‘Pie in the face’ as an act of protest

Media mogul Rupert Murdoch took a pie to the face from a protestor Tuesday while testifying in London about his company’s involvement in a phone-hacking scandal.
Pieing is an infrequently used form of protest because it’s criminal assault and is difficult to pull off successfully. It’s been used to embarrass authority figures, politicians and celebrities.
Among the victims of pieing are Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates, Vogue editor Anna Wintour, former Enron CEO Jeffrey Skilling, singer and anti-gay rights activist Anita Bryant, conservative commentator William F. Buckley and former San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown.
Wikipedia has an entry on pieing that recounts its use in slapstick comedy, protests and celebrations. It also has a list of people who have been pied.
Bloomberg Businessweek used the occasion of Murdoch’s pieing to put together a slideshow of famous people who have been pied.
It's one thing to smack an able-bodied young man or woman in the kisser with a cream pie. But Murdoch is 80 years old. The shock could have killed the News Corp. CEO.

Photo by Dan Hayes on Twitpic.