Glenn Danzig Is Not from Danzig
He’s from New Jersey.
So Glenn’s not from Danzig. Does he have family from Danzig? Probably not. (More on that in a moment.) However, he does have a distinct ethnic division between his mother and father.
Glenn Danzig was born June 23, 1955, in Lodi, NJ, and was named Glenn Allen Anzalone. He was the third of four boys born to Richard Anzalone and Maretta Price. His paternal grandparents, Nunzio Anzalone and Maria Somaine, both came from a town in central Sicily called Castrogiovanni (now known as Enna). They married in Manhattan on November 28, 1911, and moved to Hackensack, NJ, where Nunzio worked for a fat rendering plant called Paterson Tallow Company.
Glenn’s father, Richard Nunzio Anzalone, was a career military man, serving in the U.S. Marine Corps. Although Glenn has said he butted heads with his father while growing up (I can’t imagine Teenage Danzig vs Marine Dad), Glenn may have gotten his musical abilities from his father, as Richard’s original rank was Field Music Corporal. He eventually became a Sergeant at Camp Lejeune, and died in 2002 at the age of 76.
Now, a word about Glenn’s mom, Maretta Price: She passed away last Saturday, May 19, 2018; several people have told me that Glenn’s band, The Misfits, played that night in New Jersey. That’s dedication. Or maybe there’s just a lot of truth to his song, “Mother.”
However, on paper, Maretta sounds like quite an accomplished and ideal mom. Here’s a snippet from her obituary:
“Maretta was past president of Local 5 United Store Workers AFL-CIO, a past delegate to the Bergen County Trade Council and is a retired member of Local 1102 RWDSU. She was an undergraduate of Ramapo College, Bergen Community College and Chelsea Memorial School of Nursing. She was past president of Bergen County American Legion Auxiliary, and president of Joseph M. Lane Unit 36, Lodi. She served for many years as co-chairman with her husband of the George F. Axt Nurses Scholarship Dance Committee. She was the past president of Lodi Troop 117 Auxiliary, a cub scout Den Mother for nine years and a member of the Bergen County ALA Central Relief Committee.” Yes, Glenn Danzig’s mom was a Cub Scout Den Mother.
Maretta came from Boston, Mass. and was the daughter of Maretta May Moore and an unknown father. (This is why I say I don’t *think* Glenn Danzig has Danzig roots, though since his grandfather’s last name was “Price,” I’m going to lean toward “No.”) Maretta Sr., as far as I can tell, was indeed married to the Unknown Price, as they had two other children together, Joseph Brown Price and Josephine Brown Price. Given that, I’ll guess their father’s name was Joseph, though I can’t find anything definite yet.
Glenn’s mother Maretta graduated from Chelsea High School near Boston in 1946 and was described in her yearbook (photo above) as “Clever, sociable and sweet. As rare a friend as one can meet.” She was also on the honor roll. Glenn’s grandmother Maretta went on to marry two more times — to a French-Canadian named Wilfrid Nault, with whom she had two children and then divorced, and finally George Thomas King, Jr., who was 25 to her 40 when they married. They had one son together, also named George, and by all accounts stayed married until her death in 1984.
And while Glenn Danzig doesn’t appear to be a Danzig, he is Canadian. His grandmother Maretta was born on Prince Edward Island in Canada, as were her parents, William Melrose Moore and Elizabeth Mary Smith. The Canadian roots stretch several generations back to Ireland and the U.K., where the earliest ancestor of Glenn Danzig’s I could find was Angus MacKinnon, born around 1798 in Argyll, Scotland.
What drove Glenn to become a Misfit was not revealed in this round of research, though perhaps I’ll find out one day. I have a feeling, though, that Glenn Danzig won’t be the one to disclose family secrets.
(Don’t forget to clap a few times and follow me!)
More Heavy Metal Genealogy:
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Zakk Wylde’s Family Is Wild (& also heartbreaking)
Mike Patton Part II: Mistakes Were Made
Tawny Kitaen: From Uzbekistan to Stardom
James Hetfield and the Salem Witch Trials
Mike Patton Is Related to Columbus
