Former ‘Naked Guy’ at UC-Berkeley dies in jail

Officials to probe activist Andrew Martinez’s death as a suicide

Get weird & wonderful news on Twitter

Looking for more strange and fun stories and oddball videos? Follow @msnbc_wow.

Video: Weird news

‘Dancing cop’ busts a move, directs traffic
Dec. 11: Every December, drivers in Rhode Island are given a traffic treat when a 62-year-old “dancing cop” comes out of retirement to direct traffic. TODAY’s Ann Curry reports.

Colorado cow mutilations 'inexplicable'

Giant waves and wipeouts on Oahu

Teachers accused of naked romp in classroom

Christ found on a cow

Santa penguins march in Japan

$1 million home raffle winner ruffled by tax bill

Slideshow

Guinness World Records
See the biggest rubber band ball, oldest bungee jumper, longest ear hair and much more.

more photos

Discuss odd news on Newsvine

What does "friend" mean on theVine?

Giant pet rabbit that thinks he's a dog after copying behaviour of family's cocker spaniel

New Study Reveals Most Children Unrepentant Sociopaths

Here's a 'hook 'em' from the littlest Longhorn

London Underground announcer advises passengers to consider shooting themselves

Get even more oddness on Newsvine!

Most popular

• Most viewed

• Top rated

• Most e-mailed

Eagles headed for key NFC East win vs. Giants

Nicklaus: Tiger scandal ‘none of my business’

Most viewed on msnbc.com

updated 4:29 p.m. ET May 20, 2006

SAN JOSE, Calif. - The former college student known as the “Naked Guy,” who gained notoriety in the early 1990s for attending class in the buff, has died in jail, authorities said.

Andrew Martinez, 33, whose stripped-down strolls at the University of California, Berkeley, got him expelled and prompted the city to adopt a strict anti-nudity ordinance, was found unconscious Thursday in a Santa Clara County jail, said jail spokesman Mark Cursi.

Officials are investigating the death as an apparent suicide.

Story continues below ↓

advertisement | your ad here

He had been in custody since Jan. 10 on charges of battery and assault with a deadly weapon, authorities said.

In 1992, Martinez organized a “Nude-In” protest at the university. He said he was trying to make a point about free expression.

The message caught on, and nude spottings spiked on campus. Martinez, who landed on national talk shows, was expelled the next year after the university banned nudity.