W&L’s World’s Fastest Nudist

Kyle Overstreet ’02 was unmasked in a New York Times blog on Thursday as the actor who played the world’s fastest nudist in a marketing campaign for Zappos.com. Kyle, a psychology major at W&L and a fullback on the Generals football team, landed the part of the nude runner who streaked around New York “clad only in running shoes, tube socks and a strategically positioned frontward fanny pack,” as the Times described him. The campaign, created by the independent agency Agent 16, featured YouTube videos that got 60,000 hits and wound up on CNN’s Anderson Cooper 360 as well as blogs like Gothamist, The Huffington Post and  Gawker. Here’s Kyle’s account of unusual gig:

A van would drop me off in my shorts, with my shirt off,” Mr. Overstreet said. “I really didn’t know what I had gotten myself into until those shorts first came off and I was like, ‘Oh my god, this is insane.’ But I would drop trou, run, and try not to run into any policemen or children.”

He was not quite nude.

“I had this thing called a ‘Houdini,’” said Mr. Overstreet, who also works as a bellman at the Bowery Hotel. “And I was wearing sheer panty hose, too, so with the nudity laws I could sort of defend myself to a cop.”

When he isn’t acting or streaking, Kyle works as a bellman for the Beverly Hotel, according to the Times post. He’s also got a part coming up in November in the soap opera, One Life to Live. He’s going to be a cop — clothed.

Lichtfuss ’74 to Launch New D-III Program

Skip Lichtfuss

Skip Lichtfuss, a three-time lacrosse All-American at Washington and Lee and a member of the U.S. Lacrosse Hall of Fame, has just signed on for a new challenge — he’ll launch the new lacrosse program at Hanover College in Indiana. According to the release from Hanover, Skip will spend this year recruiting and the Panthers will field their first team in 2011. Skip is a member of the W&L Athletic Hall of Fame. In addition to leading the Generals to a 40-5 record, the best three-year period in the school’s history, from 1972 to 1974, Skip also led the Generals basketball team in scoring for three years. Hanover is a Division III school that plays n the Heartland Collegiate Athletic conference and will be only the second D-III lacrosse team in Indiana, joining Trine Univrsity.

Wind Ensemble Featured in Teaching Music

University Wind Ensemble in Egypt

The October edition of Teaching Music, which is published by the National Association for Music Education, prominently features a photograph of Washington and Lee’s 65-piece University Wind Ensemble, and the backdrop is definitely not the Colonnade. The photo was taken last spring when the group toured and performed in Egypt.  According to Barry Kolman, associate professor of music and music director and conductor of the University-Shenandoah Symphony Orchestra and the University Wind Ensemble, this marks the first time an nstrumental ensemble from W&L was featured in a national music magazine. Barry is quoted extensively in the accompanying article (sorry, it’s not on line), “Finding Your Musical Oasis,” which describes the way he and other music directors search for music that is appropriate for their groups. You can listen to some audio clips of the Ensemble, including its version of the swing, on its Web page here.

W&L Law Grad Bob Mitchell Looks Back

Bob Mitchell

After playing quarterback for four years down the street at Virginia Military Institute, Bob Mitchell entered law school at Washington and Lee in 1962. While he was in law school at W&L, Bob coached the VMI freshman team. A few weeks ago, Bob was featured in a story in the Washington Times, which was taking a look back at a historic football game in DC (now RFK) Stadium. On Oct. 7, 1961, VMI played George Washington in the brand new stadium. It was actually the second game to be played. The first had been a Redskins game the previous week. But the VMI game was the dedication game, and the point of the article was that pre-game festivities delayed the game so long that, in Bob Mitchell’s view, it contributed to a bad Keydet loss. “Emotionally, we were ready to play, but we sat there and sat there and sat there,” Bob told the Times. “All the air went out of our balloon, and we played the worst game in my four years at VMI.” After graduating from law school in 1965, Bob moved to Winchester, Va., and is a partner in the law firm Hall, Monahan, Engle, Mahan & Mitchell.

Chicago Lawyer Profiles Carrie Risatti

Carrie Risatti

The latest issue of Chicago Lawyer has a Q and A with Washington and Lee law alumna Carrie M. Risatti of the Class of 1999. Carrie is a prinicpal with the Chicago law firm, Much Shelist where she is a member of the firm’s real estate practice. In the Chicago Lawyer article, Carrie recalls working on a murder-for-hire case while clerking in Virginia as probably the most dramatic moment in her legal career. Asked what advice she would have for new or future lawyers, Carrie said: “Always remember that civility is your greatest strength. I went to a law school that is founded on the principles of an honor system and a speaking tradition.” Have a look at the piece at this link.

Still Playing Handball on an International Level

Ollie Cook (Wicked Local Photo by Ian Hurley )

Ollie Cook, a 1960 graduate of Washington and Lee, recently advanced to the quarterfinals in his age group, 70 and above Singles Diamond Master Division, of the Waterford Crystal World Handball Championships in Portland, Ore. Ollie, 71, an attorney who is currently of counsel with the Peabody, Mass., firm Smerczynski & Conn, was one of 30 players who qualified for the event. In a story about Ollie’s exploits, the Beverly Citizen noted that Ollie had started playing handball during his undergraduate days at Washington and Lee on the advice of athletic director Cy Twombly. As Ollie explained it, “He said, ‘I’ll show you a sport that will keep your reflexes up and your weight down,.'” Ollie is an avid golfer but told the newspaper that he tries to play handball three to four times a week. What’s particularly noteworthy is that Ollie had double hip surgery about six years ago and, according to a note in the U.S. Handball Association Newsletter, was back competing in the Massachusetts State Handball Championships before long.