Mickey Rourke (3 page)

I
SAY “CLAIMS” BECAUSE SEVERAL SOURCES BELIEVE
M
ICKEY HAS EXAGGERATED HIS AMATEUR BOXING ACHIEVEMENTS IN
F
LORIDA AND THE AVAILABLE RECORDS DON’T GO BACK FAR ENOUGH TO ALLOW HIS FIGHT STATISTICS TO BE CHECKED.

M
ICKEY ALSO CLAIMS TO HAVE SPENT PART OF HIS CHILDHOOD IN
L
IBERTY
C
ITY, A TOUGH
M
IAMI GHETTO KNOWN BACK THEN FOR ITS SLUMS, DRUGS, AND RIOTS.
H
IS STEPFATHER, HOWEVER, CLAIMS THEY NEVER LIVED there. Local telephone directories from Mickey’s teenage years place the family in a far more pleasant and affluent area of Miami, at the corner of Prairie Avenue and 47th Street.

W
HAT IS UNDOUBTEDLY TRUE IS THAT
M
ICKEY HAD A REAL PASSION FOR BOXING AND SAW THE SPORT AS A CHANCE TO RELEASE ALL THE ANGER THAT HAD BEEN BUBBLING AWAY INSIDE HIM.
I
T WAS AROUND THIS TIME THAT HE BEGAN TO IMAGINE A FUTURE FOR HIMSELF AS A PROFESSIONAL BOXER.
H
E HAD CERTAINLY LEARNED FROM THE BEST.
D
URING THE FIVE YEARS HE SPENT TRAINING AT THE
F
IFTH
S
TREET
G
YM,
M
ICKEY WATCHED
M
UHAMMAD
A
LI AT CLOSE QUARTERS, LEARNING MANY MASTERFUL MOVES BY STUDYING THE CHAMPION THAT HE, AND MANY OTHERS, BELIEVE TO BE THE GREATEST BOXER WHO EVER LIVED.
H
E STARTED TO MIMIC
A
LI’S “FLOAT LIKE A BUTTERFLY, STING LIKE A BEE” STYLE IN THE RING.

H
IS FASCINATION WITH THE BOXING LEGEND CONTINUED OUTSIDE THE GYM.
H
E WOULD WATCH
A
LI DOING MORNING TRAINING RUNS ON A NEARBY GOLF COURSE AND, AT NIGHT, THE TEENAGER WOULD GO TO
W
OLFIE’S
C
OFFEE
S
HOP IN
S
OUTH
B
EACH AND LOOK ON, STAR-STRUCK, AS THE CHAMP ATE WITH FELLOW BOXERS SUCH AS
J
ERRY
Q
UARRY AND
J
IMMY
E
LLIS.

A
LI NOTICED HIS YOUNG FAN HANGING AROUND AND ONE DAY GAVE
M
ICKEY A MUCH-PRIZED PRESENT – A PAIR OF SHORTS THAT HE HAD WORN IN THE RING.
Y
OUNG
M
ICKEY COULDN’T BELIEVE IT.
H
E TREASURED THE WHITE SATIN TRUNKS WITH GOLD STRIPES DOWN THE SIDE AND RESOLVED TO KEEP THE PRICELESS GIFT FOREVER.
S
O HE WASN’T EXACTLY PLEASED A FEW DAYS LATER TO FIND HIS MOTHER HAD THROWN THEM AWAY BECAUSE THEY WERE COVERED IN BLOOD.
H
IS SUBSEQUENT CONFRONTATION WITH
A
NN MARKED THE FIRST TIME
M
ICKEY EVER SWORE AT HIS MOTHER.

B
UT HIS STEPFATHER CONTINUED TO BE THE MAIN FOCUS OF HIS RAGE.
F
OLLOWING ALL HIS WORKOUTS AT THE GYM,
M
ICKEY HAD THE STRENGTH AND THE SKILLS TO STAND UP TO
G
ENE.
A
LTHOUGH THEY CONTINUED TO ARGUE, IT NEVER ENDED WITH THE FUTURE FILM STAR AND FIGHTER PUNCHING HIM OUT.
T
HE CLOSEST THEY CAME WAS WHEN
M
ICKEY WAS SIXTEEN AND IN THE THROES OF AN ESPECIALLY BLAZING ROW WITH
G
ENE AT HOME.
H
IS STEPFATHER CHALLENGED
M
ICKEY TO STEP OUTSIDE AND FIGHT HIM LIKE A MAN, BUT THE YOUNGSTER DECLINED THE INVITATION.

W
HILE IT WAS THE OPPORTUNITY HE HAD LONG WANTED,
M
ICKEY REASONED THAT HIS 145-LB FRAME WAS NO MATCH FOR
G
ENE, WHO WAS WELL OVER 200 LBS AND, BEING GOOD WITH HIS HANDS, COULD DO HIM SOME SERIOUS DAMAGE IN A PROPER FIGHT.
M
ICKEY REGRETS HE DIDN’T EVEN TRY TO LET HIM HAVE IT BACK THEN.
I
T COULD BE ARGUED HE HAS BEEN UNLOADING HIS ANGER AT
G
ENE EVER SINCE.

H
E WENT BACK TO THE GYM, THE ONE PLACE HE FELT AT HOME, AND WORKED TOWARDS HIS DREAM OF MAKING IT AS A PROFESSIONAL BOXER.
B
UT HIS UNPROFESSIONAL ATTITUDE LET HIM DOWN.
I
T GRADUALLY BECAME CLEAR THAT WHILE
M
ICKEY LOVED THE SPORT AND POSSESSED IMPRESSIVE RING SKILLS, HE JUST DIDN’T HAVE THE NECESSARY DISCIPLINE AND COMMITMENT.
H
E WOULD STAY OUT ALL NIGHT GETTING WASTED.
W
HEN HE WENT TO THE GYM AND HIS TRAINER ASKED IF HE HAD BEEN OUT ON HIS DAILY MORNING RUN,
M
ICKEY WOULD LIE, SAY THAT HE HAD, WHEN, IN FACT, HE HAD ONLY JUST STUMBLED IN AFTER LONG HOURS PARTYING WITH PALS.

I
T WAS A HEALTH SCARE THAT EVENTUALLY PERSUADED
M
ICKEY TO THROW IN THE TOWEL ON HIS BOXING DREAMS.
H
E SUFFERED TWO CONCUSSIONS – ONE WHILE SPARRING IN 1969 WITH
C
UBAN FORMER WORLD WELTERWEIGHT CHAMPION
L
UIS
R
ODRIGUEZ, AND ANOTHER WHEN COMPETING IN A 1971 TOURNAMENT FOR PROMISING AMATEUR FIGHTERS.
M
ICKEY WAS SCARED BY WHAT HAPPENED TO HIM AFTER THOSE incidents. He would find himself standing in the street, suddenly not knowing where he was going.

A
FTER THE SECOND CONCUSSION, DOCTORS TOLD HIM TO TAKE A YEAR OFF FROM THE SPORT AND REST.
H
IS TRAINER WANTED HIM TO CONTINUE WITH BOXING AFTER THAT AND MOVE TO THE GREAT FIGHTING CITY OF
P
HILADELPHIA TO IMPROVE HIS BOXING SKILLS.
B
UT THE FEAR OF PERMANENT BRAIN DAMAGE PUT HIM OFF A CAREER IN THE RING.
M
ICKEY DECIDED TO GIVE UP BOXING AND LOOK FOR SOMETHING ELSE TO DO WITH HIS LIFE.

H
AD HE STUCK WITH BOXING,
M
ICKEY SAYS, HE WOULD NEVER HAVE BECOME AN ACTOR.
B
UT THE DECISION TO GIVE UP THE SPORT WAS ONE HE WOULD NEVERTHELESS REGRET.
I
T TROUBLED HIM FOR YEARS – SO MUCH SO, THAT HE WOULD MAKE AN UNLIKELY RETURN TO THE RING TWO DECADES LATER.

M
ICKEY HAD BEEN A GOOD FOOTBALL PLAYER AT SCHOOL BUT DECIDED TO GIVE UP THAT CONTACT SPORT TOO, IN VIEW OF HIS BOXING INJURY.
H
E HAD NO FUTURE PROSPECTS, EITHER, IN THE OTHER SPORT IN WHICH HE EXCELLED – BASEBALL – HAVING BLOWN HIS BIG CHANCE WHEN SOME BIG LEAGUE TALENT SCOUTS VISITED THE SCHOOL LOOKING FOR NEW PLAYERS.

M
ICKEY’S PERFORMANCE AT FIRST BASE HAD REALLY CAUGHT SEVERAL EYES – SO MUCH SO THAT HE WAS ASKED TO COACH A GROUP OF YOUNGER KIDS AT
M
IAMI
B
EACH
S
ENIOR
H
IGH
S
CHOOL FOR A WHILE, A JOB HE TOOK IN ORDER TO GET WHAT HE CALLED HIS “
F
RIDAY AND
S
ATURDAY NIGHT GOING OUT MONEY.”
B
UT HIS
L
ITTLE
L
EAGUE TEAM WAS VERY SUCCESSFUL, THANKS LARGELY TO
M
ICKEY’S KNOWLEDGE OF THE SPORT AND TO HIS THIRD BASEMAN
A
NDY
G
ARCIA, THE FUTURE MOVIE STAR, WHO BATTED .600.
T
HE FACT THAT
M
ICKEY NEVER MADE THE PROGRESS HE SHOULD HAVE IN PLAYING BASEBALL WAS PRIMARILY DUE TO HIS PROBLEM WITH AUTHORITY FIGURES.
I
F ANYONE OVER THIRTY TOLD HIM TO DO SOMETHING, HE INVARIABLY WOULDN’T DO IT.

O
NE OF THOSE AUTHORITY FIGURES WAS THE SCHOOL’S SENIOR BASEBALL COACH, THE HIGHLY RESPECTED
S
KIP
B
ERTMAN, WHO HAD BROUGHT A LONG-HOPED-FOR CHAMPIONSHIP TO THE SCHOOL AND WOULD GO ON TO BE VOTED INTO THE SPORT’S
H
ALL OF
F
AME AS ONE OF THE BEST
US
SCHOOL AND COLLEGE BASEBALL COACHES OF ALL TIME.

M
ICKEY WAS A GIFTED PLAYER, BUT WOULD CONSTANTLY DEFY
B
ERTMAN’S AUTHORITY BY PROVOKING HIM AND SHOWING A LACK OF RESPECT.
T
HE COACH TOOK HIS REVENGE BY DROPPING
M
ICKEY FROM THE TEAM AT THAT CRITICAL MOMENT WHEN THE SCOUTS DESCENDED ON THE SCHOOL.
S
OME PEOPLE WOULD NEVER GET OVER A DISAPPOINTMENT LIKE THAT, BUT
M
ICKEY NOW REALIZES IT WAS HIS OWN FAULT AND HE WAS HURTING HIMSELF WITH HIS BAD ATTITUDE.

M
ICKEY WAS A REBEL IN THE WAY HE DRESSED AS WELL.
I
NSTEAD OF THE LATEST FASHIONS WORN BY THE COOL KIDS AROUND
M
IAMI,
M
ICKEY AND HIS BROTHER
J
OEY FAVORED FLAMBOYANT, MULTI-COLORED CLOTHES.
T
HEY WOULD STRUT AROUND LIKE PEACOCKS AND YOU CAN IMAGINE THE KIND OF NAMES THEY WERE CALLED BY THE LOCAL TOUGH KIDS – NAME CALLING THAT STOPPED WHEN
J
OEY HIT ONE OF THE BIGMOUTHS WITH A BASEBALL BAT.

M
ICKEY’S ECCENTRIC FASHION SENSE, WHICH CONTINUES TO THIS DAY, WAS RAISED TO NEW AND OUTLANDISH LEVELS AFTER HE GRADUATED FROM
M
IAMI
B
EACH
S
ENIOR
H
IGH
S
CHOOL IN 1971.
T
HE FAVORITE ITEMS IN HIS CLOSET INCLUDED PLATFORM SHOES, SATIN PANTS, AND WOMEN’S BLOUSES, SOME OF WHICH WERE BORROWED FROM HIS MOTHER.
C
OMPLETING HIS ANDROGYNOUS LOOK WAS THE WAY HE WORE HIS HAIR THEN, LONG AND DYED BLOND.
H
E HAS NO IDEA WHY HE DRESSED LIKE THAT, OTHER THAN wanting to look as cool as his idol, Elvis Presley, and a feeling that he needed to fit in with his friends, who all dressed in the same way and were equally directionless as to their future prospects.

M
ICKEY LEFT HOME AS SOON AS HE COULD AND SHARED ROOMS WITH THREE OF THOSE PALS AT
M
IAMI’S
W
ILD
W
EST
H
OTEL.
G
IVEN THEIR COLORFUL DRESS AND CLOSE FRIENDSHIP, MANY PEOPLE, NOT SURPRISINGLY, THOUGHT THEY WERE GAY.
B
UT
M
ICKEY AND HIS FRIENDS WERE INTO WOMEN.
I
N FACT, THERE WAS NOTHING ELSE ON THEIR MINDS, EXCEPT FOR MAYBE ACTING COOL AND GETTING HIGH.
T
HEY WOULD GO TO THE 48TH
S
TREET BEACH ALL MORNING, GET TANNED AND CHAT UP BABES, SLEEP IN THE AFTERNOON, AND HIT THE TOWN AT NIGHT, CRUISING AROUND
M
IAMI, SMOKING JOINTS AND CHECKING OUT THE TALENT.

M
ICKEY DIDN’T GET HOOKED ON DRUGS IN THOSE BEACH BUM DAYS, AND CLAIMS HE HASN’T SINCE, DESPITE THE ODD FLING.
Y
OUNG
M
ICKEY’S HEAD WAS CERTAINLY CLEAR ENOUGH TO KNOW HE COULDN’T DRIFT THROUGH LIFE FOREVER AND NEEDED TO FIND A JOB.
T
HE PROBLEM WAS HE COULDN’T FIND ANYTHING THAT INTERESTED HIM.
H
E WAS TOO BORED TO REMAIN IN HIS JOB AS A DITCH DIGGER FOR THE
M
IAMI-
D
ADE
P
OWER AND
L
IGHT
C
OMPANY AND SUBSEQUENTLY DRIFTED INTO A STRING OF OTHER JOBS – SUCH AS HOTEL PARKING LOT ATTENDANT AND RESTAURANT BUSBOY – THAT WERE SHORT LIVED BECAUSE HE WOULD QUIT IN FRUSTRATION OR GET FIRED FOR HAVING A BAD ATTITUDE.
H
E WORKED AT A SHOOTING RANGE PICKING UP BULLET CASINGS, BUT HAD TO LEAVE THAT JOB WHEN HE DEVELOPED LEAD POISONING.

H
IS ATTEMPT AT BEING AN ELECTRICIAN LASTED ONLY A DAY BECAUSE HE COULDN’T FIGURE OUT HOW TO WORK A MACHINE HE WAS ASKED TO OPERATE AND DIDN’T LIKE THAT IT KEPT GIVING HIM ELECTRIC SHOCKS.
T
HE FUTURE FILM STAR WAS AN USHER IN A MOVIE THEATER FOR A WHILE BUT LOST THAT JOB WHEN HE GOT INTO A VIOLENT FIGHT WITH ANOTHER USHER WHO HAD HIT HIM OVER THE HEAD WITH HIS FLASHLIGHT FOR FUN.

M
ICKEY WAS BETWEEN JOBS WHEN
G
ARY
C
OX, AN OLD FRIEND FROM HIS HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL TEAM, APPROACHED HIM ON THE BEACH ONE DAY WITH A STARTLING AND LIFE-ALTERING PROPOSITION: “
W
OULD YOU LIKE TO GIVE ACTING A TRY?”
G
ARY WAS NOW GOING TO THE
U
NIVERSITY OF
M
IAMI AND DIRECTING A PLAY THERE.
O
NE OF THE STUDENTS HAD DROPPED OUT AND HE THOUGHT
M
ICKEY WOULD MAKE AN IDEAL REPLACEMENT IN THE NOW VACANT ROLE, THAT OF A BRAWNY TOUGH GUY.
M
ICKEY POINTED OUT THAT HE DIDN’T GO TO THE
U
NIVERSITY OF
M
IAMI, BUT HIS PAL SAID THAT DIDN’T MATTER BECAUSE NO ONE WOULD NOTICE.

M
ICKEY HADN’T SHOWN ANY INTEREST IN ACTING BACK AT
M
IAMI
B
EACH
S
ENIOR
H
IGH
S
CHOOL, UNLIKE FELLOW PUPILS AND FUTURE FILM STARS
E
LLEN
B
ARKIN AND THE AFOREMENTIONED
A
NDY
G
ARCIA, WHO WERE IN LOWER GRADES.
B
UT HE HAD DEVELOPED AN INTEREST IN WATCHING MOVIES EVER SINCE HIS
E
NGLISH TEACHER,
Z
ELDA
G
LAZER, SHOWED HIM THE FIRST FILM HE EVER SAW,
A PLACE IN THE SUN
.
S
HE SCREENED THE 1951 CLASSIC TWICE FOR HER CLASS OF UNDERACHIEVERS, WHICH INCLUDED
M
ICKEY, AND HE REMEMBERS BEING FASCINATED BY THE PERFORMANCE OF LEADING MAN
M
ONTGOMERY
C
LIFT.
A
NOTHER FILM THAT FASCINATED HIM AS A CHILD WAS
MUTINY ON THE BOUNTY,
STARRING
M
ARLON
B
RANDO.
I
N 2010, THAT INSPIRATIONAL TEACHER’S WRITER-DIRECTOR SON,
M
ITCH
G
LAZER, GAVE
M
ICKEY THE LEAD ROLE IN
PASSION PLAY
.

B
UT
M
ICKEY’S ACTING CAREER MIGHT NEVER HAVE HAPPENED AT ALL HAD THE YOUNGSTER NOT AGREED, WITH LITTLE ELSE TO DO, TO CHECK OUT
G
ARY
C
OX’S PLAY BY ATTENDING A REHEARSAL.
DEATHWATCH
BY
J
EAN
G
ENET WAS ABOUT THREE PRISON INMATES VYING FOR LEADERSHIP OF THEIR CELL.
M
ICKEY GOT UP ON STAGE TO READ THE ROLE OF
G
REEN Eyes, one of the prisoners, was immediately hooked on acting, and agreed to do the show. He recalled, “I really liked it. I don’t think I was very good, you know, but it was like, hey, this is a great feeling. Whatever this is, this is neat.”