William "Peek-A-Boo" Pennington was a P.I., cattle man,
theater owner, building contractor, oil man, song writer and apartment building owner. Pennington was often used as a P.I. by famous attorneys such as
MELVIN BELLI and Jake Erlich.
“Peek-a-boo” is an expression that comes from the Old English, meaning “alive or dead." The Zodiac Halloween card sent to Paul Avery says "Boo!" on it. Boo! = Dead? Or, maybe it is saying "4-Teen Dead," a clue to how many deaths he/they are really responsible for at that point?
1940 censusNAME: William Pennington
AGE: 40
ESTIMATED BIRTH YEAR: abt 1900
GENDER: Male
RACE: White
BIRTHPLACE: Kansas
MARITAL STATUS: Married
RELATION TO HEAD OF HOUSE: Head
HOME IN 1940: Piedmont, Alameda, California
MAP OF HOME IN 1940: View Map
STREET: Ramona
HOUSE NUMBER: 133
FARM: No
INFERRED RESIDENCE IN 1935: Piedmont, Alameda, California
RESIDENCE IN 1935: Same Place
RESIDENT ON FARM IN 1935: No
SHEET NUMBER: 4A
NUMBER OF HOUSEHOLD IN ORDER OF VISITATION: 75
OCCUPATION: Pot Sewestge
HOUSE OWNED OR RENTED: Owned
VALUE OF HOME OR MONTHLY RENTAL IF RENTED: 8500
ATTENDED SCHOOL OR COLLEGE: No
HIGHEST GRADE COMPLETED: College, 4th year
HOURS WORKED WEEK PRIOR TO CENSUS: 40
CLASS OF WORKER: Working on own account
WEEKS WORKED IN 1939: 40
INCOME: Letter
NEIGHBORS: View others on page
HOUSEHOLD MEMBERS:
NAME AGE
William Pennington 40
Beula Pennington 37 (wife)
William N Pennington 17 (son)
Jacquelin J Pennington 8 (daughter)
Alice Joan Pennington 5 (daughter)
W R Hendrickson 24 (brother in law)
Here is why he is somewhat interesting in regards to the Zodiac case:
This woman here was known as Peek-A-Boo the clown:
www.myers-mortuary.com/obituary/StephaniaStella-McComasMaybe Zodiac knew or was related to her, and copying Pennington's business card was a clue pointing to Stella?
EDIT: Stella did not become "Peek-A-Boo the Clown" until the age of 80, around 1997-ish. So no Zodiac connection there.