Hank Garrett of Car 54

Published: June 5, 2023, 6:30 p.m.

b"The\\xa0only way to survive was to fight; at school, at home, hanging out on the stoop,\\xa0or walking home from school.\\xa0\\xa0One day\\xa0when clowning with his pals on the way from school, one of his best friends\\xa0collapsed right next to him.\\xa0Hank\\xa0thought he was kidding around. He wasn't. He\\xa0was\\xa0shot dead from an unknown sniper on a rooftop. It wasn't the first, or the\\xa0last time,\\xa0Hank\\xa0would see death on those mean streets.\\n\\n\\n\\xa0 \\xa0 \\xa0 \\xa0 \\xa0 \\xa0\\xa0At 9,\\xa0Hank\\xa0knew what it was like to\\xa0get sucker punched and have your nose broken from a total stranger and for no\\xa0reason. Those were the cruel lessons of\\xa0life in Harlem. By 12,\\xa0Hank\\xa0was\\xa0carrying heat: a .25 caliber hand-gun he kept loaded, hidden, and nearby at all\\xa0times. By 13 he was no longer a virgin, pumping iron,\\xa0and seriously studying\\xa0Martial Arts.\\xa0\\xa0His future seemed dim;\\xa0reform school, brushes with the law, beaten up by local thugs for protecting a\\xa0friend, and getting evicted\\xa0with his family from their meager dwelling.\\xa0\\n\\n\\n\\xa0 \\xa0 \\xa0 \\xa0 \\xa0 \\xa0\\xa0At 17 he became a professional\\xa0wrestler, having to lie to get his license because he was underage. He posed as\\xa0\\u201cHank\\xa0Daniels, the Minnesota Farm Boy\\u201d and\\xa0competed against the top wrestlers\\xa0on the national wrestling circuit, including Killer Kowalski and Lenny Montana,\\xa0who later became an actor, appearing as Luca\\xa0Brasi in\\xa0The Godfather. He had a fan club, and even escorted Audrey Hepburn\\xa0to a gala Hollywood-style event.\\xa0Hank\\xa0now had the show biz bug. But the street\\xa0still\\xa0had a hold on him."