Jim Spagg
Encyclopedia
Jim Spagg was a U.S. artist and host of a controversial Public-access television
cable TV program in Portland, Oregon
, United States
from 1991 to 2003.
Spagg was born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio and attend Catholic school.
Spagg's premises were
Spagg denied that his program was lewd, claiming that "I am an artist and I'm expressing myself through video."
Spagg also swore throughout and showed himself defecating.
In May 2003, after nearly 11 years on the air, Jim Spagg's Sex Show was removed by Portland Cable Access after Spagg broadcast copyrighted material, violating the Public-access channel's broadcast standards.
protection for Public-access programming. Spagg frequently defended his program as art, and appeared on KATU's Town Hall program where he defended his right to appear nude on television as freedom of speech. He was also featured on the national television news show A Current Affair.
Spagg died of leukemia on May 8, 2004 at the age of 64 in Portland. At the time, he was running for mayor of the city. Spagg received almost 700 votes.
Public-access television
Public-access television is a form of non-commercial mass media where ordinary people can create content television programming which is cablecast through cable TV specialty channels...
cable TV program in Portland, Oregon
Portland, Oregon
Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
from 1991 to 2003.
Spagg was born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio and attend Catholic school.
Public-access television program
In the early 1990s, Spagg attracted local and national media attention with Jim Spagg's Sex Show, a call-in cable TV program that contained uncensored nudity. Spagg, a nudist, produced and directed the program and frequently appeared without clothing. The show was mostly improvised, and often consisted of little more than Spagg dancing nude while playing a guitar and singing. The show sometimes included nude guests, and often contained footage filmed at Rooster Rock State Park, a clothing-optional public beach near Portland. Several episodes focused on Spagg's petty feuds with his neighbor Ed DeKota.Spagg's premises were
- Nudity is not dirty; and
- People are too busy and too serious.
Spagg denied that his program was lewd, claiming that "I am an artist and I'm expressing myself through video."
Spagg also swore throughout and showed himself defecating.
In May 2003, after nearly 11 years on the air, Jim Spagg's Sex Show was removed by Portland Cable Access after Spagg broadcast copyrighted material, violating the Public-access channel's broadcast standards.
Public reaction and media attention
The Portland area public often discovered Spagg's Public-access show while flipping through the cable TV channels. Spagg elicited complaints from viewers, particularly those with children, who were angered that his program ran during the day. Despite public outcry to remove his program from Portland Cable Access, it was not possible due to freedom of speechFreedom of speech
Freedom of speech is the freedom to speak freely without censorship. The term freedom of expression is sometimes used synonymously, but includes any act of seeking, receiving and imparting information or ideas, regardless of the medium used...
protection for Public-access programming. Spagg frequently defended his program as art, and appeared on KATU's Town Hall program where he defended his right to appear nude on television as freedom of speech. He was also featured on the national television news show A Current Affair.
Spagg died of leukemia on May 8, 2004 at the age of 64 in Portland. At the time, he was running for mayor of the city. Spagg received almost 700 votes.