Editing David Hampton (section)

==Background==
Hampton was born in [[Buffalo, New York]], and was the eldest son of an attorney. He moved to [[New York City]] (NYC) in 1981 and stumbled upon his now-famous ruse in 1983 when he and another man were attempting to gain entry into [[Studio 54]]. After the club denied Hampton and his partner entry, Hampton's partner decided to pose as [[Gregory Peck]]'s son while Hampton assumed the identity of [[Sidney Poitier]]'s son. They were ushered in as celebrities. Thereafter, Hampton adopted the persona of "David Poitier" to obtain free meals in restaurants. He also persuaded at least a dozen well-off people to give him shelter and money, including [[Melanie Griffith]], [[Gary Sinise]], [[Calvin Klein]], [[John Jay Iselin]], the president of [[WNET]]; [[Osborn Elliott]], the dean of the [[Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism]]; [[Leonard Bernstein]],<ref>{{cite web|first=Morgan|last=Falconer |url=https://www.thetimes.com/travel/destinations/north-america-travel/us-travel/new-york-city/john-guare-on-his-1990-play-six-degrees-of-separation-86knrhlftf5|title=John Guare on his 1990 play Six Degrees of Separation|date=January 9, 2010|publisher=[[The Times]]|access-date=July 19, 2018}}</ref> and a Manhattan [[urologist]]. Hampton used different lies to fool his victims; he convinced some that he was an acquaintance of their children, some that he had just missed a plane to [[Los Angeles, California|Los Angeles]] with his luggage still on it, and some that his belongings had been stolen in a mugging.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/1436727/David-Hampton.html|title=Obituary: David Hampton|date=2003-07-22|publisher=telegraph.co.uk|accessdate=3 March 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1990/06/21/theater/the-life-of-fakery-and-delusion-in-john-guare-s-six-degrees.html|title=The Life of Fakery and Delusion In John Guare's 'Six Degrees'|last=Witchel|first=Alex|date=1990-06-21|work=[[The New York Times]]|accessdate=3 March 2012}}</ref>

In October 1983, Hampton was arrested and convicted of fraud and ordered to pay restitution of $4,469 to his various victims.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Fowler |first=Glenn |date=1983-10-19 |title=SUSPECT IN HOAX IS ARRESTED HERE IN RENDEZVOUS |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1983/10/19/nyregion/suspect-in-hoax-is-arrested-here-in-rendezvous.html |access-date=2023-05-26 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> After refusing to comply with these terms, he was sentenced to a term of 18 months to four years in prison.