The gallery was pushing a lot of boundaries," Castro says. "You have to think about the political climate at the time with gay rights and sexual rights. According to Castro, many of Opel's close friends at the time didn't believe the "drug deal gone bad" narrative espoused in police reports. In addition to extending Opel's legacy beyond his brief streak across the Oscars stage, Castro and Oppel say they hope to bring some resolution to the questions surrounding his death. Castro and Oppel continue to expand their promotion of Opel's work and have screened Uncle Bob at Antebellum. The exhibit, was extended multiple times. "The fact that it now has an historic edge is just the icing on the cake." "This art and this presentation of a lifestyle - and I call this a lifestyle because of what it's creating and conveying - is, to me, what I've always wanted to build at Antebellum," Castro says. "No matter what this art is considered, to me it is always dark and mysterious, because it witnessed murder," Oppel says.Ĭastro, who spent much of his adult life researching Opel, describes seeing the exhibit come together as "a dream." The exhibit includes almost all of the artwork that was hanging on the walls of Fey-Way Studios the night of July 7, 1979, plus a few pieces from Antebellum's own collection. It just seemed to make sense," Oppel says, explaining that the where was more important than the when, finally finding a home at Antebellum. "I've had it in my family for generations, over 30 years now. Oppel said it was clear that Castro couldn't have been more excited to put the art on display. Opel was Oppel's namesake (the elder Robert dropped the second p from his last name to distance his family from his crazy antics), but he never knew his uncle, nor did his family speak much of him.Īfter meeting Oppel, Castro worked for some time to get an exhibit together. Joining Castro in this venture is Opel's nephew Robert Oppel. "That's when I really got more obsessed and started to find out everything about him," Castro says In fact, Fey-Way was the model and inspiration for Castro's own Antebellum Gallery, in Hollywood.įorty years later after Opel's shocking broadcast moment, Castro is staging "The Res-erection of Fey-Way Studios" in his gallery to display the forgotten artwork of the studio and to illuminate Opel's non-streaking accomplishments. There, he created Fey-Way Studios in 1978. After his release, he was "disillusioned" with Los Angeles, according to Castro, and went north to San Francisco. Streaking the council meeting landed Opel in jail. ("I have nothing to hide," Opel joked of his candidacy on The Mike Douglas Show.) In addition to the Oscars, Opel also streaked through a Los Angeles City Council meeting - interrupting a debate on outlawing nudity on public beaches - and even ran for president as a nudist. Or 420," Castro laughs.Īfter his sharp left turn, Opel became most well-known for his nudism. "He was with the party, with Reagan, and did a 360. According to Castro, Opel worked as a speechwriter during Reagan's gubernatorial campaign before falling out with the future president. That last resume line is enough to make anyone raise an eyebrow.
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