OBITUARY / Zoltan Szoboszloi 'King of Kanada' fought in the courts
By DONN DOWNEY, The Globe and Mail, 03/30/1994, p. A19
Zoltan Szoboszloi, the self-proclaimed King of Kanada, Chief Potentate of
the Direct Church and one of the foremost courtoom nuisances of his time,
was buried at public expense yesterday with few at the service to mourn
him. He was 79.
There were seven names in the register at the tiny funeral chapel on
Toronto's Queen Street and, as the officiating priest pointed out, many of
them, including himself, were there doing their job.
Others were from the news media and they were covering what at one time
was a major source for the "brighteners" that provided relief from the
daily menu of bad news.
For Mr. Szoboszloi, in his day, delighted the media with challenges to the
establishment, directed mostly at the Queen and the courts. He was also a
sunbather and, as a result, was three times charged with something or
other when he was caught baring his chest and legs in a park.
The magistrates were unsympathetic when he would explain in his broken
English that: "I vuz born in Budapest, by the banks of the Danube, ver
civilized pippul can sun themselves if they like. No vun iss goink to tell
me I can't get a tan in a free country."
These court battles were lost but in 1965 Mr. Szoboszloi triumphed when
the city repealed a 1930 bylaw that banned people from wearing a bathing
suit in a public park.
He ran for mayor six times, promising to fill in the harbour to allow
easier access to the Toronto Islands, but never came close.
And he never became a Canadian citizen because he refused to swear
allegiance to the Queen. He preferred his own oath, which substituted the
words "the carcass of Queen Victoria," but this proved unacceptable to the
authorities. However, they could do nothing about his business card which
read: "God save everyone from the Queen."
He told reporters that he had studied law at several universities in
Europe before he came to Canada in 1951. This no doubt helped him as a
consultant who would defend those charged with traffic offences.
His appearance in a courtroom was bad news for the judge or magistrate. If
they were not careful, Mr. Szoboszloi might sue them and, in any event,
his cases were never disposed of with dispatch. And sometimes he even won.
Mr. Szoboszloi was known to work, but as a general rule he collected
welfare. He also spent time at the Don Jail, where he said he enjoyed the
food and received free haircuts. Then there were the donations to the
Direct Church, which had but one member.
His friend, Bill Beatty, said at the service yesterday that the Direct
Church allowed Mr. Szoboszloi direct access to God but also allowed him to
buy tax-free alcohol from the Liquor Control Board of Ontario. On at least
one occasion this took the form of six bottles of sacramental rye.
