George A. Athanson was the flamboyant mayor of Hartford who modeled himself after Fiorello La Guardia and served longer than any Hartford mayor since 1812. He died of a heart attack at his Hartford home at the age of 72.
Mr. Athanson, a Democrat who was mayor for five terms from 1971 to 1981, was known for his mischievous, nonconformist nature and lust for publicity, usually to help improve Hartford's image and interests as well as his own. He dressed as the Red Baron to ride a biplane, rode a horse dressed as a knight in shining armor, and donned boxing gloves and fought a round for charity. He once rowed across the Connecticut River wearing a tricorn hat and clutching a state flag to protest a General Assembly decision to give a bigger share of the river to the suburb of East Hartford.
He was a mayor of fierce opinions. For example, he kept the shades drawn in his office to protest the Alexander Calder metal stegosaurus in the plaza outside, on the ground that he, being of Greek descent, preferred classical sculpture.
His power was circumscribed by Hartford's form of government, in which the city manager and city council had at least equal powers.
He often sought a larger stage. For example, when President Nixon announced that he was going to China, he offered to accompany him. He said that as a professor of international relations at the University of Hartford, he could be quite useful. The White House did not reply.
In a 1981 interview with The Hartford Courant, he said his spirited approach was calculated to help people identify with his government. ''I try to humanize the mayor's office,'' he said.
Later mayors explicitly disavowed his extravagant style. Mr. Athanson's successor, Thirman L. Milner, rejected ''media shows'' in the weeks after his election. The current mayor, Michael Peters, said in 1993, ''I like a good laugh, but I take the issues of this city very seriously.''
Mr. Athanson was born in Hartford and raised in the city's South End. He spent his early childhood in Greece as his father studied to be a Greek Orthodox priest. As a high school student, he was voted ''most likely to succeed.'' He graduated from Amherst College and the University of Chicago Law, serving in the Marines between college and law school. He later received a master's degree in international relations from the University of Connecticut.
After leaving office, he lost a race for Hartford probate judge in 1984. He practiced law, winning a highly publicized case that gave the parents of a 7-year-old Chinese girl the right to seek traditional Chinese treatment for juvenile rheumatoid arthritis. He was twice disciplined by the state bar association for overcharging clients.
He was survived by his wife, Zoe, and son Arthur, both of Hartford.
He kept up his colorful public commentary long after leaving office, with his own program on Hartford Public Access Television, ''By George, It's Athanson.'' A typical comment: ''Clinton is an ignoramus, the Democratic Party is ignorant and the Republicans -- they're, forget it, lost in the woods somewhere.''

George A. Athanson was the flamboyant mayor of Hartford who modeled himself after Fiorello La Guardia and served longer than any Hartford mayor since 1812. He died of a heart attack at his Hartford home at the age of 72.
Mr. Athanson, a Democrat who was mayor for five terms from 1971 to 1981, was known for his mischievous, nonconformist nature and lust for publicity, usually to help improve Hartford's image and interests as well as his own. He dressed as the Red Baron to ride a biplane, rode a horse dressed as a knight in shining armor, and donned boxing gloves and fought a round for charity. He once rowed across the Connecticut River wearing a tricorn hat and clutching a state flag to protest a General Assembly decision to give a bigger share of the river to the suburb of East Hartford.
He was a mayor of fierce opinions. For example, he kept the shades drawn in his office to protest the Alexander Calder metal stegosaurus in the plaza outside, on the ground that he, being of Greek descent, preferred classical sculpture.
His power was circumscribed by Hartford's form of government, in which the city manager and city council had at least equal powers.
He often sought a larger stage. For example, when President Nixon announced that he was going to China, he offered to accompany him. He said that as a professor of international relations at the University of Hartford, he could be quite useful. The White House did not reply.
In a 1981 interview with The Hartford Courant, he said his spirited approach was calculated to help people identify with his government. ''I try to humanize the mayor's office,'' he said.
Later mayors explicitly disavowed his extravagant style. Mr. Athanson's successor, Thirman L. Milner, rejected ''media shows'' in the weeks after his election. The current mayor, Michael Peters, said in 1993, ''I like a good laugh, but I take the issues of this city very seriously.''
Mr. Athanson was born in Hartford and raised in the city's South End. He spent his early childhood in Greece as his father studied to be a Greek Orthodox priest. As a high school student, he was voted ''most likely to succeed.'' He graduated from Amherst College and the University of Chicago Law, serving in the Marines between college and law school. He later received a master's degree in international relations from the University of Connecticut.
After leaving office, he lost a race for Hartford probate judge in 1984. He practiced law, winning a highly publicized case that gave the parents of a 7-year-old Chinese girl the right to seek traditional Chinese treatment for juvenile rheumatoid arthritis. He was twice disciplined by the state bar association for overcharging clients.
He was survived by his wife, Zoe, and son Arthur, both of Hartford.
He kept up his colorful public commentary long after leaving office, with his own program on Hartford Public Access Television, ''By George, It's Athanson.'' A typical comment: ''Clinton is an ignoramus, the Democratic Party is ignorant and the Republicans -- they're, forget it, lost in the woods somewhere.''