Mystery of heartache on 'Lonely Street' solved
Trish Long , El Paso Times
According to a recent article in Rolling Stone magazine, the mystery of Elvis Presley’s breakout hit “Heartbreak Hotel” has been solved — and it has an El Paso connection.
Songwriters Tommy Durden and Mae Boren Axton were inspired to write the song based on a 1955 newspaper story of a man’s suicide and his note about that “lonely street.”
Rolling Stone reports that the mystery of the man has been solved using the digital morgues of old newspapers. It says the man was Alvin Krolik and he died in El Paso, shot by Delta Pinney, owner of the Busy Bee Liquor & Tackle Store.
Krolik first appears in the news in 1953 in Chicago. It was November when he walked into an Albany Park police department and confessed to his part in 10 robberies. Sy Friedman wrote about him for the UP wire service in a story that was picked up by newspapers around the nation:
"I'm an artist," he said, "and the pictures I've painted bring $50 to $150.
"On top of that, I'm a writer — I've written an autobiographical account of a crime spree.
"I want to tell you about that crime spree — 10 robberies — I'm your man."
He said his victims were not able to identify him because he used oil paints on his face.
He claimed he was “driven to crime” after his five-week marriage to Agnes Sampson ended in divorce. “I still love her madly,” he said.
Krolik surrendered to police because “I have to get this thing off my mind.”
He quoted from his manuscript, which he sent to a New York publisher, to the detectives taking his statement: “This is the story of a person who walked a lonely street. I hope this will help someone in the future.”
The Chicago police said they would seek leniency for Krolik because he gave himself up and they thought he could be rehabilitated.
Death in El Paso
Krolik eventually made his way to El Paso, where the news of his death was reported in the following El Paso Herald-Post article from Aug. 25, 1955, whose headline summed up the heartache on Lonely Street:
ROLLING STONE
Solving the Mystery of 'Heartbreak Hotel'
Killing Ends Heartache
Story of Person Who Walked Lonely Street
Funeral services for a young artist will be held in Chicago tomorrow.
The artist was never very successful, but he showed promise.
His promise ended Saturday night when he tried to hold up an El Paso liquor store and was shot to death.
The artist was Alvin Bert Krolik and he lived 27 years. Once, in an unpublished autobiography, he wrote: “This is the story of a person who walks a lonely street.”
Krolik’s “lonely street” took him through a series of Chicago stickups, to Franciscan monasteries where he painted murals, and finally to the Busy Bee Liquor Store in East El Paso.
'Just a Neglected Boy'
He saw service as a judo instructor in the Marine Corps and in 1953 he married a nightclub accordionist. The marriage lasted five weeks and his wife said later, "he's just a neglected boy who never really matured and needs help."
Shortly after the breakup of his marriage, Krolik walked into a police station and confessed that he had taken part in 10 holdups.
"I have to get it off my mind — I'm tired of the panderers and streetwalkers I've been living with," he said.
Judge Charles S. Daugherty put the artist on five years' probation, saying, "This is the first man to appear before me who apparently showed sincere contrition."
Krolik also found a friend in Russell W. Davis, chairman of Imperial World Films, Inc. Davis took an interest in the young artist and sent him to the Franciscan monastery at Topawa, Ariz.
Krolik and another artist painted 14 murals at the monastery. He later painted murals at other Arizona monasteries and last month accompanied Davis on a vacation in the Ozarks.
Something Went Wrong
Then something went wrong in Krolik's tangled brain. Last week he went to a Tucson store and bought a holster and a .38 caliber revolver. From there he went to El Paso.
D.R. Pinney, proprietor of the Busy Bee Liquor Store, told police Krolik came in and asked for a bottle of whiskey. Pinney turned to fill the order and swung back to find Krolik's revolver pointed at him.
"Give me all the green money," Krolik said.
Pinney laid all his money on the counter. Krolik reached for it and Pinney, who had previously killed another stickup man, came up with a pair of revolvers.
He fired nine shots into Krolik and the young monastery artist was dead.
Trish Long , El Paso Times
According to a recent article in Rolling Stone magazine, the mystery of Elvis Presley’s breakout hit “Heartbreak Hotel” has been solved — and it has an El Paso connection.
Songwriters Tommy Durden and Mae Boren Axton were inspired to write the song based on a 1955 newspaper story of a man’s suicide and his note about that “lonely street.”
Rolling Stone reports that the mystery of the man has been solved using the digital morgues of old newspapers. It says the man was Alvin Krolik and he died in El Paso, shot by Delta Pinney, owner of the Busy Bee Liquor & Tackle Store.
Krolik first appears in the news in 1953 in Chicago. It was November when he walked into an Albany Park police department and confessed to his part in 10 robberies. Sy Friedman wrote about him for the UP wire service in a story that was picked up by newspapers around the nation:
"I'm an artist," he said, "and the pictures I've painted bring $50 to $150.
"On top of that, I'm a writer — I've written an autobiographical account of a crime spree.
"I want to tell you about that crime spree — 10 robberies — I'm your man."
He said his victims were not able to identify him because he used oil paints on his face.
He claimed he was “driven to crime” after his five-week marriage to Agnes Sampson ended in divorce. “I still love her madly,” he said.
Krolik surrendered to police because “I have to get this thing off my mind.”
He quoted from his manuscript, which he sent to a New York publisher, to the detectives taking his statement: “This is the story of a person who walked a lonely street. I hope this will help someone in the future.”
The Chicago police said they would seek leniency for Krolik because he gave himself up and they thought he could be rehabilitated.
Death in El Paso
Krolik eventually made his way to El Paso, where the news of his death was reported in the following El Paso Herald-Post article from Aug. 25, 1955, whose headline summed up the heartache on Lonely Street:
ROLLING STONE
Solving the Mystery of 'Heartbreak Hotel'
Killing Ends Heartache
Story of Person Who Walked Lonely Street
Funeral services for a young artist will be held in Chicago tomorrow.
The artist was never very successful, but he showed promise.
His promise ended Saturday night when he tried to hold up an El Paso liquor store and was shot to death.
The artist was Alvin Bert Krolik and he lived 27 years. Once, in an unpublished autobiography, he wrote: “This is the story of a person who walks a lonely street.”
Krolik’s “lonely street” took him through a series of Chicago stickups, to Franciscan monasteries where he painted murals, and finally to the Busy Bee Liquor Store in East El Paso.
'Just a Neglected Boy'
He saw service as a judo instructor in the Marine Corps and in 1953 he married a nightclub accordionist. The marriage lasted five weeks and his wife said later, "he's just a neglected boy who never really matured and needs help."
Shortly after the breakup of his marriage, Krolik walked into a police station and confessed that he had taken part in 10 holdups.
"I have to get it off my mind — I'm tired of the panderers and streetwalkers I've been living with," he said.
Judge Charles S. Daugherty put the artist on five years' probation, saying, "This is the first man to appear before me who apparently showed sincere contrition."
Krolik also found a friend in Russell W. Davis, chairman of Imperial World Films, Inc. Davis took an interest in the young artist and sent him to the Franciscan monastery at Topawa, Ariz.
Krolik and another artist painted 14 murals at the monastery. He later painted murals at other Arizona monasteries and last month accompanied Davis on a vacation in the Ozarks.
Something Went Wrong
Then something went wrong in Krolik's tangled brain. Last week he went to a Tucson store and bought a holster and a .38 caliber revolver. From there he went to El Paso.
D.R. Pinney, proprietor of the Busy Bee Liquor Store, told police Krolik came in and asked for a bottle of whiskey. Pinney turned to fill the order and swung back to find Krolik's revolver pointed at him.
"Give me all the green money," Krolik said.
Pinney laid all his money on the counter. Krolik reached for it and Pinney, who had previously killed another stickup man, came up with a pair of revolvers.
He fired nine shots into Krolik and the young monastery artist was dead.
Mystery of heartache on 'Lonely Street' solved
Trish Long , El Paso Times
According to a recent article in Rolling Stone magazine, the mystery of Elvis Presley’s breakout hit “Heartbreak Hotel” has been solved — and it has an El Paso connection.
Songwriters Tommy Durden and Mae Boren Axton were inspired to write the song based on a 1955 newspaper story of a man’s suicide and his note about that “lonely street.”
Rolling Stone reports that the mystery of the man has been solved using the digital morgues of old newspapers. It says the man was Alvin Krolik and he died in El Paso, shot by Delta Pinney, owner of the Busy Bee Liquor & Tackle Store.
Krolik first appears in the news in 1953 in Chicago. It was November when he walked into an Albany Park police department and confessed to his part in 10 robberies. Sy Friedman wrote about him for the UP wire service in a story that was picked up by newspapers around the nation:
"I'm an artist," he said, "and the pictures I've painted bring $50 to $150.
"On top of that, I'm a writer — I've written an autobiographical account of a crime spree.
"I want to tell you about that crime spree — 10 robberies — I'm your man."
He said his victims were not able to identify him because he used oil paints on his face.
He claimed he was “driven to crime” after his five-week marriage to Agnes Sampson ended in divorce. “I still love her madly,” he said.
Krolik surrendered to police because “I have to get this thing off my mind.”
He quoted from his manuscript, which he sent to a New York publisher, to the detectives taking his statement: “This is the story of a person who walked a lonely street. I hope this will help someone in the future.”
The Chicago police said they would seek leniency for Krolik because he gave himself up and they thought he could be rehabilitated.
Death in El Paso
Krolik eventually made his way to El Paso, where the news of his death was reported in the following El Paso Herald-Post article from Aug. 25, 1955, whose headline summed up the heartache on Lonely Street:
ROLLING STONE
Solving the Mystery of 'Heartbreak Hotel'
Killing Ends Heartache
Story of Person Who Walked Lonely Street
Funeral services for a young artist will be held in Chicago tomorrow.
The artist was never very successful, but he showed promise.
His promise ended Saturday night when he tried to hold up an El Paso liquor store and was shot to death.
The artist was Alvin Bert Krolik and he lived 27 years. Once, in an unpublished autobiography, he wrote: “This is the story of a person who walks a lonely street.”
Krolik’s “lonely street” took him through a series of Chicago stickups, to Franciscan monasteries where he painted murals, and finally to the Busy Bee Liquor Store in East El Paso.
'Just a Neglected Boy'
He saw service as a judo instructor in the Marine Corps and in 1953 he married a nightclub accordionist. The marriage lasted five weeks and his wife said later, "he's just a neglected boy who never really matured and needs help."
Shortly after the breakup of his marriage, Krolik walked into a police station and confessed that he had taken part in 10 holdups.
"I have to get it off my mind — I'm tired of the panderers and streetwalkers I've been living with," he said.
Judge Charles S. Daugherty put the artist on five years' probation, saying, "This is the first man to appear before me who apparently showed sincere contrition."
Krolik also found a friend in Russell W. Davis, chairman of Imperial World Films, Inc. Davis took an interest in the young artist and sent him to the Franciscan monastery at Topawa, Ariz.
Krolik and another artist painted 14 murals at the monastery. He later painted murals at other Arizona monasteries and last month accompanied Davis on a vacation in the Ozarks.
Something Went Wrong
Then something went wrong in Krolik's tangled brain. Last week he went to a Tucson store and bought a holster and a .38 caliber revolver. From there he went to El Paso.
D.R. Pinney, proprietor of the Busy Bee Liquor Store, told police Krolik came in and asked for a bottle of whiskey. Pinney turned to fill the order and swung back to find Krolik's revolver pointed at him.
"Give me all the green money," Krolik said.
Pinney laid all his money on the counter. Krolik reached for it and Pinney, who had previously killed another stickup man, came up with a pair of revolvers.
He fired nine shots into Krolik and the young monastery artist was dead.
Trish Long , El Paso Times
According to a recent article in Rolling Stone magazine, the mystery of Elvis Presley’s breakout hit “Heartbreak Hotel” has been solved — and it has an El Paso connection.
Songwriters Tommy Durden and Mae Boren Axton were inspired to write the song based on a 1955 newspaper story of a man’s suicide and his note about that “lonely street.”
Rolling Stone reports that the mystery of the man has been solved using the digital morgues of old newspapers. It says the man was Alvin Krolik and he died in El Paso, shot by Delta Pinney, owner of the Busy Bee Liquor & Tackle Store.
Krolik first appears in the news in 1953 in Chicago. It was November when he walked into an Albany Park police department and confessed to his part in 10 robberies. Sy Friedman wrote about him for the UP wire service in a story that was picked up by newspapers around the nation:
"I'm an artist," he said, "and the pictures I've painted bring $50 to $150.
"On top of that, I'm a writer — I've written an autobiographical account of a crime spree.
"I want to tell you about that crime spree — 10 robberies — I'm your man."
He said his victims were not able to identify him because he used oil paints on his face.
He claimed he was “driven to crime” after his five-week marriage to Agnes Sampson ended in divorce. “I still love her madly,” he said.
Krolik surrendered to police because “I have to get this thing off my mind.”
He quoted from his manuscript, which he sent to a New York publisher, to the detectives taking his statement: “This is the story of a person who walked a lonely street. I hope this will help someone in the future.”
The Chicago police said they would seek leniency for Krolik because he gave himself up and they thought he could be rehabilitated.
Death in El Paso
Krolik eventually made his way to El Paso, where the news of his death was reported in the following El Paso Herald-Post article from Aug. 25, 1955, whose headline summed up the heartache on Lonely Street:
ROLLING STONE
Solving the Mystery of 'Heartbreak Hotel'
Killing Ends Heartache
Story of Person Who Walked Lonely Street
Funeral services for a young artist will be held in Chicago tomorrow.
The artist was never very successful, but he showed promise.
His promise ended Saturday night when he tried to hold up an El Paso liquor store and was shot to death.
The artist was Alvin Bert Krolik and he lived 27 years. Once, in an unpublished autobiography, he wrote: “This is the story of a person who walks a lonely street.”
Krolik’s “lonely street” took him through a series of Chicago stickups, to Franciscan monasteries where he painted murals, and finally to the Busy Bee Liquor Store in East El Paso.
'Just a Neglected Boy'
He saw service as a judo instructor in the Marine Corps and in 1953 he married a nightclub accordionist. The marriage lasted five weeks and his wife said later, "he's just a neglected boy who never really matured and needs help."
Shortly after the breakup of his marriage, Krolik walked into a police station and confessed that he had taken part in 10 holdups.
"I have to get it off my mind — I'm tired of the panderers and streetwalkers I've been living with," he said.
Judge Charles S. Daugherty put the artist on five years' probation, saying, "This is the first man to appear before me who apparently showed sincere contrition."
Krolik also found a friend in Russell W. Davis, chairman of Imperial World Films, Inc. Davis took an interest in the young artist and sent him to the Franciscan monastery at Topawa, Ariz.
Krolik and another artist painted 14 murals at the monastery. He later painted murals at other Arizona monasteries and last month accompanied Davis on a vacation in the Ozarks.
Something Went Wrong
Then something went wrong in Krolik's tangled brain. Last week he went to a Tucson store and bought a holster and a .38 caliber revolver. From there he went to El Paso.
D.R. Pinney, proprietor of the Busy Bee Liquor Store, told police Krolik came in and asked for a bottle of whiskey. Pinney turned to fill the order and swung back to find Krolik's revolver pointed at him.
"Give me all the green money," Krolik said.
Pinney laid all his money on the counter. Krolik reached for it and Pinney, who had previously killed another stickup man, came up with a pair of revolvers.
He fired nine shots into Krolik and the young monastery artist was dead.
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