Mickey Rourke (2 page)

F
ATHER
P
ETER HAD
M
ICKEY TELL HIM HIS TROUBLES AND THEN GOT HIM TO HAND OVER THE GUN AFTER ASKING: “
W
HERE IN THE
B
IBLE DOES IT SAY, ‘
V
ENGEANCE IS MINE, SAYS
M
ICKEY
R
OURKE?’”
T
HEY LIT A CANDLE TOGETHER AND THE PRIEST ASSURED THE ACTOR, LONG A MAN OF FAITH, THAT
G
OD WOULD GIVE HIM THE STRENGTH HE NEEDED.
F
ATHER
P
ETER WATCHED
M
ICKEY FOLD AND CAREFULLY PLACE THE NOTE TO
C
ARRÉ BEHIND
S
T.
J
UDE’S STATUE AND THEN LED HIM TO THE RECTORY WHERE HE STARTED A CONVERSATION WITH THE DESOLATE STAR, GENTLY ASKING WHAT HAD LED HIM TO SUCH A DARK PLACE IN HIS LIFE.

I
T WAS A STORY THAT STARTED ONLY A FEW MILES AWAY ACROSS
N
EW
Y
ORK, BUT LEFT A LEGACY OF PAIN THAT HAS STAYED WITH
M
ICKEY FOREVER.

* * *

M
ICKEY
R
OURKE HAS NOT HAD A BIRTHDAY PARTY SINCE HE WAS SIX.
T
HAT WAS THE YEAR HIS PARENTS SPLIT UP, AND HE HAS NOT FELT LIKE CELEBRATING SINCE THEN.
H
E HAS DESCRIBED HIS UPBRINGING AS “UNUSUAL, CRAZY AND VIOLENT” AND SAYS IF HE HAD THE CHOICE OF LIVING HIS CHILDHOOD ALL OVER AGAIN, HE WOULD RATHER NOT HAVE BEEN BORN.

L
IFE WAS A STRUGGLE FROM THE START FOR
P
HILIP
A
NDRE
R
OURKE 
J
R. WHO, JUST LIKE HIS CHARACTER IN
THE WRESTLER
,
R
OBIN
R
OBINSON, AVOIDS USING HIS GIVEN NAME.
H
E CAME TO BE KNOWN AS
M
ICKEY DUE TO A COMBINATION OF HIS FAMILY’S
I
RISH ANCESTRY (THE ANCESTORS CAME FROM
C
ORK) AND HIS FATHER BEING A HUGE FAN OF BASEBALL STAR
M
ICKEY
M
ANTLE.

M
ICKEY
R
OURKE WAS BORN IN
S
CHENECTADY,
N
EW
Y
ORK, ON 16
S
EPTEMBER 1956 ACCORDING TO HIS OFFICIAL BIOGRAPHY, ALTHOUGH OTHER SOURCES, INCLUDING POLICE ARREST RECORDS AND SCHOOL FILES IN
M
IAMI, STATE HE ENTERED THE WORLD IN 1952.
M
ANY ACTORS SHAVE A FEW YEARS OFF THEIR AGE TO AVOID BEING CONSIDERED TOO OLD FOR CERTAIN ROLES, BUT
M
ICKEY MAY HAVE CONFUSED A FEW OTHER BIOGRAPHICAL DETAILS, TOO, MORE OF WHICH LATER.

H
IS EARLIEST MEMORIES WERE OF CONSTANT ROWS BETWEEN HIS MOTHER
A
NN, A HOUSEWIFE AND SOMETIME NURSE, AND HIS FATHER,
P
HILIP
S
R., AN IMPOSING FIGURE, AN AMATEUR BODYBUILDER WHO HAD HELD THE
M
R.
N
EW
Y
ORK TITLE.
W
ORKING AS A CARPENTER, GROUNDSKEEPER, AND JANITOR AT THE LOCAL GOLF CLUB, HIS FATHER SPENT HIS FREE TIME EITHER LIFTING WEIGHTS OR LIFTING A BEER GLASS.

M
ICKEY WAS CLOSER TO HIS DAD AND LOVED HOW BIG AND STRONG HE WAS.
H
E LOVED TOUCHING HIS FATHER ON THE UPPER ARM AS A SIGNAL TO
P
HIL, WHO WOULD DELIGHT THE BOY BY IMMEDIATELY THEN FLEXING HIS MUSCLE.
T
HE YOUNG
M
ICKEY WAS A FUNNY LOOKING KID WITH BIG PROTRUDING EARS AND HIS APPEARANCE GAVE NO HINT THAT HE WOULD GROW UP TO BECOME A HEART-THROB MOVIE STAR.
T
HOSE EARS SEEMED FOREVER TO BE PICKING UP THE PAINFUL SOUND OF HIS PARENTS’ CONFLICT.

P
HIL AND
A
NN WOULD HAVE MANY LOUD AND VIOLENT ARGUMENTS AND THEIR BUST-UPS OFTEN GOT TOO MUCH FOR YOUNG
M
ICKEY, WHO WOULD RUN DOWNSTAIRS AND TAKE SANCTUARY IN THE BASEMENT APARTMENT OF HIS MATERNAL GRANDMOTHER.
H
E FREQUENTLY SAT ON THE FADED COUCH IN FRONT OF HER
TV
SET, WATCHING HIS FAVORITE SHOW,
THE LITTLE RASCALS
, WITH A PLATE OF HOMEMADE COOKIES AT HIS SIDE, TRYING TO SHUT THE ANGER UPSTAIRS OUT OF HIS MIND.

T
HINGS EVENTUALLY REACHED A BREAKING POINT IN THE MARRIAGE, WITH HIS MOTHER AND GRANDMOTHER MOVING OUT AND TAKING
M
ICKEY, HIS YOUNGER BROTHER
J
OEY, AND LITTLE SISTER
P
ATTI WITH THEM TO START A NEW LIFE IN
M
IAMI.
T
HE CHILDREN WERE INITIALLY TOLD THEY WERE JUST GOING ON A SUNSHINE VACATION AND THEIR FATHER WOULD JOIN THEM IN
F
LORIDA IN DUE COURSE.

B
UT THE NIGHT BEFORE
A
NN LEFT HOME,
P
HIL TOOK
M
ICKEY ASIDE AND TOLD HIM HE WOULD NEVER BE COMING HOME BECAUSE HIS MOTHER WAS SPLITTING UP THE FAMILY.
T
HE BOY FELT FURIOUS, LET DOWN, CONFUSED, AND RESENTFUL.
U
NABLE THEN TO GRASP THE COMPLEXITIES OF ADULT RELATIONSHIPS, HE WAS EXTREMELY UNHAPPY WITH HIS MOTHER FOR TAKING HIM AWAY.
H
E DIDN’T WANT TO GO BUT HAD NO CHOICE, AND HIS MOOD WASN’T HELPED WHEN HE FOUND HIMSELF MOVING FROM MOTEL TO MOTEL AFTER THEIR ARRIVAL IN
M
IAMI.

H
IS MOTHER EVENTUALLY TOOK OVER A
L
AUNDROMAT THERE AND THE FAMILY LIVED IN THE BACK ROOMS.
M
ICKEY STARTED AT A NEW SCHOOL NEARBY BUT HAD NO INTEREST IN LESSONS AND SPENT HIS TIME DAYDREAMING RATHER THAN STUDYING.
H
E MISSED HIS DAD AND OFTEN KEPT WITH HIM AN OLD BLACK-AND-WHITE PHOTOGRAPH OF
P
HIL IN A BODYBUILDING POSE – BOTH ARMS RAISED AND MUSCLES PUMPED.
I
T WAS THE ONLY GLIMPSE OF HIS FATHER HE WOULD HAVE FOR TWO DECADES.

A
S IF THE NEW SURROUNDINGS WEREN’T UNSETTLING ENOUGH, JUST A YEAR AFTER THE BIG MOVE HIS NOW DIVORCED MOTHER GOT MARRIED again, to a widowed police detective named Gene Addis, who provided Mickey with five older stepbrothers. But Mickey didn’t want anyone taking his father’s place. “A year…a year!” he would say incredulously. He is ashamed to say that he gradually came to call Gene “Daddy,” but theirs wasn’t a happy relationship.

W
HEN HE WAS EIGHT YEARS OLD, HIS CLASS MATES WERE ALL MAKING
V
ALENTINE CARDS TO TAKE HOME TO THEIR PARENTS AND
M
ICKEY GOT SO UPSET THAT HIS TEACHER EVENTUALLY TOLD HIM HE DIDN’T HAVE TO WRITE “
T
O
D
AD” ON HIS.

T
HE JOINING OF THE
A
DDIS AND
R
OURKE CLANS SOUNDED LIKE THE SET-UP IN THE CLASSIC
TV
SITCOM
THE BRADY BUNCH.
B
UT THE WAY
M
ICKEY REMEMBERS LIFE BACK THEN, IT WAS MORE LIKE LIVING IN THE
M
ANSON FAMILY.
G
ENE WAS STRICT WITH HIM,
J
OEY, AND
P
ATTI, JUST AS HE WAS WITH HIS OWN CHILDREN.
B
UT
M
ICKEY HATED HIS TOUGH GUY WAYS.
H
E QUICKLY CAME TO LOATHE HIS STEPFATHER AND HAS CLAIMED ON SEVERAL OCCASIONS THAT HE WAS BULLIED AND BEATEN BY THE MAN HE CALLS “THE VIOLENT COP WHO SCREWED ME UP.”

M
ICKEY HAS OFTEN BEEN CLOSE TO TEARS WHEN RELATING TALES OF THE ABUSE HE CLAIMS HE SUFFERED AT
G
ENE’S HANDS, SAYING IN VARIOUS INTERVIEWS IT WAS LIKE
HALLOWEEN 3
AND THAT HE WAS THE VICTIM OF “NIGHTMARISH ATROCITIES.”
B
UT HE REFUSES TO SAY EXACTLY WHAT ABUSE HE SUFFERED – EXCEPT THAT IT WASN’T SEXUAL – AND INSISTS HE WILL SHARE THAT PRIVATE INFORMATION ONLY WITH THE THERAPIST WHO HAS BEEN HELPING HIM COME TO TERMS WITH HIS PAST.

H
ITTING CHILDREN TO KEEP THEM IN LINE WAS A LOT MORE COMMON BACK THEN, IN THE 1960S, THAN IT IS IN THESE POLITICALLY CORRECT TIMES, BUT
G
ENE
A
DDIS, WHO IS NOW EIGHTY-TWO, STILL LIVING IN
M
IAMI, AND DIVORCED FROM
M
ICKEY’S MOTHER, INSISTS HE WAS NEVER ABUSIVE, JUST A STRICT DISCIPLINARIAN.
H
E SAYS
M
ICKEY HAS EXAGGERATED HIS PAST BUT HE LOVES HIM, ALWAYS HAS, AND WISHES HE WOULD GET BACK IN TOUCH.
B
UT
M
ICKEY HAS HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH HIM FOR YEARS AND HAS NO PLANS TO CHANGE THAT STATE OF AFFAIRS.

M
ICKEY IS ALSO ESTRANGED FROM HIS MOTHER, WHO NOW HAS
A
LZHEIMER’S DISEASE AND LIVES IN A NURSING HOME.
H
E COULD NEVER GET OVER HOW
A
NN WOULD TURN A BLIND EYE AND A DEAF EAR TO HIS COMPLAINTS ABOUT THE BAD TREATMENT HE WAS RECEIVING FROM HER NEW HUSBAND.
T
HE STAR CUT OFF COMMUNICATION WITH HER FOR A LONG TIME AFTER HE FIRST STARTED MAKING MONEY IN MOVIES AND SHE REQUESTED THAT HE BUYS HER A $150,000 HOUSE.
T
HEY CEASED TALKING FOR GOOD AFTER THE DEATH OF HIS BROTHER
J
OEY, WHO HAD ALSO RESENTED HER FOR BREAKING UP THE FAMILY.

W
HILE HIS BROTHER, WHO FIXED MOTORBIKES, AND SISTER, WHO BECAME A BEAUTICIAN, WOULD REMAIN IN
M
ICKEY’S LIFE, THAT WASN’T THE CASE WITH HIS STEPBROTHERS.
H
E NEVER FELT CLOSE TO THEM.
A
S KIDS, THE BOYS WOULD SLEEP IN THE SAME ROOM IN TRIPLE-DECKER BUNK BEDS, AND WHENEVER
M
ICKEY FELL OUT OF HIS TOP BUNK, WHICH HAPPENED A FEW TIMES, HIS STEPBROTHERS WOULD LAUGH AT HIM.

T
HEIR TASTES WERE COMPLETELY DIFFERENT, TOO.
H
IS STEPBROTHERS ABSOLUTELY LOVED WRESTLING AND WOULD GO AND WATCH THE SPORT ALL THE TIME.
B
UT
M
ICKEY HAD A TERRIBLE DISDAIN FOR IT AND WOULDN’T CHANGE HIS MIND ABOUT THE SPORT UNTIL HE STARRED IN
THE WRESTLER
FOUR DECADES LATER.

B
ROTHER
J
OEY AND SISTER
P
ATTI SEEMED TO ADAPT BETTER TO THE NEW ENVIRONMENT THAN
M
ICKEY DID.
H
E CRAVED THE LOVE AND SUPPORT OF HIS MOTHER BUT RESENTED THE WAY SHE WAS SHARING HER TIME AND ATTENTION WITH HER NEW HUSBAND AND STEPCHILDREN.
H
IS grandmother was always there with a comforting arm around his shoulder or a loving smile but, apart from that, the youngster felt largely lost and bewildered. He would rather have lived in a prison than in that house.

S
O
M
ICKEY SIMPLY RETREATED AND LIVED IN HIS HEAD.
H
E FELT HE WAS LIVING IN A FAMILY THAT WAS BEYOND DYSFUNCTIONAL AND REMEMBERS WALKING ALONG THE STREET ONE DAY THINKING, “
W
HAT AM
I
DOING LIVING WITH THESE WEIRD PEOPLE?”

T
HE FRUSTRATION FINALLY POURED OUT OF HIM WHEN HE HAD HIS FIRST FISTFIGHT AT THE AGE OF TEN.
I
N THE SCHOOL PLAYGROUND A BOY CAME OVER AND STARTED KICKING HIM.
M
ICKEY, A QUIET AND SUBMISSIVE CHILD UP UNTIL THAT POINT, SUDDENLY SNAPPED AND STARTED RAINING BLOWS ON HIS TORMENTOR, GIVING HIM A SEVERE BEATING.
H
E MIGHT NOT HAVE BEEN ABLE TO STRIKE BACK AT HOME, BUT HE DECIDED FROM THEN ON TO WAGE WAR ON ANYBODY WHO PICKED ON HIM ELSEWHERE.

D
EPRESSED BY HIS HOME LIFE AND FEELING OUT OF PLACE AT SCHOOL, WHERE HE GENERALLY GOT
D
AND
F
GRADES AND EXCELLED ONLY IN PHYSED, THE YOUNGSTER TOOK TO SPENDING TIME ON THE STREETS.
T
HESE WERE BLEAK TIMES, WHICH HE REFERS TO IN INTERVIEWS AS “MY NIGHTMARE YEARS.”
S
EARCHING FOR THE FEELING OF BELONGING HE FAILED TO FIND AT HOME, YOUNG
M
ICKEY TOOK TO HANGING OUT WITH A GANG OF HARD-UP LOCAL KIDS, STARTED DRESSING THE WAY THEY DID, AND BECAME PART OF THEIR STREET URCHIN, PETTY CRIMINAL LIFESTYLE.
L
IKE HIS NEW PALS, HE DEVELOPED A DEFIANCE OF AUTHORITY AND A TOTAL INABILITY TO CONFORM, WHICH MEANT HE WAS ALWAYS GETTING INTO TROUBLE, ESPECIALLY WITH THE TEACHERS AT SCHOOL.
H
E GOT INTO LOTS OF FIGHTS AND ONCE TOOK REVENGE ON FIVE YOUNG THUGS WHO HAD BEATEN UP HIS BROTHER
J
OEY BY HUNTING EACH OF THEM DOWN SEPARATELY AND GIVING THEM A BATTERING IN RETURN.
M
ICKEY WOULD CONTINUE TO BE PROTECTIVE OF
J
OEY FOR MANY YEARS, ALWAYS PAYING HIS MEDICAL BILLS AND GETTING HIM THE BEST TREATMENT AS HIS LITTLE BROTHER FOUGHT A LONG BATTLE AGAINST CANCER.

B
UT BACK THEN,
M
ICKEY WAS DOING TOO MUCH SCRAPPING IN THE STREETS FOR THE LIKING OF HIS DISCIPLINARIAN STEPDAD.
G
ENE FELT HE NEEDED TO FIND ANOTHER OUTLET FOR THE BOY’S AGGRESSION.
S
O, IN A BID TO KEEP HIS TWELVE-YEAR-OLD STEPSON OUT OF TROUBLE, HE SIGNED HIM UP FOR BOXING LESSONS AT
M
IAMI’S WORLD-FAMOUS
F
IFTH
S
TREET
G
YM, WHERE THE GREAT
M
UHAMMAD
A
LI TRAINED FOR HIS WORLD TITLE FIGHTS.

N
O MATTER WHAT WRONGS
G
ENE MAY HAVE DONE
M
ICKEY, THIS PARTICULAR IDEA WAS A MASTER STROKE.
T
HE BOY WAS IMMEDIATELY SEDUCED BY THE FIGHT SCENE AND SOON DECIDED TO TAKE UP AMATEUR BOXING.
O
VER THE NEXT FEW YEARS, HE FOUGHT IN THE
P
OLICE
A
THLETIC
L
EAGUE, A COMMON STARTING POINT FOR YOUNG
A
MERICAN BOXERS, AS A 146-LB WELTERWEIGHT, SOMETIMES UNDER THE NAME
A
NDRE
R
OURKE AND OTHER TIMES AS “
M
ICK THE
S
LASHER.”
H
E DISPLAYED REAL TALENT FOR THE SPORT AND CLAIMS TO HAVE
KO
’ED TWELVE CONSECUTIVE OPPONENTS IN THE FIRST ROUND ON HIS WAY TO COMPILING AN AMATEUR BOXING RECORD OF TWENTY-SEVEN WINS – SEVENTEEN BY KNOCK-OUT – AND JUST THREE DEFEATS – NONE BY BEING KNOCKED OUT.