Mon, November 7, 2005
Zanta's claws pulled by a court
By Thane Burnett
He better watch out. He better not try.
Because Zanta has been warned, not to come to town.
At least, to stay clear of much of the downtown core.
If he strays off course, even by a block, he could find himself delivered, by the police, back to a ho-ho-holding cell.
Because a court order stands between David Zancai, one of Toronto's most recognizable street characters, and the centre of attention he craves.
It's not likely you'd know his real name -- David has dubbed himself "Zanta." But if you've spent time in Toronto, you've walked the same street -- perhaps crossed it quickly, once you've seen him in his red-and-white Santa cap, flexing buff and shirtless on corners or performing knuckle push-ups for passing trolley cars. Sometimes, it's said, in front of them.
Few parades or labour marches take place without Zanta.
"Santa's at the back, while Zanta's at the front," he boasts.
He believes these antics will, and are, making him famous.
"I've always wanted this...to be well known...to leave my mark," he says -- speaking at twice the pace of most men.
The 37-year-old Zanta points to fans on chat sites and forums -- boasts from those who've had encounters with Zanta.
Out of CITY
And he'll now point to this column. But he can no longer point to his once-daily appearances in the background on CITY-TV programming, being shot from the Queen St. ChumCity Building.
CITY-TV was an originator of using streetscapes as backdrop to live news programming. It has become a staple of the medium -- including morning shows on U.S. networks. It's also a way for average people to, at the speed of light, find themselves TV stars. Or at least, a flash of fame.
This is what Zanta has wanted. Badly.
But first, his transformation into a spectacle.
Zanta swears he is as mentally balanced as he is physically fit. And not bipolar, as his ex apparently has said. Five years ago, while working as a contractor, he fell 7 metres. The injury was enough to put the father of four out of work. But not long out of shape. He says he began toning up with pushups. He has become fanatical about them -- doing thousands each day and, he estimates, a half a million this past year.
The hat was born late last year, after a family-court dispute. He wore it to a hearing, he says to entertain his daughter.
The judge told him to take it off -- then suggested a mental-competency test might be in order. But Zanta liked the way the hat felt. So he kept it on. Much like Christmas lights in his Etobicoke home, where decorations stay up all year long.
Sometime after reinventing himself, while seeking attention on the streets, it dawned on him. If he could just get on TV -- flex his stuff -- then fame would be Zantas'.
When you point cameras to the street, there are going to be those who take the invitation personally. Zanta did.
This year, he began showing up in front of almost every street shot CITY-TV would air. There were weeks in a row, when producers happily used his schtick as fodder on their Speakers Corner highlights. Strangers were recognizing him -- and his desire for more attention grew bolder.
But if there's an expiry date -- or just limits -- to being on public display. He apparently passed it eight months ago.
Around March and April, court documents show, his actions were taking a toll on stressed CITY-TV production staff who tried to crop him out of Queen St. window shots. By May, police were being called to the TV station. By June, Zanta was a wanted man -- if only by police. That month, he spent seven days in jail, for breaking restrictions to stay away.
On his record of arrest, under description, is typed: "Skull and barbed wire on right bicep, Santa Claus hat, goatee."
It is St. Nick gone bad. Or as he says, the "Anti-Santa."
Mischief charges, and transgressions after being warned, have pushed Zanta beyond an ever widening no-go zone around the ChumCity Building. He's now forbidden from travelling south of College St. to King St., and from Yonge over to Spadina Ave. It's 10 blocks across and about as many up and down. He says it's robbed him of certain fame.
"Zanta is just a character," he promises.
Like the Naked Cowboy of Times Square, he points out.
Officials at CHUM said they would not talk about Zanta. However, police statements, used against him, claim his physical antics, loud voice and brash, possibly obscene movements, are intimidating guests, staff and passersby.
"I'm very afraid that this individual may cause me physical harm," wrote one cameraman in a CHUM security report.
Zanta's also getting in the way of good shots.
Bane of director
A senior director at the station wrote in a June police statement: "Avoiding Zanta has become the focus of my energy and attention instead of the guests on our show. The underlying threat of capturing his bizarre antics and gestures on live TV completely hinders my job performance."
A magic act was ruined, she noted, because viewers were too busy watching Zanta in the background. The director had to begin shooting toward the building, rather than into the street. Their weatherman began doing live hits from the parking lot, because it was "Zanta-free."
But is fame-loving Zanta a spectacle -- something CITY, socially and specifically, helped create -- or is he a threat?
There seems to be no physical violence reflected in his criminal record. Though he says his ex-wife has claimed harassment. And one 52 Division detective who has helped keep Zanta away from the bright lights of the TV station points out: "He's a very intimidating presence."
The officer wouldn't, he added, want to make Zanta angry. But, that said, the last time the detective brought him into the police station for entering the forbidden zone: "He was very polite and co-operative."
Zanta, as expected, says he's harmless. That he's brash, but just doing an act. That it's the TV station that has bullied him out of much of the city and his maximum exposure.
"I want to go national," he wishes aloud -- very loud. "To do it, I need to go downtown. And they won't let me."
He better watch out. He better not try.
Because Zanta has been warned, not to come to town.
