13 Much-Loved Celebrities Who Have A Dark Past
Bill Gates - Arrested For Speeding
One of the most prolific and generous philanthropists in the world has indeed been arrested, back when he was young, and thanks to a weakness for fast cars. Time magazine reported that when Microsoft was based in Albuquerque in its early years, Gates bought a Porsche 911 and would race it in the desert, his Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen having to bail him out of jail on one occasion. He got three speeding tickets in 1978, two of them from the same cop. He was also arrested three years prior to that in 1975 for speeding and driving without a license. In fact, it's claimed the outline of his famous mugshot from the Albuquerque Police Department is used as the silhouette for some Windows applications.
Will Smith - Arrested For AssaultÂ
There's evidence suggesting that 'Big Willie' wasn't always quite the amiable gent about Hollywood that we all know and love today. It emerged in 2012 that back in 1989, when he was 20-years-old, he was arrested for the alleged involvement in an assault of another man, who almost lost his sight in one eye. A mugshot was even unearthed by the National Enquirer, and police records of aggravated assault, criminal conspiracy and reckless endangerment by Smith of a record promoter called William Hendricks, a record promoter. The charges were later dismissed.
Roald Dahl - "I've become antisemiticâ
Roald Dahl may have written some of our most cherished children's stories, but he also harboured some deeply offensive views, making them known in the last years of his life. In an interview in the New Statesman, he said: âThere is a trait in the Jewish character that does provoke animosity, maybe it's a kind of lack of generosity towards non-Jews. I mean, there's always a reason why anti-anything crops up anywhere; even a stinker like Hitler didn't just pick on them for no reason.â He added to The Independent in 1990, the year of his death: âI'm certainly anti-Israel and I've become antisemitic inasmuch as that you get a Jewish person in another country like England strongly supporting Zionism.â
Johnny Vaughn - Went To Prison For Drug Dealing
Radio and TV presenter Johnny Vaughn was 21 back in 1988, when he was arrested for trying to sell ÂŁ15,000 worth of cocaine to undercover police officers in a hotel on the M1 near Northampton. He was given a four-year prison sentence, serving two years at Stocken Prison in Rutland. Turning things around after prison, he took a job reporting on legal cases for the Peterborough Herald.
Stephen Fry - Went To Prison For Credit Card Fraud
Fry is the very first to admit that his teenage years were somewhat wayward. He was expelled from 'a number' of schools, and after leaving Norfolk College of Arts and Technology, aged 17, he stole a credit card from a family friend. He was sent to Pucklechurch prison for three months for credit card fraud, which he described as 'a pretty vicious place'. After leaving the prison, he resumed his education at City College in Norwich and won his place at Cambridge.
James Lipton - Was A Pimp
Known and loved for his long-running TV series 'Inside The Actors Studio', broadcaster and writer James Lipton revealed some astonishing details of his past in 2013. It emerged that he worked as a pimp in Paris in the 1950s, representing the services of 'a whole bordello'. âI did a roaring business, and I was able to live for a year,â he said in an interview. âThe French 'mec' [or pimp] didnât exploit women. They represented them, like agents. And they took a cut. Thatâs how I lived. I was going through my rites of passage, no question about it. It was a great year of my life.â
Johnny Cash - Killed 49 Rare Condors
Everyone loves Johnny Cash, right? Well not condors. Cash was driving through Los Padres National Forest in central California when a part in his truck overheated causing it to catch fire. Instead of trying to inform the emergency services or put the fire out, he left it burning and went fishing. The fire spread, and destroyed a square mile of forest, killing 49 extremely rare California Condors, thought to be half their entire population at the time. He was sued by the federal government and was fined $82,000. The figure paled against the $30 million the government had ploughed into conservation of the creatures. Cash reportedly cared not of what he'd done, saying 'I don't give a damn about your yellow buzzards'.
Michelle Rodriguez - Multiple Arrests For Driving Offenses
Lauded for her role in the 'Fast & Furious' movies, she also has something of a rap sheet. She's been arrested for assault (in 2002, in a fight with her flatmate, charges were not pressed), and then a year later went to court facing eight misdemeanour charges connected to a hit and run, and DUI. Pleading guilty to three, she went to prison for two days before being released with orders to go on a three month alcohol rehab programme, and three years probation. While filming 'Lost' in Hawaii, she was pulled over 'multiple' times and fined for exceeding the speed limit. Then there was another DUI in 2006, and because she violated parole, she was given 60 days in jail, but was amazing released the same day she went in due to overcrowding. She violated her parole yet again in 2007, was handed 180 days in prison, and served 18 before being released for â once again â overcrowding. Fast and furious indeed.
Christian Slater - Arrested Multiple Times
Much loved these days, Slater was responsible for some pretty shameful behaviour back in the day. He spent 10 days in jail in 1989 for drunk driving and assault, was sentenced to community service in 1994 for trying to board a plane with a gun in his luggage, and in 1997 was convicted of assaulting his then-girlfriend Michelle Jonas while under the influence of drugs and alcohol. He spent 100 days in rehab, while on bail, then a three month term in jail. Then in 2005, he was arrested and charged with sexually harassing a woman on the street in New York. The charges were later dropped, on condition he kept out of trouble for six months.
Jeffrey Jones - Arrested For Possessing Child Pornography
He was a staple in a swathe of classic 80s movies. He was Ed Rooney in 'Ferris Bueller's Day Off', Joseph II in 'Amadeus', Charles Deetz in Beetlejuice, and A.W. Merrick in the magnificent 'Deadwood'. See also parts in 'Stuart Little', 'Sleepy Hollow', even 'Howard The Duck'. However, Jones was charged with possession of child pornography, and also of soliciting a 14-year-old boy to pose for pornographic pictures. He pleaded no contest to the felony charge and was given five years probation and registered as a sex offender, with damages to the boy being settled out of court. He's in trouble twice since for failing to update his sex offender status in Florida and California.
Tim Allen - Went To Prison For Drug Dealing
Youâd think as the voice of Buzz Lightyear, the star of Disneyâs âToy Storyâ franchise, Tim Allenâs record would have to be squeaky clean. Not so. For you see, pre-fame Tim Allen was searching for an altogether different kind of buzz as a drug trafficker, and in 1978 he was arrested at a Michigan airport in possession of over a pound of cocaine. Allen pleaded guilty for intent to supply and provided the names of other dealers in order to avoid a life sentence â he ended up serving two years in prison before he was paroled. Picking his life back up with comedy, he was a stand-up star within a decade, and in 1994, had Americaâs top-rated TV show (âHome Improvementsâ), best-selling book (Donât Stand Too Close To A Naked Manâ) and #1 movie (âThe Santa Clauseâ). Then came âToy Storyâ.
Matthew Broderick - Caused Car Accident That Killed 2 People
While on holiday in Northern Ireland with then-girlfriend Jennifer Grey in 1987, âFerris Buellerâ star Broderick found his car on the wrong side of the road and ploughed into an oncoming vehicle, killing the two passengers (Anna Gallagher, 28, and her mother Margaret Doherty, 63) instantly.
Broderick told the police he had no recollection of the accident (âI donât remember even getting up in the morningâ) and avoided a charge of causing death by dangerous driving, instead getting convicted for careless driving which carried the paltry fine of $175. Honda were criticised in 2012 for hiring Broderick to star in their car advert.
Woody Harrelson - Father Was A Hitman
His most popular on-screen persona was that of gormless âCheersâ bartender Woody, but off-screen, Harrelson harboured a dark secret while furthering his career: his father was a natural born killer. Woodyâs estranged father, Charles Voyde Harrelson, was discovered to be a hitman when he assassinated San Antonio Federal Judge John H Wood Jr in 1979. Harrelson Snrâs convictions for murder and armed robbery put Woodyâs arrest for planting hemp seeds in 1996 in perspective, but before he died in prison in 2007, while serving a life sentence, he and Woody did eventually make amends. âMy father is one of the most articulate, well-read, charming people Iâve ever known,â said Woody at the time. âStill, Iâm just now gauging whether he merits my loyalty or friendship.â
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Image credits: Rex Features
