Getting stabbed in the neck is only the third-closest Steve Buscemi has ever come to dying.
Richard Pryor
Despite obscenity laws having been relaxed by then, Pryor was arrested for breaking a “foul language” ordinance directly after a show in what many have seen as a clearly racist act. It was the same year Blazing Saddles came out, and as comedy historian Kliph Nesteroff put it, “All the words that are in Blazing Saddles are the same words that he got arrested for saying onstage.”
Robert Downey Jr.
Downey was brought on to Ally McBeal after a stint in rehab and prison, because the show needed a bad boy for a ratings boost. It worked, but their bad boy got badder, and was arrested for drug-related offenses two more times before the show finally parted ways with him.
Janis Joplin
When cops tried to enforce the seating chart at one of her gigs, she grabbed the mic and yelled, “Don’t fuck with those people!” The cops got pretty sore about that, and ran off to get a warrant to arrest her for “vulgar and indecent language.” She egged them on for the rest of her set, and when the warrant showed up, she was taken to jail.
Sean Penn
When a skateboarding extra on the set of 1988’s Colors stopped to take a picture of the stars between takes, Penn screamed at, spat at and punched the guy until he was restrained. He was already on probation, and was sentenced to 60 days in county jail (after filming wrapped, of course).
Marilyn Manson
He’s tried to make it sound more badass and defiant, but the fact is Manson was arrested after a show for rubbing his junk on a security guard’s head during his set.
James Remar
Remar was supposed to play Corporal Hicks in Aliens, and in fact did play the character, for about a month. But then he was caught in a police raid with a bunch of hash and heroin, and James Cameron fired him.
Marty Wayne
In 1946, comedian Marty Wayne was arrested at a Philadelphia show for something local newspapers would only refer to as “his purple passages.” He spent six months in prison.
Eliza Dushku and Jesse Bradford
While filming Bring It On, the two snuck into Mexico, got arrested for partying on the beach and had to be bailed out of jail in Tijuana. They barely made it to work on time the next day, and no one told the director until production was finished.
Bobby Brown
After he serenaded a young woman (and also “simulated sexual intercourse” with her) at a 1989 concert, the head of security nabbed him between sets. He was booked in county jail, but was able to pay a $652 fine and get back on stage within 90 minutes.
Charlie Sheen
Season Seven of Two and a Half Men was cut short when Sheen was arrested for a legitimately scary bout of domestic violence, which kicked off that whole “tiger blood” saga. We all suffered the consequences: by Season Nine, Ashton Kutcher had taken his place in the series.
Lenny Bruce
His first on-stage arrest was in Chicago in 1962, but Bruce essentially had a nationwide courtroom tour. He challenged state and federal profanity laws that would ultimately be struck down and pave the way for future foul mouthed comedians. He was even the recipient of New York’s first posthumous pardon in 2003.
Vince Vaughn
Vaughn caused a disturbance while filming 2001’s Domestic Disturbance. While at a local bar one night, Vaughn incited — and then quelled — a bar fight. Before they left, another patron stabbed Steve Buscemi in the neck, and Vaughn retaliated, leading to his arrest. For his part, Buscemi says, “I came close to death. That was probably the closest I’ve been, besides being hit by a bus and a car.”
Jim Morrison
Before a show, Morrison was interrupted by a cop mid-makeout, and when he refused to quit rounding first base, he was maced. Up on stage, he changed the lyrics of “Back Door Man” to tell the tale, and of course hurl some slurs at cops. The cops on duty didn’t love this, and stormed the stage mid-set.
Josh Brolin and Jeffrey Wright
The night they wrapped 2008’s W, a bunch of cast and crew went out and got absolutely wasted. A fight broke out, cops showed up, yadda yadda yadda, Brolin and Wright were arrested for interfering with police officers. But then video surfaced of the yadda yadda yadda: the two were very drunk, but minding their own business, when cops started pepper spraying and tasing them unprompted.
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