William Zantzinger, Hattie Carroll's murderer (unconfirmed)
Evan Hulka
William Zantzinger, the subject of Bob Dylan’s 1963 protest song “The
Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll,” has died at age 69 according to a
local paper in Maryland [
http://www.thebaynet.com/announcements/index.cfm/fa/viewannouncement/announce_ID/4654/cat/obituaries/type/old
]. In 1963, a 24-year-old Zantzinger was attending a Baltimore hotel
when he struck Hattie Carroll — a 51-year-old black barmaid — in the
head and shoulders with a toy cane. Details of the attack vary, but
most claim he was enraged she wasn’t serving him quickly enough. A
distraught Carroll, who suffered from high blood pressure and an
enlarged heart, returned to the kitchen where she complained to a co-
worker about Zantzinger — and quickly collapsed and died. An autopsy
stated she died of a brain hemorrhage and there was no mark on her
head from the cane. Zantzinger was eventually charged with involuntary
manslaughter due to the “tremendous emotional upsurge” caused by his
attack. He paid a $25,000 fine and served a six-month prison sentence.
Bob Dylan, at the height of his protest stage, read about the incident
and turned it into one of early masterpieces (click above for footage
of the singer performing the tune on the Steve Allen Show). The facts
of the song have been disputed over the years, largely due to the fact
that it implies Carroll was beaten to death or “slain by a cane.”
After getting out of jail, Zantzinger got involved in real estate. In
1986 the government took possession of some of his low-income houses
due to back taxes. Zantzinger continued to charge rent on property he
no longer owned — even suing people who fell behind in payments. The
con caught up to him, and by 1991 he was arrested and fined $62,000
and 2,400 hours of community service.
The Dylan song followed him around his whole life, though he
steadfastly refused to talk about it with reporters. In 2001 Bob Dylan
biographical Howard Sounes actually got a quote out of him. “[Dylan]
is a no-account song a bitch,” Zantzinger said. “He’s just like a scum
bag of the earth. I should have sued him and put him in jail. [The
song is] a total lie.” Clinton Heylin – perhaps the world’s authority
on all things Dylan – seems to agree. “Dylan’s concern was not the
fact themselves but how they might fit with his preconceived notions
of injustice and corruption,” he wrote in Behind The Shades. “That the
song itself is a masterpiece of drama and wordplay does not excuse
Dylan’s distortions, and 36 years on he continues to misrepresent poor
William Zantzinger in concert.”
Evan Hulka
have been, "murderer" seems like an overstatement. Amended subject
line accordingly.
On Jan 8, 12:38 pm, Evan Hulka <ehu...@gmail.com> wrote:
> http://www.rollingstone.com/rockdaily/index.php/2009/01/08/man-bob-dy...
>
> William Zantzinger, the subject of Bob Dylan’s 1963 protest song “The
> Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll,” has died at age 69 according to a
> local paper in Maryland [http://www.thebaynet.com/announcements/index.cfm/fa/viewannouncement/...