Louis Abolafia; Artist, ‘Love Candidate’ for President

Louis Abolafia, 54, who billed himself as the “love candidate” for President in 1968. An artist who staged “happenings” in Greenwich Village during his early career, Abolafia challenged the conservative Richard Nixon for the presidency even though he was not legally old enough in 1968 to seek the nation’s top office. Abolafia adopted the slogan “What have I got to hide?” and posed for a famous poster, naked except for a strategically placed hat. A native New Yorker, Abolafia earned a degree in art at the prestigious Juilliard School. He was disappointed in his later years that his short-lived run for the presidency had earned him more attention than his art. Abolafia moved to San Francisco in 1974, where he helped stage the annual Exotic Erotic Ball costume event. He later lived in Los Angeles. On Monday in Los Angeles, apparently of a drug overdose.