Post #49404 by AquaZombie on Wed, Aug 27, 2003 12:00 PM

I knew Mickey Rourke quite well back in the 80s, first met him in '79 (he was a friend of my Pop's, also an actor), and we became fast friends, I was kinda like his little brother and he looked out for me. But when I went from being his little pal to his flunky, we gradually lost touch. He had kind of an Elvis complex, bought me a '64 T Bird when I was 19, but then wanted me to be one of his "boys" and I wasn't into surviving as a hanger-on, so I moved on (and North). He was a helluva sweet guy in the beginning, but I guess he started to believe and then emulate his tough guy image. Too bad. He's sort of making a comeback now in films like the upcoming "Once Upon a Time in Mexico." He's quite good in "Spun," too. My own favorites are "Rumble Fish" (for which I unsuccessfully auditioned at his behest- I'm a writer, not an actor), "Angel Heart" and "Johnny Handsome" - the last movie he did before he got his own facial makeover. He was always insecure about his looks, even though ironically that was part of his appeal.

Through Mickey I met a LOT of celebrities in the early to mid-80s, including Tom Waits (the nicest and humblest), Sean Penn, Chris Penn, Emilio Estevez, Lance Henriksen (they were best pals at one point, and both took me out to get a hooker in Hollywood one night when I was a virgin teen - I chickened out at the last minute, though), Rutger Hauer, Treat Williams, a bunch of others. He was everyone's idol back then. It was amazing to witness his quick rise to stardom while I remained a bitter busboy. I miss him.