The 1975 Pomona College Frank Zappa prank
In the spring of 1975, John Irvine and Greg Johnson, two math students at Pomona College, played a prank by covering up a bust of Frédéric Chopin on top of the Bridges Auditorium, where busts of famous composers Richard Wagner, Frédéric Chopin, Ludwig van Beethoven, Johann Sebastian Bach and Franz Schubert were displayed. They made a phony frieze from styrofoam and gave Chopin Zappa's trademark mustache and chin hair. His name was also replaced with Zappa's, while they added a stylized marijuana leaf. To prevent their frieze from falling, they secured it with a heavy fishing line, tied to various rooftop fixtures.
The entire plan came about because Irvine and Johnson had heard Zappa, as a former student at Pomona, would perform in the Auditorium in April of that year (see 75/04/11 Claremont CA US Bridges Auditorium, Pomona College). They weren't big fans of him and just felt it would be a fun prank that he would enjoy. This explains why they added a marijuana leaf, unaware that Zappa was strongly opposed against drugs and considered Chopin one of his favorite composers.
Unfortunately, the frieze only got up a week after his concert. It remained there a few days until it was noticed and instantly taken down. For almost half a century, it remained a mystery who'd done it, but in 2012 the culprits finally went public with their story. [1] [2] [3] [4]
