William Zanzinger, a name that I as a teenager I figured Dylan had made up, has died. Granted, the man seems like a creep of the first water, as P.G. Wodehouse might put it, but you have got to feel a little something for a tinpot small town reactionary who winds up the subject of a devastating Dylan song.
The whole song seems to just barely hold together. Were his name different, could it work so well...
Sammy Bellweather killed poor Hattie Carroll...
Doubtful. William Zanzinger killed poor Hattie Carroll. Because he was a punk and a drunk. And he served six months. But he is remembered for one thing.
My favorite part of the article:
In 1991, The Maryland Independent disclosed that Mr. Zantzinger had been collecting rent from black families living in shanties that he no longer owned; Charles County, Md., had foreclosed on them for unpaid taxes. The shanties lacked running water, toilets or outhouses. Not only had Mr. Zantzinger collected rent for properties he did not own, he also went to court to demand past-due rent, and won.
The whole song seems to just barely hold together. Were his name different, could it work so well...
Sammy Bellweather killed poor Hattie Carroll...
Doubtful. William Zanzinger killed poor Hattie Carroll. Because he was a punk and a drunk. And he served six months. But he is remembered for one thing.
My favorite part of the article:
In 1991, The Maryland Independent disclosed that Mr. Zantzinger had been collecting rent from black families living in shanties that he no longer owned; Charles County, Md., had foreclosed on them for unpaid taxes. The shanties lacked running water, toilets or outhouses. Not only had Mr. Zantzinger collected rent for properties he did not own, he also went to court to demand past-due rent, and won.
He pleaded guilty to 50 misdemeanor counts of deceptive trade practices, paid $62,000 in penalties and, under an 18-month sentence, spent only nights in jail.
Information on Mr. Zantzinger’s survivors was unavailable. Though he long refused interviews, he did speak to the author Howard Sounes for his book “Down the Highway: The Life of Bob Dylan” (2001) , telling him of his scorn for Mr. Dylan.
“I should have sued him and put him in jail,” he said.
Um, shameless? Sure. And outside of Texas I don't think you can hire prosecutor to clap someone in jail much less sue to put him there.
Still, as a guy cultivating compassion (me, that is), there is something to hang to here. On an unrelated note, I never quite registered that Zanzinger and Dylan were about the same age.
Um, shameless? Sure. And outside of Texas I don't think you can hire prosecutor to clap someone in jail much less sue to put him there.
Still, as a guy cultivating compassion (me, that is), there is something to hang to here. On an unrelated note, I never quite registered that Zanzinger and Dylan were about the same age.
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