in memory of
William J. Obanhein
Oct 19, 1924 - Sep 11, 1994 Age: 69
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About William Obanhein
Bill Obanhein was the "Officer Obie" mentioned in Arlo Guthrie's 1967 talking blues song "Alice's Restaurant". He played himself in the 1969 movie of the same name, telling Newsweek magazine in the September 29, 1969 edition, that making himself look like a fool was preferable to having somebody else make him look like a fool. Obanhein posed for Norman Rockwell (himself a resident of Stockbridge) for a handful of sketches, including the 1959 black-and-white sketch "Policeman With Boys," which was used in nationwide advertisements for Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company. From The New York Times, William J. Obanhein; 'Alice's Restaurant' Lawman, 69 William J. Obanhein, a former police chief here who once arrested the singer Arlo Guthrie and became famous as "Officer Obie" in Mr. Guthrie's ballad "Alice's Restaurant Massacree," died on Sunday of heart disease. He was 69. Mr. Obanhein, who worked for the Stockbridge police for 34 years, was a model for several Norman Rockwell paintings and "Saturday Evening Post" covers when Mr. Rockwell painted in a studio above the Back Door, the restaurant of the song. But his widest fame came after he arrested Mr. Guthrie, then 18, as he tried to dispose of garbage in 1965 after a Thanksgiving dinner prepared by Alice Brock, the restaurant's owner. Mr. Guthrie told his draft board about the arrest for littering and was deemed unsuitable for military service. He turned the anecdote into an anti-war ballad. Mr. Obanhein said much later: "You know, if it had only been a couple of bags of garbage, I would have picked it up myself."
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William Obanhein timeline
Born
10-19-1924
Passed away
09-11-1994
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