21st Annual Smithsonian Magazine Photo Contest People
Bill Baker, the last "Rock Star"

This genial, grandfatherly gentleman is Bill Baker, Alcatraz prisoner No. 1259, the last man alive who served time on Alcatraz. Now over 90 years old, he still returns to The Rock occasionally to sign copies of the book he wrote about his Alcatraz experiences, where he talks at length about the warm friendships that, for him, created a sense of family in the dreary prison. One friend taught Bill how to forge payroll checks, which became his livelihood and his ticket back to several more prison sentences until he eventually retired and became an author.

Photo Detail
Date Taken: 05.2023
Date Uploaded: 11.2023
Photo Location: San Francisco, California, United States of America
Copyright: © Virginia Hines