During the 1974 Academy Awards ceremony, host David Niven was introducing Elizabeth Taylor, who was presenting the award for 'Best Picture', when screams erupted from the audience. Niven turned around to see streaker Robert Opel running across the stage, flashing a peace sign. Opel later revealed that he had sneaked through the security checkpoint with a friend's press pass and waited backstage for the final envelope to storm the stage. When he went back to get his clothes, an he was taken to the pressroom. Opel always maintained that he acted alone, and that the stunt was not a setup for ratings but rather an attempt to kickstart his career by getting some mainstream attention as a rogue. At the time of the incident, he was working as a part-time photographer and was involved in queer counter-culture.

In March 1978, Opel opened Fey-Way, a queer-centered art gallery in San Francisco, where in July he was shot to death by Maurice Keenan, one of two robbers who demanded money and drugs, which Opel swore he didn't have. The killer was initially sentenced to death which was later commuted to 25 years to life.