (SVA NYC) is a private for-profit art school in New York City. It was founded in 1947 and is a member of the Association of Independent Colleges of Art and Design.
History
This school was started by ...
in New York. Between 1966 and 1969, Skaggs organized crucifixion performances on Easter Sundays.
In 1968, Skaggs noticed that middle-class suburbanites were going on tours of the
East Village to observe
hippies
A hippie, also spelled hippy, especially in British English, is someone associated with the counterculture of the 1960s, originally a youth movement that began in the United States during the mid-1960s and spread to different countries around ...
. Skaggs subsequently organized a sightseeing tour for hippies to observe the suburbs of
Queens
Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long ...
. On Christmas Day, he created the Vietnamese Christmas
Nativity Burning to protest against the
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...
.
In 1969, Skaggs tied a 50-foot
bra
A bra, short for brassiere or brassière (, or ; ), is a form-fitting undergarment that is primarily used to support and cover breasts. It can serve a range of other practical and aesthetic purposes, including enhancing or reducing the appear ...
to the front of the
U.S. Treasury
The Department of the Treasury (USDT) is the national treasury and finance department of the federal government of the United States, where it serves as an executive department. The department oversees the Bureau of Engraving and Printing and t ...
building on
Wall Street
Wall Street is an eight-block-long street in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It runs between Broadway in the west to South Street and the East River in the east. The term "Wall Street" has become a metonym for t ...
in protest against
Francine Gottfried's
street harassment
Street harassment is a form of harassment, primarily sexual harassment that consists of unwanted sexualised comments, provocative gestures, honking, wolf-whistlings, indecent exposures, stalking, persistent sexual advances, and touching by str ...
, organized a
Hells Angels
The Hells Angels Motorcycle Club (HAMC) is a worldwide outlaw motorcycle club whose members typically ride Harley-Davidson motorcycles. In the United States and Canada, the Hells Angels are incorporated as the Hells Angels Motorcycle Corporatio ...
' wedding procession through the
Lower East Side
The Lower East Side, sometimes abbreviated as LES, is a historic neighborhood in the southeastern part of Manhattan in New York City. It is located roughly between the Bowery and the East River from Canal to Houston streets.
Traditionally an im ...
, and made a grotesque
Statue of Liberty
The Statue of Liberty (''Liberty Enlightening the World''; French: ''La Liberté éclairant le monde'') is a List of colossal sculpture in situ, colossal neoclassical sculpture on Liberty Island in New York Harbor in New York City, in the U ...
on
July 4
Events Pre-1600
* 362 BC – Battle of Mantinea: The Thebans, led by Epaminondas, defeated the Spartans.
* 414 – Emperor Theodosius II, age 13, yields power to his older sister Aelia Pulcheria, who reigned as regent and proclaim ...
, again to protest against the Vietnam War.
In 1971, Skaggs bought
Earlville Opera House, which is now a thriving performance and exhibition center. In the same year, he organized what he called a Fame Exchange during the
New York Avant Garde Festival, where he hired a group of admirers to follow him around instead of
John Lennon
John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer, songwriter, musician and peace activist who achieved worldwide fame as founder, co-songwriter, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of ...
and
Yoko Ono
Yoko Ono ( ; ja, 小野 洋子, Ono Yōko, usually spelled in katakana ; born February 18, 1933) is a Japanese multimedia artist, singer, songwriter, and peace activist. Her work also encompasses performance art and filmmaking.
Ono grew up i ...
. It was a forerunner for his next pranks.
According to his web site, Skaggs does not care for "vicious" pranks such as letters containing fake
anthrax
Anthrax is an infection caused by the bacterium ''Bacillus anthracis''. It can occur in four forms: skin, lungs, intestinal, and injection. Symptom onset occurs between one day and more than two months after the infection is contracted. The sk ...
; he also states that he is not doing anything illegal. He uses volunteer actors to play his customers, refusing to really scam anyone except the media. Often the prank is launched with nothing more than a press release with a phone number; in these press releases, Skaggs leaves hints or details that easily could be checked for accuracy. Eventually, he reveals the hoax to make his point.
On some occasions, Skaggs has sent a substitute to interviews with programs such as ''
Entertainment Tonight
''Entertainment Tonight'' (or simply ''ET'') is an American Broadcast syndication, first-run syndicated news broadcasting news magazine, newsmagazine program that is distributed by CBS Media Ventures throughout the United States and owned by Para ...
'' and ''
To Tell the Truth''. Producers did not notice.
Also, photographs in the ''
National Enquirer
The ''National Enquirer'' is an American tabloid newspaper. Founded in 1926, the newspaper has undergone a number of changes over the years.
The ''National Enquirer'' openly acknowledges that it pays sources for tips, a common practice in tabl ...
'' and ''
Playback'' have depicted the wrong man.
Many of Skaggs's pranks are originally reported as true in various news media. Sometimes the stories are retracted.
When not pranking the media, Skaggs earns his living by painting, making sculptures and lecturing.
In a 2015 interview, Skaggs revealed that he has a hoax that is "out there" that no one has discovered yet.
After the interview, Chinese news agency
SinoVision
SinoVision () is a U.S.-based Chinese language television network. SinoVision has offices in Lower Manhattan, Flushing, and Brooklyn. It has correspondents in Washington, D.C., Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Houston.
SinoVision ...
promptly fell for his then 30-year-old annual New York City April Fools' Day parade hoax and ran a four-minute segment in English on the non-event.
In 2017, "Art of the Prank", Andrea Marini's award-winning feature documentary about artist Joey Skaggs, was released internationally on television and streaming platforms.
Select pranks
* Cathouse for Dogs (1976): Skaggs published an ad for a dog
brothel
A brothel, bordello, ranch, or whorehouse is a place where people engage in sexual activity with prostitutes. However, for legal or cultural reasons, establishments often describe themselves as massage parlors, bars, strip clubs, body rub par ...
in ''
The Village Voice
''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture paper, known for being the country's first alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Mailer, the ''Voice'' began as a platform for the crea ...
'' and hired actors to present their dogs for the benefit of an
ABC news
ABC News is the news division of the American broadcast network ABC. Its flagship program is the daily evening newscast ''ABC World News Tonight, ABC World News Tonight with David Muir''; other programs include Breakfast television, morning ...
crew. The prank annoyed the
ASPCA
The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) is a non-profit organization dedicated to preventing animal cruelty. Based in New York City since its inception in 1866, the organization's mission is "to provide effective mea ...
and the
Bureau of Animal Affairs until Skaggs revealed the truth after a subpoena. ABC did not retract the story (the WABC TV producer insisted that Skaggs had said it was a hoax to avoid prosecution), possibly because the piece won an
Emmy Award
The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...
.
* Celebrity Sperm Bank (1976): Skaggs organized a
sperm bank
A sperm bank, semen bank, or cryobank is a facility or enterprise which purchases, stores and sells human semen. The semen is produced and sold by men who are known as sperm donors. The sperm is purchased by or for other persons for the purpose o ...
auction in New York; the sperm bank was then robbed and
semen
Semen, also known as seminal fluid, is an organic bodily fluid created to contain spermatozoa. It is secreted by the gonads (sexual glands) and other sexual organs of male or hermaphroditic animals and can fertilize the female ovum. Semen i ...
was supposedly taken hostage.
* Wall Street Shoeshine (1979): Skaggs played Joseph Bucks, a shoeshine man who had become rich on Wall Street and was working his last day—at $5 a shine.
* Metamorphosis (1981): Skaggs played Dr. Gregor, inventor of the Cockroach Vitamin Pill, which was supposed to be a cure-all drug. It was a nod to
Franz Kafka
Franz Kafka (3 July 1883 – 3 June 1924) was a German-speaking Bohemian novelist and short-story writer, widely regarded as one of the major figures of 20th-century literature. His work fuses elements of realism and the fantastic. It ...
's story "
The Metamorphosis
''Metamorphosis'' (german: Die Verwandlung) is a novella written by Franz Kafka which was first published in 1915. One of Kafka's best-known works, ''Metamorphosis'' tells the story of salesman Gregor Samsa, who wakes one morning to find himsel ...
".
* Gypsies Against Stereotypical Propaganda (1982):
Gypsy
The Romani (also spelled Romany or Rromani , ), colloquially known as the Roma, are an Indo-Aryan ethnic group, traditionally nomadic itinerants. They live in Europe and Anatolia, and have diaspora populations located worldwide, with sign ...
King JoJo (played by Skaggs) led a protest demanding that the
Gypsy moth
''Lymantria dispar'', also known as the gypsy moth or the spongy moth, is a species of moth in the family Erebidae. ''Lymantria dispar'' is subdivided into several subspecies, with subspecies such as ''L. d. dispar'' and ''L. d. japonica'' bei ...
's name be changed because it was demeaning to his people.
* Windsurfing from Hawaii to California (1983):
Windsurfer
Windsurfing is a wind propelled water sport that is a combination of sailing and surfing. It is also referred to as "sailboarding" and "boardsailing", and emerged in the late 1960s from the aerospace and surf culture of California. Windsurfing ga ...
J.J. Skaggs attempted the first crossing of the Pacific Ocean on a sailboard.
* Fish Condos (1983): Skaggs created an aquarium depicting rooms with furniture. It was meant to satirize
gentrification
Gentrification is the process of changing the character of a neighborhood through the influx of more Wealth, affluent residents and businesses. It is a common and controversial topic in urban politics and urban planning, planning. Gentrification ...
, but the aquariums sold very well.
* Bad Guys Talent Management Agency (1984): In an attempt to get an acting job for a friend,
Verne Williams, Skaggs founded a fictitious management agency for "bad-guy" actors. Eventually even real studios and wannabe actors contacted him.
* WALK RIGHT! (1984): Skaggs put together a fictitious militant group that wanted to enforce proper street walking etiquette and make its rules into law.
* The Fat Squad (1986): Skaggs played Joe Bones, the founder of a disciplinarian diet program where musclemen watched the customers 24 hours a day to make sure they stuck to their diets, at a cost of $300 a day.
* 1986 was also the first year of the Annual
April Fools' Day
April Fools' Day or All Fools' Day is an annual custom on 1 April consisting of practical jokes and hoaxes. Jokesters often expose their actions by shouting "April Fools!" at the recipient. Mass media can be involved in these pranks, which may ...
Parade; it exists only as press release and is announced and promoted every year.
* Save the Geoduck Campaign (1987): Skaggs played Dr. Richard J. Long who sought to save
geoduck
The Pacific geoduck ("gooey-duck"; ; ''Panopea generosa'') is a species of very large saltwater clam in the family Hiatellidae. The common name is derived from the Lushootseed ( Nisqually) word .
The geoduck is native to the coastal waters of t ...
mollusks from extinction because they had become a popular
aphrodisiac
An aphrodisiac is a substance that increases sexual desire, sexual attraction, sexual pleasure, or sexual behavior. Substances range from a variety of plants, spices, foods, and synthetic chemicals. Natural aphrodisiacs like cannabis or cocain ...
among the Japanese.
* Comacocoon (1990): As Dr. Joseph Schlafer, Skaggs offered a literal dream vacation—customers were to sleep in a cocoon, enjoying programmed dreams about the vacation. The
Department of Consumer Affairs
The New York City Department of Consumer and Worker Protection (DCWP), formerly the Department of Consumer Affairs (DCA), is an agency of the Government of New York City.
History
The duties were performed by the Commissioner of Public Markets unt ...
was alerted.
* Hair Today, Ltd. (1990): Joseph Chenango—another Skaggs character—marketed a new kind of hair implant: whole scalps from the dead. The prank began as an ad in the ''Village Voice'' soliciting scalp donors.
* Geraldo Hoax (1991): Skaggs appeared on
Geraldo Rivera
Geraldo Rivera (born Gerald Riviera; July 4, 1943) is an American journalist, attorney, author, political commentator, and former television host. He hosted the tabloid talk show '' Geraldo'' from 1987 to 1998. He gained publicity with the liv ...
's TV talk show and told a story about New York artists living in
water tower
A water tower is an elevated structure supporting a water tank constructed at a height sufficient to pressurize a water distribution system, distribution system for potable water, and to provide emergency storage for fire protection. Water towe ...
s—which he had not done.
* Brooklyn Bridge Lottery (1992): Skaggs released a "leak" informing the public of a lottery where the first prize would be renaming rights to the
Brooklyn Bridge
The Brooklyn Bridge is a hybrid cable-stayed/ suspension bridge in New York City, spanning the East River between the boroughs of Manhattan and Brooklyn. Opened on May 24, 1883, the Brooklyn Bridge was the first fixed crossing of the East River ...
.
* Portofess (1992): Skaggs played Father Anthony Joseph, appearing with a portable
confession
A confession is a statement – made by a person or by a group of persons – acknowledging some personal fact that the person (or the group) would ostensibly prefer to keep hidden. The term presumes that the speaker is providing information th ...
booth at the
Democratic National Convention
The Democratic National Convention (DNC) is a series of presidential nominating conventions held every four years since 1832 by the United States Democratic Party. They have been administered by the Democratic National Committee since the 1852 ...
.
* Sex Tapes Saved Marriage (1993): Skaggs sent two actors to
Faith Daniels
Faith Daniels (born March 9, 1957) is an American television news anchor, reporter, and talk show host.
Early life
Daniels was born to an unwed mother and lived eight months in a Catholic orphanage before being adopted by Steven A. Skowronski, a ...
' show to claim that sex tapes had saved their marriage.
* SEXONIX (1993): Skaggs created a hoax about a sex machine, claiming that the prototype had been seized by Canada Customs at the Canada–US border on its way from the United States. He used his own name. Uproar ensued in various bulletin boards.
* The Psychic Attorney (1994): On April 1, Skaggs appeared as Maqdananda, a combined New Age telephone psychic and lawyer. His voice mail box was flooded with calls.
* Dog Meat Soup (1994): Skaggs portrayed Kim Yung Soo, an entrepreneur who wanted to purchase unwanted dogs for human consumption. His purpose was to bring to light issues of cultural bias, intolerance and racism, as well as to demonstrate the media's tendency to be reactionary, gullible and irresponsible.
* Baba Wa Simba (1995): Skaggs appeared in London as Baba Wa Simba, a therapist who recommended that participants roar and behave like lions (reminiscent of
primal scream therapy).
* The Solomon Project (1995): Joseph Bonuso (Skaggs) claimed to have created a computer program that would work as both judge and jury and announce sentences. It pronounced
O. J. Simpson guilty.
* STOP BioPEEP (1998): Skaggs appeared as Dr. Joseph Howard, supposed employee of an Australian company, and revealed surreptitious
genetic engineering
Genetic engineering, also called genetic modification or genetic manipulation, is the modification and manipulation of an organism's genes using technology. It is a set of technologies used to change the genetic makeup of cells, including t ...
with poultry to create addictive commercial products.
* Doody Rudy (1999): Skaggs created a large satirical portrait of New York mayor
Rudy Giuliani
Rudolph William Louis Giuliani (, ; born May 28, 1944) is an American politician and lawyer who served as the 107th Mayor of New York City from 1994 to 2001. He previously served as the United States Associate Attorney General from 1981 to 198 ...
and let people throw fake elephant dung at it, in response to Giuliani's criticism of an artwork by
Chris Ofili
Christopher Ofili, (born 10 October 1968) is a British Turner Prize-winning painter who is best known for his paintings incorporating elephant dung. He was one of the Young British Artists. Since 2005, Ofili has been living and working in Trin ...
that incorporated real elephant dung.
* The Final Curtain (2000): Skaggs' creation was a combined funeral company, virtual graveyard and theme park. It was meant to satirize showmanship in places like
Forest Lawn cemeteries. Some investors were actually interested
Final Curtain's website is still functioning.* Art Attack (2002):
Espai D'Art Contemporani (EACC) in
Castellon, Spain asked Skaggs to organize a presentation; in response, Skaggs created a computer game where people could shoot passersby walking past the building in the outside corridor.
* Bush! (2004): Dressed as Uncle Sam and flanked by cheerleaders, flag bearers, Cabinet members, the Saudi Royal Family and Secret Service operatives, Skaggs pedaled a large replica of the White House, with then-President
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...
inside on the toilet, into
Washington Square Park
Washington Square Park is a public park in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of Lower Manhattan, New York City. One of the best known of New York City's public parks, it is an icon as well as a meeting place and center for cultural activity. ...
on Independence Day.
* Bullshit Detector Watch (2006): Skaggs created a satirical product, a watch that flashes, moos and poops. It also tells time.
* Art of the Prank blog (2007): Skaggs launched a blog covering news, insights, and discussions on everything to do with unsanctioned art, pranks, hoaxes, culture jamming and reality hacking.
* Mobile Homeless Homes (2012): Pedaling his Mobile Homeless Home, a shelter made from connected garbage cans, Skaggs led a group of angry muppets through the streets of New York to bring their outrage against greedy financial institutions and failed government oversight to the public.
* Santa's Missile Tow (2012): Skaggs as Santa Claus, armed with a mobile rocket launcher mounted on the back of a tricycle, targeted the United Nations and
Times Square
Times Square is a major commercial intersection, tourist destination, entertainment hub, and neighborhood in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. It is formed by the junction of Broadway, Seventh Avenue, and 42nd Street. Together with adjacent ...
with a sign proclaiming "World Peace or Else!". He was accompanied by an army of elves handing out toy soldiers to passersby.
* Bigfoot & The Tiny Top Circus (2014): Bigfoot, the world's most illusive and terrifying creature, was captured and put on display by the Tiny Top Circus in New York City's Washington Square Park. The creature (Joey Skaggs dressed literally as a big foot) made a daring escape and disappeared into the West Fourth Street subway station.
* Trump's Golden Throne (2017): For New York City's 32nd annual April Fools' Day Parade, after 31 years promoting a parade that didn't exist, Joey Skaggs orchestrated a real one. He held a Trumpathon, the world's largest gathering of Trump look-alikes, and together they paraded a golden outhouse, featuring President
Donald Trump
Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021.
Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...
tweeting on his phone as he sat on his throne, to Trump Tower on 5th Avenue.
[Lincoln Anderson, ''Scoopy's Notebook, Week of April 6'', in '' The Villager'', April 6, 2017]
* Trump's Military Parade (2018): Joey Skaggs' 33rd Annual April Fools' Day Parade featured a mockery of Trump's proposed Military Parade, with Donald Trump look-alikes carrying an arsenal of toy weapons. They were joined by North Korean "Rocket Man" Kim Jong Un and Russian President Vladimir Putin look-alikes as they marched down Fifth Avenue to Trump Tower.
See also
*
Alan Abel
Alan Irwin Abel (August 2, 1924 – September 14, 2018) was an American hoaxer, writer, and mockumentary filmmaker famous for several hoaxes that became media circuses.
Education and early career
Born on August 2, 1924, in Zanesville, Ohio, A ...
, another American performer of media hoaxes including the
Society for Indecency to Naked Animals
The Society for Indecency to Naked Animals, or SINA ronounced "sinna" was a satirical hoax concocted by serial prankster Alan Abel. The group used the language and rhetoric of conservative moralists for the ostensible aim of clothing "indecent ...
(SINA)
References
External links
*
The Art of the PrankRE/Search Interview with Joey Skaggs*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Skaggs, Joey
1945 births
20th-century American writers
21st-century American writers
Living people
Hoaxers]
Writers from New York (state)
High School of Art and Design alumni
School of Visual Arts alumni
20th-century American male writers
Culture jamming