Joey Skaggs

Joey Skaggs
Born	1945 (age 78–79) United States
Education	High School of Art and Design School of Visual Arts (BFA)
Occupation(s)	Artist, prankster, writer

Joey Skaggs (born 1945) is an American artist and prankster who has organized numerous successful media pranks, hoaxes, and other presentations. Skaggs pioneered the use of media as his artistic medium and is one of the originators of the phenomenon known as culture jamming. Skaggs has used Kim Yung Soo, Joe Bones, Joseph Bonuso, Giuseppe Scaggioli, Dr. Joseph Gregor, and the Rev. Anthony Joseph as aliases.

Artistic career

According to his web site, Skaggs does not care for "vicious" pranks such as letters containing fake anthrax; 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 and To Tell the Truth. Producers did not notice. Also, photographs in the National Enquirer and Playback have depicted the wrong man.

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 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.

In 2020, production began on a series of short oral history documentaries featuring Skaggs and materials from his archive titled, “Joey Skaggs Satire and Art Activism, 1960s to the Present and Beyond”.

Select pranks

Crucifixion (1966-1969):

• On Easter Sunday, 1966, Joey Skaggs carried his life-size sculptural depiction of a naked and decayed Jesus Christ on a cross to Hoving’s Hill in Tompkins Square Park on the Lower East Side in New York City. When he erected it, onlookers attacked and partially destroyed it. After repairing the sculpture, he continued to both exhibit it and bring it to public protests for three more years. It was featured in the 1967 New York University exhibition, Angry Artists: Artists Against the War in Vietnam, and became a center piece in the 1967 and 1968 Be-ins in Central Park. In 1969, anticipating further damage, he built a duplicate sculpture and dragged it through the Easter Parade up to the doors of St. Patrick's Cathedral (Midtown Manhattan) on 5th Avenue, where the church closed its doors, denying entry. A brigade of police then dragged him away. According to Skaggs, the piece represented the hypocrisy of the Church and man’s inhumanity to man.

Cathouse for Dogs (1976):

• Skaggs placed an ad in New York’s Village Voice newspaper and sent out a press release announcing a “Cathouse for Dogs” where for $50 you could get your dog sexually gratified. When the news media requested to visit the facility, he organized a group of 25 volunteers and 15 dogs and staged an evening in a dog bordello. WABC News included footage in a documentary on animal cruelty which won an Emmy. Skaggs was subpoenaed for illegally running a whorehouse for dogs, for which there was no law. In a press conference he held at the Attorney General’s office, he revealed the hoax, explaining that television is not necessarily reality. WABC News never retracted the story.

Celebrity Sperm Bank (1976):

• In July of 1976, Giuseppe Scaggoli (Skaggs), owner of the Celebrity Sperm Bank, announced an auction of rock star sperm in New York City. Celebrities that Scaggoli claimed to have sperm of were Mick Jagger, Bob Dylan. John Lennon, Paul McCartney, and Jimi Hendrix.  On the day of the event, Skaggs’ volunteer actors crowded the street in front of a building on Waverly Place, some to bid on the sperm and others to protest the concept. Scaggoli appeared and announced that the sperm had been stolen and read a ransom note purportedly from Abbie Hoffman to the crowd. The cancellation of the auction caused disappointment and outrage. Bystanders and police officers became part of the performance. News of this event was published in print media and aired on television.

Wall Street Shoeshine (1979):

• Skaggs, as Joseph Bucks, a shoeshine man, had grown rich on Wall Street after hearing investment tips from his customers. To celebrate his success one last time, he arrived on Wall Street in a limousine and set up a luxurious shoeshine stand where he charged $5.00 per shine (at the time the average shine was $.50). Skaggs pulled off this street theater performance with the help of friends and students from his Media Communications class at the School of Visual Arts, but real crowd members quickly joined the line to get their shoes shined. This was a satirical commentary about inflation and conspicuous consumption.

Metamorphosis (1981):

• On May 22, 1981, Dr. Josef Gregor (a.k.a. Joey Skaggs), an entomologist who had created a strain of super-roaches immune to all toxins known to man, held a press conference and claimed that by extracting a hormone from these insects he had produced a miracle cure. He was accompanied in his fake laboratory by friends, colleagues and students from his courses at the School of Visual Arts. He announced that he and his followers were now immune to acne, anemia, menstrual cramps and nuclear radiation and offered his discovery for free to the world. The story went out on the UPI wire service and other news sources, and Dr. Gregor was featured on WNBC TV’s Live at Five with Jack Cafferty and Sue Simmons. It was a nod to Franz Kafka’s The Metamorphosis, but none of the media picked up the clue. This satire was meant to expose the media’s role in promoting charlatans and the public’s need to question the sources of their information, as well as to the public’s responsibility to seek worthwhile solutions to problems.

Gypsies Against Stereotypical Propaganda (1982):

• On June 15, 1982, JoJo, the King of the New York gypsies, (a.k.a. Skaggs), called for a city-wide, weeklong gypsy work stoppage (no fortune telling and no reading of horoscopes, tarot cards or palms) to protest the use of the term Gypsy Moth, an insect that had been decimating hardwood trees in the Northeast. His organization, Gypsies Against Stereotypical Propaganda, or G.A.S.P., called for the renaming of this insect. He said, “Call it the Ayatollah moth, call it the Idi Amin moth, call it the Hitler moth. But never again the Gypsy moth.” This protest was reported by Clyde Haberman in The New York Times. 39 years later, in 2021, The New York Times reported that the Entomological Society of America changed the name of the Gypsy Moth and the Gypsy Ant because they are “offensive to a community of people.”

Windsurfing from Hawaii to California (1983):

• On January 15, 1983, at 12 noon, Hawaii windsurfer, J.J. Skaggs (a.k.a. Joey Skaggs) set out to become the first person to cross the Pacific Ocean from Hawaii to California on a sailboard. After a Hawaiian blessing and a send-off party complete with a rock-and-roll band, he departed equipped with enough water, snack bars and Dinty More stew, to last for the estimated 30-day trip where he would encounter over 40-foot waves. His board sail said CAL OR BUST. J.J. was not who he said he was. He was J.J. Jones, a world-class windsurfer, whose hair and mustache were cut to match Skaggs. J.J. set sail, but once out of sight, he rounded the point and came ashore, making his way to a local bar to secretly rendezvous with Skaggs and friends. When there was talk of a Coast Guard rescue mission, Skaggs revealed the hoax. UPI and the TV networks never retracted the story.

Fish Condos (1983):

• Outraged by the degradation of our natural resources as well as New York’s burgeoning gentrification, Joey Skaggs decided that soon fish would need better homes. He created Fish Condos, working aquariums that depicted kitchens, living rooms, bedrooms, and bathrooms, for upwardly mobile guppies. These aquatic sculptures were published in New York Magazine’s “Best Bets” and became an instant sensation, appearing in museum and gallery exhibitions, publications, and on television around the world. What began as a satire became so popular that in 1996 they were featured in the Neiman Marcus Christmas Catalog for thousands of dollars.

Bad Guys Talent Management Agency (1984):

• To help get his friend, Verne Williams, an acting job, Skaggs created the fictitious Bad Guys Talent Management Agency, featuring bad guys, bad girls, bad kids and bad dogs -- venomous vixens, burly bouncers and slimy sleazes. Skaggs designed a wanted poster for Verne and sent it to casting agents. This landed Verne a role in Berry Gordy’s feature film, The Last Dragon. Rebecca Bricker wrote the story for People Magazine which prompted other reporters to cover the agency. Since there was no agency, Skaggs enlisted scores of friends to pose as bad guys. The news inspired other wannabe actors to join. The ranks of “bad” actors swelled to over 300 and many were cast in commercials, print ads and movies. Despite its success, Skaggs eventually passed the agency to Sara Jones, one of the original “bad girls,” as he preferred not to manage a business.  

WALK RIGHT! (1984):

• In December of 1984, Joseph Virgil Skaggs (a.k.a. Joey Skaggs), had had enough of the outrageous behavior exhibited by inconsiderate, unconscious, hostile pedestrians in New York City. Satirizing vigilantism, Skaggs formed WALK RIGHT! — an ad hoc group of sidewalk etiquette enforcers who patrolled the streets to make New York a better place to live and walk. The group proposed 66 rules for walking, such as no short people with umbrellas, no squeaky wheels on strollers and no wearing sunglasses at night. CNN and many other media stations covered this story.

The Fat Squad (1986):

• Joe Bones (a.k.a. Joey Skaggs), an ex-U.S. Marine drill sergeant, formed the Fat Squad, an organization created to help wipe out fat. Bones’ Fat Squad Commandos would, for $300 a day and a 3-day minimum, keep clients from eating anything not on their diet. The company’s motto was, “You can hire us, but you cannot fire us, our commandos take no bribes.” This was a satire about America’s obsession with diet fads, however, the Philadelphia Inquirer and Washington Post were among the first media establishments to fall for this hoax. The story then made a wire service and went around the world in a week. It was widely covered in the U.S., including on ABC’s Good Morning America, and appeared on television and in print in Japan, Australia, England, Italy, Germany and France.

April Fool’s Day Parade (1986):

• Joey Skaggs' New York City April Fools' Day Parade is an annual event renowned for its satirical and humorous take on current events and societal norms. Organized by Skaggs since the mid-1980s, the parade features elaborate floats, performers, and participants who mock political figures, social issues, and cultural trends with witty and often absurd commentary. Each year, the parade route begins at 5^th Avenue and 59^th Street and ends at Washington Square Park, attracting both spectators and media attention with its creative and provocative displays. Skaggs and his collaborators design the parade to challenge conventional thinking and provoke thought about important issues through humor and satire. The event has become a celebrated tradition, blending artistic expression with social critique to offer a unique perspective on the world's happenings during the lighthearted spirit of April Fools' Day.

Save the Geoduck Campaign (1987):

• Joey Skaggs, using the alias Dr. Richard J. Long (or Dick Long), posing as a marine biologist, oceanographer and environmental activist, launched an international campaign to save the geoduck, a species of clam found in the Puget Sound in Seattle, Washington. He claimed this species was being over-harvested by commercial fishermen to satisfy Japan's insatiable appetite for aphrodisiacs. The Chernobyl nuclear accident had rendered Lapland reindeer antlers radioactive and no longer suitable. He organized a protest in front of the Japan Society in New York. UPI wire service, U.S. News and World Report, WNBC, Der Spiegel, The Fisherman’s News and more fell for the hoax, reporting on the protest. The purpose of this thinly veiled phallus joke was to highlight Americans' racism and tendency to blame others rather than themselves for their own problems. At the time, protestors were destroying Japanese cars and electronics as retribution for the loss of jobs, and exacerbated trade imbalances.

Comacocoon (1990):

• In the fall of 1990, German anesthesiologist Dr. Joseph Schlafer (a.k.a. Joey Skaggs) launched Comacocoon, a vacation service that induced clients into a controlled dream-state simulating their ideal vacation through anesthesia and subliminal programming. Dr. Schlafer claimed clients could save the environment by not going anywhere, quit smoking, have elective surgery, and learn a foreign language. They could even go home with a tan. Dr. Schlafer promoted this revolutionary protocol as a groundbreaking way for people to escape the pressures of daily life and emerge rejuvenated and stress-free. When Dr. Schlafer refused an interview request by the Globe tabloid, the reporter instigated an investigation, alerting pertinent New York City authorities and the police to what he thought might be a front for the sale of hallucinogenic drugs. Skaggs convinced the detectives who visited the supposed clinic that it was a conceptual performance piece, and the hoax continued, only to be interrupted a second time by the delivery of a subpoena from the Department of Consumer Affairs, headed by Mark Green. There were 17 charges related to the company’s purported BioImpression computer system and the drugs being used. Skaggs was deposed, at which point the hoax was cheerfully revealed to be a satire about mind control and curbing unnecessary vacation travel to save the environment. This hoax critiqued and satirized the burgeoning self-help and alternative medicine industries, which often made grandiose claims offering quick fixes for complex problems without scientific backing.

Hair Today, Ltd. (1990):

• Joey Skaggs created "Hair Today, Ltd.," a fictional company that claimed to offer a revolutionary hair restoration treatment. The service involved transplanting hair from cadavers to live clients who were balding or experiencing hair loss. Skaggs posed as a Native American surgeon named Dr. Joseph Chenango, and created a marketing campaign, including brochures, advertisements, and even a storefront office. The brochure was sent to 1,500 journalists, as if they were potential clients, claiming that the procedure was safe, effective, and FDA-approved.The hoax was a satirical commentary on the vanity and desperation associated with hair loss, the lengths to which people would go to restore their hair, and the extremes of the beauty industry. This underscored the gullibility of both consumers and the media, highlighting the need for more critical examination of grandiose claims.

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.

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.

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.

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 tweeting on his phone as he sat on his throne, to Trump Tower on 5th Avenue.

See also

• Alan Abel, another American performer of media hoaxes including the Society for Indecency to Naked Animals (SINA)

External links

• Official website
• The Art of the Prank
• RE/Search Interview with Joey Skaggs
• Joey Skaggs at IMDb