"Woodstock the Movie:" a PSAI Member Makes a Cameo Appearance
Woodstock the Movie, an Unlikely Star, and Less Than Six Degrees of Separation between PSAI and the Academy Awards
In 1970, a documentary movie was made about the Woodstock Music Festival. Footage of the bands and the enormous crowds was shown along with interviews and interesting facts about this monumental event. The anticipated crowd of 50,000 had exploded to some 400,000 and there were many fascinating stories to be told.
Woodstock the Movie won the 1970 Academy Award for Best Documentary and, in the process, quite by accident, the portable sanitation industry gained notoriety from an interview with the “Port-O-San Man.”
Background
As noted in a previous Industry Artifact about the Woodstock Festival, Johnny-On-The-Spot provided 30 of their now famous “Big John Units”—which were 24-foot-long blue wooden structures with 5 white doors (stalls) down each side and a urinal room on the end.
Our industry was also represented at Woodstock by the Port-O-San Corporation of New York / New Jersey. This portable restroom company provided 250 traditional wooden units, painted dark green with their logo on each door. These units were placed in rows and were primarily near the parking areas—away from the stage and the open field area where the multitudes gathered.
Interesting Aside
Between the Johnny-on-The-Spot “Big Johns” (300 toilet seats) and the Port-O-San units (250 toilet seats), there were 550 units to service 400,000 people—a ratio of 1 unit for every 833 people!
Filming
Many of the major performers, bands, and celebrities were interviewed for the movie:
- Jimi Hendrix
- Joan Baez
- Janis Joplin
- The Who
- Crosby, Stills & Nash
- Jefferson Airplane
- Tom Taggart
Who is Tom Taggart? He was the route service driver for Port-O-San, who was interviewed concerning his thoughts about the festival! During this 3-minute segment of the movie, Tom is shown pumping and cleaning the wooden unit and then sharing his thoughts.
He states that he is “glad to do this for these kids” and continues, “I have two sons—one is here (at the festival) and one is in Vietnam flying helicopters right now.” A young man is interviewed coming out of another unit and he is pleased with the service. The “Port-O-San Man” was born!
When the movie was near completion, Taggart learned that the clip was going to be in the movie; he asked that it be removed, as he had not given permission for his interview to be included. He took the movie production company to court and won on appeal, but only after the movie was released. The court stated that by including this casual conversation in the film, Taggart was made an “inadvertent performer in a sequence intended to be exploited for its artistic effect without compensation.” A settlement was reached outside of court for an undisclosed amount.
Mr. Taggart passed away in 1994 at the age of 76.
To the general public, the “Port-O-San Man” was an interesting part of the movie but to our industry, one more amazing discovery came to light.
- As highlighted previously, the Woodstock Music Festival was held in 1969.
- Woodstock the Movie was released in 1970.
- In 1971, the Portable Sanitation Association was formed with Port-O-San as a Charter Member.
- In 1971, the Academy Awards for 1970 movies were announced and Woodstock The Movie won for Best Documentary.
Therefore, the new PSA was indirectly associated with an Academy Award through Port-O-San’s membership and employee Tom Taggart’s involvement in the movie. How many other associations can claim this honor?
Watch this famous 3-minute portion of the movie on YouTube.
For even more interesting facts on the history of our Industry and of our Association, click on the links below and order your History Book today. All proceeds benefit the PSAI Scholarship Program.