By Mandy Feder
William Coblentz, I wish I could have met this guy.
OK, he wasn”t a rock star and some folks won”t know who he was, but it was because of him that many rock stars thrived.
He was a legend in the Bay Area and around the world. For more than 50 years Coblentz played a part in “the politics, business and cultural life of California, and often his influence extended well beyond the Golden State,” according to Coblentz”s obituary in the Oct. 2 Economist.
The article states, “Bill Graham, was a penniless rock-concert promoter whose San Francisco auditorium the locals wanted to close, saying it lowered the tone of the neighborhood. Mr. Coblentz had the building opposite watched, and was able to show it was a brothel frequented by policemen. Graham won his permit and in lieu of payment, introduced Jefferson Airplane to Mr. Coblentz. As a result, he came to act for the Airplane and also the Grateful Dead, It”s a Beautiful Day and Santana.”
That is cool.
Coblentz, a well-known Californian power broker, died on Sept. 13 at age 88.
It was his principles that impressed me. I could positively align my thinking with some of his statements.
He was a rock solid believer in free speech.
“I don”t like you, but I”ll stand up for you,” he said once.
Yeah, I hear that.
Like me, he loved good jokes and shared them regularly.
He ran in social circles in his lifetime that included people such as Winston Churchill. He was a member of the Bohemian Club in San Francisco. He was a regent of the University of California. He advised national politicians. The CIA recruited him to help counter communism by promoting European unity.
He also advised the Hearst family when they sought Coblentz”s help after their daughter Patty was arrested for bank robbery 18 months after being kidnapped by the Symbionese Liberation Army. According to the article in the Economist, the Gettys also went to Coblentz for help with “errant children.” But he treated people equally and he was “unwilling to treat bigwigs any less directly than anyone else.” I like that.
Well-rounded? Yes, indeed.
Coblentz had a hand in a wide array of projects while he was a land use attorney. He assisted in getting the approvals for a new baseball stadium for the Giants, as well as approvals for Mission Bay and Yerba Buena Gardens.
Though Coblentz was a true Californian, many times referred to as a true “Son of San Francisco,” he obtained his law degree from Yale in 1947.
As an attorney and in his personal affairs, civil rights and racial justices were his passions. He aggressively and steadfastly defended civil rights. He defended free speech rights of communist activist Angela Davis in the 1960s and voiced opposition to the South African Apartheid regime.
He was a founding member of the San Francisco Airport Commission until 1986. The new SFO International Terminal 2 boarding area will be dedicated next year as the Coblentz Concourse.
According to his obituary in the San Francisco Chronicle, “Despite Mr. Coblentz”s accumulation of accomplishments and honors, he was universally admired for his genuine, unpretentious style. Whether he was addressing a senator or law firm staffer, Mr. Coblentz was known to employ the same upbeat, even mischievous, candor that made him so successful in his many endeavors.”
Although Coblentz has been laid to rest, it”s quite doubtful that his memory or impact on this region ever will be.
Mandy Feder is the Record-Bee managing editor. She can be reached at mandyfeder@yahoo.com or 263-5636 ext. 32.
