Hank Garrett of Car 54

The only way to survive was to fight; at school, at home, hanging out on the stoop, or walking home from school.  One day when clowning with his pals on the way from school, one of his best friends collapsed right next to him. Hank thought he was kidding around. He wasn't. He was shot dead from an unknown sniper on a rooftop. It wasn't the first, or the last time, Hank would see death on those mean streets.

            At 9, Hank knew what it was like to get sucker punched and have your nose broken from a total stranger and for no reason. Those were the cruel lessons of life in Harlem. By 12, Hank was carrying heat: a .25 caliber hand-gun he kept loaded, hidden, and nearby at all times. By 13 he was no longer a virgin, pumping iron, and seriously studying Martial Arts.  His future seemed dim; reform school, brushes with the law, beaten up by local thugs for protecting a friend, and getting evicted with his family from their meager dwelling. 

            At 17 he became a professional wrestler, having to lie to get his license because he was underage. He posed as “Hank Daniels, the Minnesota Farm Boy” and competed against the top wrestlers on the national wrestling circuit, including Killer Kowalski and Lenny Montana, who later became an actor, appearing as Luca Brasi in The Godfather. He had a fan club, and even escorted Audrey Hepburn to a gala Hollywood-style event. Hank now had the show biz bug. But the street still had a hold on him.