Meredith Hunter
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 |
This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (March 2008) |
Meredith Hunter (October 24, 1951 – December 6, 1969) was a spectator at the infamous Altamont Free Concert. During the performance by The Rolling Stones, Hunter was stabbed to death by a Hells Angel serving as a security guard, after allegedly pulling out a gun. The incident was caught on camera and became a central scene in the documentary Gimme Shelter.
Hunter was described by friends as a flashy dresser with a big afro. During a scuffle at the Altamont Free Concert he pulled a revolver. He was fatally stabbed directly in front of the stage during The Rolling Stones' performance as they played "Under My Thumb". He died at the venue. Alan Passaro, a 21-year-old member of the Hells Angels, was charged with the crime, but Passaro claimed he acted in self-defense, and was acquitted. An autopsy showed that Hunter was on methamphetamines when he died.
There had been rumors, over the years, that a second, unidentified assailant had inflicted the fatal wounds, and, as a result, the police considered the case still open. On 25 May 2005, the Alameda County Sheriff's Office announced that it was officially closing the stabbing case. Investigators, concluding a renewed two-year investigation, dismissed the theory that a second Hells Angel took part in the stabbing.[1]
Perhaps because of early, incorrect reporting by Rolling Stone magazine, an urban legend holds that the song playing when Hunter was killed was "Sympathy for the Devil."
Mr. Hunter was interred on December 10, 1969 at the Skyview Memorial Lawn in Vallejo, California.
There is a short documentary film by Sam Green titled, Lot 63, Grave C (Hunter's gravesite), which sheds more light upon Meredith's last day and the questions that remain. [2]
[edit] References in Pop Culture
Meredith Hunter is referred to in Don Mclean's American Pie as a sacrifice to the devil.
Also referred to in The Dead Milkmen song "In Praise of Sha Na Na" ('Sha Na Na stabbed that guy at Altamont ...')
[edit] References
[edit] External links
- 1970 Rolling Stone article on the stabbing
- Gimme Shelter at the Internet Movie Database
- Lot 63, Grave C at the Internet Movie Database
- SF360: A tour through Lot 63 Grave C
