May 14, 2026 • 19 mins
On this episode of Our American Stories, before Danny Trejo became one of Hollywood’s most recognizable actors, known for films like Machete and Heat, he spent years in prison battling addiction and violence. Speaking at the Crossroads Recovery Center's 60th Anniversary Breakfast event in Phoenix, AZ., Trejo shares how sobriety, recovery, faith, and helping others transformed his life and unexpectedly led him from prison cells to movie sets.
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Speaker 1 (00:10):
This is Lee Habib and this is our American Stories.
Danny Trejo's story is a remarkable journey from a troubled
youth and eleven years in and out of California prisons,
including San Quentin, to become a beloved Hollywood actor known
for his tough, tattooed look. He's appeared in movies such
as Desperado, Machete, From Dusk Till Dawn, Spy Kids, and Heat,
(00:34):
always ensuring his villainous characters face consequences. Here's Danny Treo
sharing his story at an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting.
Speaker 2 (00:44):
I came out of prison in nineteen sixty nine. I
had a year clean coming out. I got clean and
solidad state prison. I was in the whole me rapachek O,
henriki Hada, we were involved in a very serious prison
riot and some people got hurt really bad, and insiding
(01:09):
a riot is a gas chamber offense. And Ray Pacheco
socked a free person, that's a gas chamber offense. Henryk
yi Halla ruptured the coach. That's definitely a gas chamber offense.
And it was alleged that I threw a rock and
hit Lieutenant Gibbons in the head.
Speaker 3 (01:30):
That's definitely a gas chamber of fence.
Speaker 2 (01:33):
So, uh, nineteen sixty, nineteen sixty eight, sinkle then my
Sinko and myo. Everybody thinks sinco that mayo means fifth
of May. But if you're like a real Mexican, I
mean from the heart, sinko that mayo means get bail money.
(02:00):
Ninety nine percent of the Mexicans do not even know
what Sinko and Mayo is celebrating. You know what I mean,
that's gets wrong. It's just a get drunk day. That's
tequila was invented for Sinko amayo, okay, because you can
go to jail and not even know why. And and
so Sinko Amayo nineteen sixty eight.
Speaker 3 (02:21):
That was when that riot started.
Speaker 2 (02:22):
And the first time I ever heard about alcoholics anonymous
was in nineteen fifty nine, right and and me and
about twenty friends who carload were cruising down Van Eys.
Speaker 3 (02:39):
Boulevard in my neighborhood.
Speaker 2 (02:42):
And right on the corner of lev Street and Van
Eyes Boulevard, there was this huge craftsman's house and there's
about thirty cars parked in front of this house.
Speaker 3 (02:52):
Now the neighborhood that I grew up in, Pacoima.
Speaker 2 (02:56):
Two cars in front of a house means they, I guess,
you know, well there was always like one car, a
Chevy on blocks in the front, you know. But so
here we hey, there's there's something going on. This this
the murder capital of Los Angeles was Bukoima.
Speaker 3 (03:14):
And they're not inviting the murders. What the hell's wrong
with them?
Speaker 2 (03:17):
And it's like it was like this this this revelations.
Wait a minute, they can't do this, and we stopped
the car, went to the trunk of the car to
get the tools necessary to crash events.
Speaker 3 (03:32):
We got tire, irons, hammers, pieces of pipe.
Speaker 2 (03:37):
I had a case of beard, three bottles of wine,
half pint of whiskey. I was already loaded on second
red Devils pills. I had thirty eight snubnose and we
proceeded to crash this event. Kicked in the you have
to you can't like walk up to event. I knock
(04:00):
on the door, locked the door and called the cops.
Speaker 3 (04:03):
Held.
Speaker 2 (04:04):
So we kicked in the door and everybody rushed in
and the first thing we saw was a big sign
that said we care.
Speaker 3 (04:13):
Holding the kids.
Speaker 2 (04:16):
And we're trying to There's only two greetings you can
get when you crash an event. Either everybody rushes to
the opposite side of the room. That means they're willing
to throw this event in your honor.
Speaker 3 (04:32):
Or they rushed to the side of the room you're on.
Speaker 2 (04:35):
Usually the athlete parties, they usually rush to the side
of the room you're on.
Speaker 3 (04:39):
That means they're not You know, we got the stupidest
greeting in the world.
Speaker 2 (04:45):
We had all these old people. I hate saying old
people because they were like forty, you know.
Speaker 3 (04:52):
They come rushing at us high. I'm bob Hey.
Speaker 2 (04:56):
And it's hard, shaking hands, holding the case beard, three
bottles of wine, half fine a whiskey, load on pills,
and I'm trying to get out of here right And
this guy stops me, introduces himself and says, Danny, I've
been on the program eight years now. I don't know
what the program in juvenile hall is like four months,
(05:18):
you know what I mean. Once you're talking about a program,
you can't get out of this house.
Speaker 3 (05:23):
And he says, I've been sober eight years. Stupid thing
to say to a guy holding the case of beard.
Three bouts of I have. I haven't wanted to drink
when he said that.
Speaker 2 (05:42):
I can never remember, even at fifteen years of age,
not wanting to drink. My uncle turned me on the
grass I was eight years old, gave me a fixed
I was twelve.
Speaker 3 (05:53):
I started drinking right after that.
Speaker 2 (05:58):
And one of the reasons I had a tough time
like identifying in AA, because everybody always talked about everything
they lost. I had a car, a boat, a cabin
in Mammoth and I was drinking Scotch scotch. I went
(06:23):
to bourbon. I think there's a step down.
Speaker 3 (06:25):
I don't know. I have no idea. I lost some
material wealth.
Speaker 2 (06:33):
I ended up losing all my material wealth drinking wine
in the morning in an alley.
Speaker 1 (06:42):
And ooh.
Speaker 2 (06:45):
Here, I started drinking wine in the morning in an alley.
So I started drinking. I shot Heroin with my uncle
and has to wait anute. Think you come shooting Heroin
when you're thirteen years old.
Speaker 3 (06:59):
And we started stealing wine out of Dale's Market, and.
Speaker 2 (07:06):
So this guy says, Danny, look, why don't you put
that stuff outside and join us? And I shut up,
old man, because everybody in my neighborhood understand knew that
we were going to the You go to juvenile hall,
you go to youth authority, you go to camp, and
you go to the pen in everybody.
Speaker 3 (07:28):
I knew that's what they did. That was the road
to recovery. I guess I don't know.
Speaker 2 (07:32):
And this this guy whispers the curse of alcoholics Anonymous.
He says, Danny, if you leave this program, you're gonna die,
go insane or go to jail.
Speaker 3 (07:48):
To understand, it's like.
Speaker 2 (07:49):
From now on you might forget everybody in this room.
You will not forget this Mexican.
Speaker 3 (07:55):
You won't. When you see those lights.
Speaker 2 (07:59):
In a cop car behind your baby ban bait and
you know you're drunk or you know you're loaded, watch
the lights the lights go die going, saying go to jail,
die go and sing, go to jail, diekegon san go
to they do they do? I swear to God, is
I watch them die going thing? So I'm going back
and forth to prison. You know, I just did everything.
(08:20):
My uncle showed me how to do robberies. That's what
we did. And but you have to understand knowing about
alcoholics Anonymous, I learned about alcoholic Anonymous in prison. I
met my sponsor in nineteen sixty two in prison. I
was inside, he was outside, and uh he was a
speaker and a guy named Johnny Harris. And I'll never
(08:42):
forget he said.
Speaker 3 (08:42):
He looked at me, man, he goes.
Speaker 2 (08:44):
The only thing that's gonna beat you to San Quentin
is the headlights on the bus.
Speaker 3 (08:53):
I thought that was a compliment. Yeah, you got that
right home.
Speaker 2 (09:02):
And I see this guy four times in different penitentiaries.
Speaker 3 (09:06):
He's outside, I'm inside. So I learned about alcohol is anonymous.
Speaker 2 (09:11):
I started a Narcotics Anonymous meeting in Solidad State Prison.
And since Solidad, like I said in nineteen sixty eight,
I'm sitting in that hole and I'm thinking I'm through.
Speaker 3 (09:25):
I'm done.
Speaker 1 (09:26):
And you've been listening to Danny Treyhoe tell his story,
and what a story it is.
Speaker 2 (09:32):
Well.
Speaker 1 (09:33):
It starts early with an uncle of his teaching him
all the things he thinks matter in life, and that
is well. He shows him how to do robberies. He
introduces him to drugs and to alcohol, not exactly the
way to start off a life. When we come back
more of Danny Treyhoe's story on our American Stories, and
(10:09):
we continue with our American stories and the story of
Danny Trejo's redemptive journey from death Row to Hollywood. Let's
pick up where we last left off.
Speaker 3 (10:20):
Here is Danny.
Speaker 2 (10:21):
I'm remembering every teacher that I ever had, wrote amazing potential.
All through school. I failed, but I had an amazing potential.
Every probation officer I ever had unbelievable potential. But I'm
(10:42):
violating this, inmate, I'm going back to jail parole off
the same thing.
Speaker 3 (10:48):
Amazing.
Speaker 2 (10:49):
I had a lot of potential. Now, when you have
a lot of potential and you're in the hole.
Speaker 3 (10:56):
In solid dad and you might go to the.
Speaker 2 (10:59):
Gas chamber, your potential don't mean that much, and it's
like you wonder what happened. But if you know about
these programs you got this day, it doesn't have didn't
have to happen.
Speaker 3 (11:17):
You didn't listen, remember, yeah, And.
Speaker 2 (11:21):
It's like you've got this this program back here telling
you about Hey, it doesn't have to be this way.
Speaker 3 (11:31):
And so I'm figuring I'm going to the gas chamber, right.
Speaker 2 (11:34):
I remember asking God, just just let me die with dignity,
and I'll say your name every day and I will
do whatever I can for my fellow man. And by
the grace of God, we had a DJ reject. They
sent the chargers to the district attorney and he rejected it.
I got out August twenty third, nineteen sixty nine. That's
(11:57):
why I got another joint, and I've been clean and
sober ever since.
Speaker 3 (12:02):
And let me tell you're not clapping for me.
Speaker 2 (12:09):
You're clapping for what God's done with me. I didn't
have a thing to do with it. And so, you know,
like everything good that has happened to me has happened
as a direct result of helping someone else.
Speaker 3 (12:21):
Everything.
Speaker 2 (12:22):
I had no social skills whatsoever.
Speaker 3 (12:27):
If you were on fire, I wouldn't care unless you
owe me money. I no, really, I didn't. I wasn't
like a sharing, caring person.
Speaker 2 (12:35):
I come out of the pen and I make this promise, right,
you know, because I thought it was just gonna be
a couple of years then they were going to kill me,
and it wasn't. God fooled me and gave me the
rest of my life. He's okay, now hold up, do this.
So now I gotta say his name every day. I
said eight, nine, ten, twelve thirty times a day, and
every morning, Dear Heavenly Father, let me help anybody I
(12:58):
come into contact with.
Speaker 3 (13:00):
That's my prayer. And it's all about being of service.
This whole thing.
Speaker 2 (13:05):
I have seen people God, I have seen people pray
God they got.
Speaker 3 (13:10):
They got shrines in their houses and done. Yeah, they do.
Speaker 2 (13:14):
It's just that doesn't matter if you're not if you're
not being of service.
Speaker 3 (13:19):
So we get here, however, we get.
Speaker 2 (13:21):
Here and we bring our bag with us, this bag
of junk, this bag of secrets, and we're only as
sick as our secrets.
Speaker 3 (13:31):
And I did not know how to do.
Speaker 2 (13:32):
An inventory when I got here, and I'm in the meeting,
and this guy just says, you're only as sick as
your secrets. Whoa that? Wow?
Speaker 3 (13:41):
You know what I mean? Boy, I'm I.
Speaker 2 (13:42):
Screwed and and and I started, like, I wrote down
these secrets, just wrote this is only about ten of them.
Speaker 3 (13:53):
You know.
Speaker 2 (13:53):
I still got about fifteen to twenty more. But and
I remember I had them in my pocket for like
three weeks. And frank it, what's wrong? I want to
show you my inventory, my secrets. Okay, So three o'clock
in the morning after the late late meeting, because that's
all we did, go to meetings, and so out in
front of a place called behind the Alans.
Speaker 3 (14:14):
In the alley, we lit a fire in the trash
can and we're standing.
Speaker 2 (14:16):
There and I give him this, this inventory of ten
secrets written on a gas bill, and I gave it
to Frank and he.
Speaker 3 (14:25):
Was reading it. He goes, Wow, you did that. Then, yeah,
she'll like it.
Speaker 2 (14:35):
Yeah, I guess, so you did it again, and so
then I'll never get He tore it up and put
threw it in this fire in the smoke, and he says, now,
every time you think about one of these things, you
got to remember you've given it to God.
Speaker 3 (14:52):
In the smoke. It's God's.
Speaker 2 (14:56):
So it doesn't matter how you do that. Man, I've
seen people try to work perfectly. No such thing with
the perfection. We don't deal with perfection. We just we
All we want to do is just get next to God.
It's just admitting that I'm powerless.
Speaker 3 (15:09):
Do you understand? That's all it is, admitting I'm powerless.
Wait a minute, I am powerless. Take this. I said.
Speaker 2 (15:18):
Everything good that's ever happened to me has happened as
a direct result of helping someone else. I got into
the movie business on a twelve step call I want
to just.
Speaker 3 (15:28):
Work with this kid.
Speaker 2 (15:31):
And it happened to be on the movie set of
a movie called Runaway Train John Voight, Eric Roberts. I
walked on this movie set. I thought it was the
cutest thing I've ever seen in my life. All these
guys were walking around acting like convicts.
Speaker 3 (15:44):
It was like, hey, got the way mother mah just
really growling.
Speaker 2 (15:49):
And you know, prison is probably the most polite place
you'll ever be because if I'm.
Speaker 3 (15:55):
A murderer and you're a murderer, I don't want to
offend you. You know, it's like that simple, and you
don't want to offend me.
Speaker 2 (16:02):
But they have this this thing of everybody running around
pushing people. It doesn't work that way, you know. And
so this guy says, hey, do you want to be
in this movie? And I said, what do I gotta do?
He said, you want to be an extra? I said
an extra?
Speaker 3 (16:17):
What he' says? Can you act like a convict?
Speaker 2 (16:28):
So I'll give it a shot. Give me a blue shirt.
I take off my shirt. Got that big tattoo. The
tattoo I got on my chest. It doesn't say I
Love America, it doesn't say mom. It says, oh this
guy was in prison. Yes, prison tattoo, needling thread.
Speaker 3 (16:48):
And so you leave your shirt off.
Speaker 2 (16:50):
So I'm standing there with no shirt like, just taking
this all in and I'm.
Speaker 3 (16:55):
Looking at this guy. He looks familiar. He comes over
and says, hey, you're Danny Trail.
Speaker 2 (16:58):
Yes, I saw you in the lightweight the walterweight title
up is Sam Quentin.
Speaker 3 (17:03):
You're Eddie Bunker. I knew this guy.
Speaker 2 (17:06):
This guy was in prison with me. He said, what
are you doing here, daddy? I said, hanging out with
this kid. They're gonna give me fifty bucks right, acting
like a convict. And he says, are you still boxing?
I go, yeah, I'm forty years old, homie. I trained,
but I don't want to get in the face anymore.
He says, we need somebody to train one of the
(17:26):
actors how to box, and it was it pay. He says,
three twenty a day. He's no, you gotta be careful
because his actor is really high strung.
Speaker 3 (17:36):
He might sock you.
Speaker 2 (17:41):
I started training an actor named Eric Roberts how to
box for the movie called Runaway Train.
Speaker 3 (17:45):
And Eric.
Speaker 2 (17:47):
Respected me and he would do whatever I told him
to do, and that the director who didn't understand movie stars.
Speaker 3 (17:55):
Movie stars are very high strung. They suck and uh and.
Speaker 2 (18:00):
And that was the start of my career. From that
day to right now, I've done over three hundred and
eighty movies. Everything good that has happened to me has
happened as a direct result of helping someone else. I
don't know how many times I can say that. I
don't know how many times I can say I am
(18:22):
so blessed. I am so blessed just to be alive.
We all wait for that miracle. I live the miracle
every day. God bless you.
Speaker 3 (18:31):
Thank you very very much.
Speaker 1 (18:35):
And a terrific job on the production and editing by
our own Greg Hengler. And a special thanks to Danny
Treho for sharing his story with us. For more, pick
up his memoir Trey Hoo, My Life of Crime, Redemption
and Hollywood and My Goodness. Him talking about himself, that
tagline that was on him from the time he was young,
(18:56):
amazing potential, him saying those words don't mean much when
you're in the.
Speaker 3 (19:01):
Hole in prison.
Speaker 1 (19:03):
Then came his release, his miraculous release, and he has
been sober ever since. Everything good for me happened by
helping someone else. He said it again and again. Service,
Be of service to others. Get out of yourself. The
story of Danny Trejo's redemptive journey from Death Row to
(19:24):
Hollywood on our American Stories
This is Lee Habib and this is our American Stories.
Danny Trejo's story is a remarkable journey from a troubled
youth and eleven years in and out of California prisons,
including San Quentin, to become a beloved Hollywood actor known
for his tough, tattooed look. He's appeared in movies such
as Desperado, Machete, From Dusk Till Dawn, Spy Kids, and Heat,
(00:34):
always ensuring his villainous characters face consequences. Here's Danny Treo
sharing his story at an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting.
Speaker 2 (00:44):
I came out of prison in nineteen sixty nine. I
had a year clean coming out. I got clean and
solidad state prison. I was in the whole me rapachek O,
henriki Hada, we were involved in a very serious prison
riot and some people got hurt really bad, and insiding
(01:09):
a riot is a gas chamber offense. And Ray Pacheco
socked a free person, that's a gas chamber offense. Henryk
yi Halla ruptured the coach. That's definitely a gas chamber offense.
And it was alleged that I threw a rock and
hit Lieutenant Gibbons in the head.
Speaker 3 (01:30):
That's definitely a gas chamber of fence.
Speaker 2 (01:33):
So, uh, nineteen sixty, nineteen sixty eight, sinkle then my
Sinko and myo. Everybody thinks sinco that mayo means fifth
of May. But if you're like a real Mexican, I
mean from the heart, sinko that mayo means get bail money.
(02:00):
Ninety nine percent of the Mexicans do not even know
what Sinko and Mayo is celebrating. You know what I mean,
that's gets wrong. It's just a get drunk day. That's
tequila was invented for Sinko amayo, okay, because you can
go to jail and not even know why. And and
so Sinko Amayo nineteen sixty eight.
Speaker 3 (02:21):
That was when that riot started.
Speaker 2 (02:22):
And the first time I ever heard about alcoholics anonymous
was in nineteen fifty nine, right and and me and
about twenty friends who carload were cruising down Van Eys.
Speaker 3 (02:39):
Boulevard in my neighborhood.
Speaker 2 (02:42):
And right on the corner of lev Street and Van
Eyes Boulevard, there was this huge craftsman's house and there's
about thirty cars parked in front of this house.
Speaker 3 (02:52):
Now the neighborhood that I grew up in, Pacoima.
Speaker 2 (02:56):
Two cars in front of a house means they, I guess,
you know, well there was always like one car, a
Chevy on blocks in the front, you know. But so
here we hey, there's there's something going on. This this
the murder capital of Los Angeles was Bukoima.
Speaker 3 (03:14):
And they're not inviting the murders. What the hell's wrong
with them?
Speaker 2 (03:17):
And it's like it was like this this this revelations.
Wait a minute, they can't do this, and we stopped
the car, went to the trunk of the car to
get the tools necessary to crash events.
Speaker 3 (03:32):
We got tire, irons, hammers, pieces of pipe.
Speaker 2 (03:37):
I had a case of beard, three bottles of wine,
half pint of whiskey. I was already loaded on second
red Devils pills. I had thirty eight snubnose and we
proceeded to crash this event. Kicked in the you have
to you can't like walk up to event. I knock
(04:00):
on the door, locked the door and called the cops.
Speaker 3 (04:03):
Held.
Speaker 2 (04:04):
So we kicked in the door and everybody rushed in
and the first thing we saw was a big sign
that said we care.
Speaker 3 (04:13):
Holding the kids.
Speaker 2 (04:16):
And we're trying to There's only two greetings you can
get when you crash an event. Either everybody rushes to
the opposite side of the room. That means they're willing
to throw this event in your honor.
Speaker 3 (04:32):
Or they rushed to the side of the room you're on.
Speaker 2 (04:35):
Usually the athlete parties, they usually rush to the side
of the room you're on.
Speaker 3 (04:39):
That means they're not You know, we got the stupidest
greeting in the world.
Speaker 2 (04:45):
We had all these old people. I hate saying old
people because they were like forty, you know.
Speaker 3 (04:52):
They come rushing at us high. I'm bob Hey.
Speaker 2 (04:56):
And it's hard, shaking hands, holding the case beard, three
bottles of wine, half fine a whiskey, load on pills,
and I'm trying to get out of here right And
this guy stops me, introduces himself and says, Danny, I've
been on the program eight years now. I don't know
what the program in juvenile hall is like four months,
(05:18):
you know what I mean. Once you're talking about a program,
you can't get out of this house.
Speaker 3 (05:23):
And he says, I've been sober eight years. Stupid thing
to say to a guy holding the case of beard.
Three bouts of I have. I haven't wanted to drink
when he said that.
Speaker 2 (05:42):
I can never remember, even at fifteen years of age,
not wanting to drink. My uncle turned me on the
grass I was eight years old, gave me a fixed
I was twelve.
Speaker 3 (05:53):
I started drinking right after that.
Speaker 2 (05:58):
And one of the reasons I had a tough time
like identifying in AA, because everybody always talked about everything
they lost. I had a car, a boat, a cabin
in Mammoth and I was drinking Scotch scotch. I went
(06:23):
to bourbon. I think there's a step down.
Speaker 3 (06:25):
I don't know. I have no idea. I lost some
material wealth.
Speaker 2 (06:33):
I ended up losing all my material wealth drinking wine
in the morning in an alley.
Speaker 1 (06:42):
And ooh.
Speaker 2 (06:45):
Here, I started drinking wine in the morning in an alley.
So I started drinking. I shot Heroin with my uncle
and has to wait anute. Think you come shooting Heroin
when you're thirteen years old.
Speaker 3 (06:59):
And we started stealing wine out of Dale's Market, and.
Speaker 2 (07:06):
So this guy says, Danny, look, why don't you put
that stuff outside and join us? And I shut up,
old man, because everybody in my neighborhood understand knew that
we were going to the You go to juvenile hall,
you go to youth authority, you go to camp, and
you go to the pen in everybody.
Speaker 3 (07:28):
I knew that's what they did. That was the road
to recovery. I guess I don't know.
Speaker 2 (07:32):
And this this guy whispers the curse of alcoholics Anonymous.
He says, Danny, if you leave this program, you're gonna die,
go insane or go to jail.
Speaker 3 (07:48):
To understand, it's like.
Speaker 2 (07:49):
From now on you might forget everybody in this room.
You will not forget this Mexican.
Speaker 3 (07:55):
You won't. When you see those lights.
Speaker 2 (07:59):
In a cop car behind your baby ban bait and
you know you're drunk or you know you're loaded, watch
the lights the lights go die going, saying go to jail,
die go and sing, go to jail, diekegon san go
to they do they do? I swear to God, is
I watch them die going thing? So I'm going back
and forth to prison. You know, I just did everything.
(08:20):
My uncle showed me how to do robberies. That's what
we did. And but you have to understand knowing about
alcoholics Anonymous, I learned about alcoholic Anonymous in prison. I
met my sponsor in nineteen sixty two in prison. I
was inside, he was outside, and uh he was a
speaker and a guy named Johnny Harris. And I'll never
(08:42):
forget he said.
Speaker 3 (08:42):
He looked at me, man, he goes.
Speaker 2 (08:44):
The only thing that's gonna beat you to San Quentin
is the headlights on the bus.
Speaker 3 (08:53):
I thought that was a compliment. Yeah, you got that
right home.
Speaker 2 (09:02):
And I see this guy four times in different penitentiaries.
Speaker 3 (09:06):
He's outside, I'm inside. So I learned about alcohol is anonymous.
Speaker 2 (09:11):
I started a Narcotics Anonymous meeting in Solidad State Prison.
And since Solidad, like I said in nineteen sixty eight,
I'm sitting in that hole and I'm thinking I'm through.
Speaker 3 (09:25):
I'm done.
Speaker 1 (09:26):
And you've been listening to Danny Treyhoe tell his story,
and what a story it is.
Speaker 2 (09:32):
Well.
Speaker 1 (09:33):
It starts early with an uncle of his teaching him
all the things he thinks matter in life, and that
is well. He shows him how to do robberies. He
introduces him to drugs and to alcohol, not exactly the
way to start off a life. When we come back
more of Danny Treyhoe's story on our American Stories, and
(10:09):
we continue with our American stories and the story of
Danny Trejo's redemptive journey from death Row to Hollywood. Let's
pick up where we last left off.
Speaker 3 (10:20):
Here is Danny.
Speaker 2 (10:21):
I'm remembering every teacher that I ever had, wrote amazing potential.
All through school. I failed, but I had an amazing potential.
Every probation officer I ever had unbelievable potential. But I'm
(10:42):
violating this, inmate, I'm going back to jail parole off
the same thing.
Speaker 3 (10:48):
Amazing.
Speaker 2 (10:49):
I had a lot of potential. Now, when you have
a lot of potential and you're in the hole.
Speaker 3 (10:56):
In solid dad and you might go to the.
Speaker 2 (10:59):
Gas chamber, your potential don't mean that much, and it's
like you wonder what happened. But if you know about
these programs you got this day, it doesn't have didn't
have to happen.
Speaker 3 (11:17):
You didn't listen, remember, yeah, And.
Speaker 2 (11:21):
It's like you've got this this program back here telling
you about Hey, it doesn't have to be this way.
Speaker 3 (11:31):
And so I'm figuring I'm going to the gas chamber, right.
Speaker 2 (11:34):
I remember asking God, just just let me die with dignity,
and I'll say your name every day and I will
do whatever I can for my fellow man. And by
the grace of God, we had a DJ reject. They
sent the chargers to the district attorney and he rejected it.
I got out August twenty third, nineteen sixty nine. That's
(11:57):
why I got another joint, and I've been clean and
sober ever since.
Speaker 3 (12:02):
And let me tell you're not clapping for me.
Speaker 2 (12:09):
You're clapping for what God's done with me. I didn't
have a thing to do with it. And so, you know,
like everything good that has happened to me has happened
as a direct result of helping someone else.
Speaker 3 (12:21):
Everything.
Speaker 2 (12:22):
I had no social skills whatsoever.
Speaker 3 (12:27):
If you were on fire, I wouldn't care unless you
owe me money. I no, really, I didn't. I wasn't
like a sharing, caring person.
Speaker 2 (12:35):
I come out of the pen and I make this promise, right,
you know, because I thought it was just gonna be
a couple of years then they were going to kill me,
and it wasn't. God fooled me and gave me the
rest of my life. He's okay, now hold up, do this.
So now I gotta say his name every day. I
said eight, nine, ten, twelve thirty times a day, and
every morning, Dear Heavenly Father, let me help anybody I
(12:58):
come into contact with.
Speaker 3 (13:00):
That's my prayer. And it's all about being of service.
This whole thing.
Speaker 2 (13:05):
I have seen people God, I have seen people pray
God they got.
Speaker 3 (13:10):
They got shrines in their houses and done. Yeah, they do.
Speaker 2 (13:14):
It's just that doesn't matter if you're not if you're
not being of service.
Speaker 3 (13:19):
So we get here, however, we get.
Speaker 2 (13:21):
Here and we bring our bag with us, this bag
of junk, this bag of secrets, and we're only as
sick as our secrets.
Speaker 3 (13:31):
And I did not know how to do.
Speaker 2 (13:32):
An inventory when I got here, and I'm in the meeting,
and this guy just says, you're only as sick as
your secrets. Whoa that? Wow?
Speaker 3 (13:41):
You know what I mean? Boy, I'm I.
Speaker 2 (13:42):
Screwed and and and I started, like, I wrote down
these secrets, just wrote this is only about ten of them.
Speaker 3 (13:53):
You know.
Speaker 2 (13:53):
I still got about fifteen to twenty more. But and
I remember I had them in my pocket for like
three weeks. And frank it, what's wrong? I want to
show you my inventory, my secrets. Okay, So three o'clock
in the morning after the late late meeting, because that's
all we did, go to meetings, and so out in
front of a place called behind the Alans.
Speaker 3 (14:14):
In the alley, we lit a fire in the trash
can and we're standing.
Speaker 2 (14:16):
There and I give him this, this inventory of ten
secrets written on a gas bill, and I gave it
to Frank and he.
Speaker 3 (14:25):
Was reading it. He goes, Wow, you did that. Then, yeah,
she'll like it.
Speaker 2 (14:35):
Yeah, I guess, so you did it again, and so
then I'll never get He tore it up and put
threw it in this fire in the smoke, and he says, now,
every time you think about one of these things, you
got to remember you've given it to God.
Speaker 3 (14:52):
In the smoke. It's God's.
Speaker 2 (14:56):
So it doesn't matter how you do that. Man, I've
seen people try to work perfectly. No such thing with
the perfection. We don't deal with perfection. We just we
All we want to do is just get next to God.
It's just admitting that I'm powerless.
Speaker 3 (15:09):
Do you understand? That's all it is, admitting I'm powerless.
Wait a minute, I am powerless. Take this. I said.
Speaker 2 (15:18):
Everything good that's ever happened to me has happened as
a direct result of helping someone else. I got into
the movie business on a twelve step call I want
to just.
Speaker 3 (15:28):
Work with this kid.
Speaker 2 (15:31):
And it happened to be on the movie set of
a movie called Runaway Train John Voight, Eric Roberts. I
walked on this movie set. I thought it was the
cutest thing I've ever seen in my life. All these
guys were walking around acting like convicts.
Speaker 3 (15:44):
It was like, hey, got the way mother mah just
really growling.
Speaker 2 (15:49):
And you know, prison is probably the most polite place
you'll ever be because if I'm.
Speaker 3 (15:55):
A murderer and you're a murderer, I don't want to
offend you. You know, it's like that simple, and you
don't want to offend me.
Speaker 2 (16:02):
But they have this this thing of everybody running around
pushing people. It doesn't work that way, you know. And
so this guy says, hey, do you want to be
in this movie? And I said, what do I gotta do?
He said, you want to be an extra? I said
an extra?
Speaker 3 (16:17):
What he' says? Can you act like a convict?
Speaker 2 (16:28):
So I'll give it a shot. Give me a blue shirt.
I take off my shirt. Got that big tattoo. The
tattoo I got on my chest. It doesn't say I
Love America, it doesn't say mom. It says, oh this
guy was in prison. Yes, prison tattoo, needling thread.
Speaker 3 (16:48):
And so you leave your shirt off.
Speaker 2 (16:50):
So I'm standing there with no shirt like, just taking
this all in and I'm.
Speaker 3 (16:55):
Looking at this guy. He looks familiar. He comes over
and says, hey, you're Danny Trail.
Speaker 2 (16:58):
Yes, I saw you in the lightweight the walterweight title
up is Sam Quentin.
Speaker 3 (17:03):
You're Eddie Bunker. I knew this guy.
Speaker 2 (17:06):
This guy was in prison with me. He said, what
are you doing here, daddy? I said, hanging out with
this kid. They're gonna give me fifty bucks right, acting
like a convict. And he says, are you still boxing?
I go, yeah, I'm forty years old, homie. I trained,
but I don't want to get in the face anymore.
He says, we need somebody to train one of the
(17:26):
actors how to box, and it was it pay. He says,
three twenty a day. He's no, you gotta be careful
because his actor is really high strung.
Speaker 3 (17:36):
He might sock you.
Speaker 2 (17:41):
I started training an actor named Eric Roberts how to
box for the movie called Runaway Train.
Speaker 3 (17:45):
And Eric.
Speaker 2 (17:47):
Respected me and he would do whatever I told him
to do, and that the director who didn't understand movie stars.
Speaker 3 (17:55):
Movie stars are very high strung. They suck and uh and.
Speaker 2 (18:00):
And that was the start of my career. From that
day to right now, I've done over three hundred and
eighty movies. Everything good that has happened to me has
happened as a direct result of helping someone else. I
don't know how many times I can say that. I
don't know how many times I can say I am
(18:22):
so blessed. I am so blessed just to be alive.
We all wait for that miracle. I live the miracle
every day. God bless you.
Speaker 3 (18:31):
Thank you very very much.
Speaker 1 (18:35):
And a terrific job on the production and editing by
our own Greg Hengler. And a special thanks to Danny
Treho for sharing his story with us. For more, pick
up his memoir Trey Hoo, My Life of Crime, Redemption
and Hollywood and My Goodness. Him talking about himself, that
tagline that was on him from the time he was young,
(18:56):
amazing potential, him saying those words don't mean much when
you're in the.
Speaker 3 (19:01):
Hole in prison.
Speaker 1 (19:03):
Then came his release, his miraculous release, and he has
been sober ever since. Everything good for me happened by
helping someone else. He said it again and again. Service,
Be of service to others. Get out of yourself. The
story of Danny Trejo's redemptive journey from Death Row to
(19:24):
Hollywood on our American Stories
Host
Lee Habeeb
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