Tragic Details About Alec Baldwin
Alec Baldwin has had a long history in the spotlight thanks to a career that has spanned over four decades and has included a number of films, TV shows, podcasts, and even books. It's safe to say that Alec and brothers Daniel, William and Stephen Baldwin are an iconic Hollywood family; the four actors launched their careers in showbiz in the early 1980s and all managed to stay in the spotlight for years.
While his siblings' careers may have ebbed and flowed over the decades, the "Beetlejuice" star has managed to never lose his momentum. He's nabbed notable roles in TV shows like "30 Rock," lent his voice to movies like "The Boss Baby" franchise, and, of course, earned an Emmy for his impersonation of Donald Trump on "Saturday Night Live."
Outside of work, things have not always been easy for the actor. He has been involved in a tragic accident, faced personal struggles, dealt with family issues, and ended up in headlines for his unfavorable behavior. Here are the lows that are a part of Alec Baldwin's story.
Alec Baldwin was involved in a film set tragedy
Actor Alec Baldwin has faced some hardships over the years, but a horrific accident that took place on a movie set is arguably the most shocking tragedy. According to People, Baldwin was filming the Western "Rust" when he fired a prop gun that ended up striking and injuring director Joel Souza and director of photography Halyna Hutchins in October 2021. Hutchins later died from her injuries.
Following the accident, Baldwin seemed to be completely distraught over his involvement and was seen crying in the parking lot outside of the Santa Fe Sheriff's Office in photos captured by the Santa Fe New Mexican. As for why Baldwin was there, a department official told Deadline, "Mr. Baldwin was questioned by investigators and released," adding, "No arrests or charges have been filed."
Baldwin himself later tweeted, "There are no words to convey my shock and sadness," adding that his "heart is broken for her husband, their son, and all who knew and loved Halyna." Production was halted on the film, and according to a statement from the production company (via People) they were "providing counseling services to everyone connected to the film."
He dealt with addiction
Early in life, Alec Baldwin struggled with addiction to drugs and alcohol, that even led to an overdose in his twenties. Baldwin revealed on "Good Morning America" that while he kept his overdose "very private for years and years," he got sober before he turned 27. He explained how before that there were "two years that I lived in that white hot period as a daily drug abuser, as a daily drinker to my misery ... that was a tough time."
In his memoir "Moments of Clarity" (via NY Post), Baldwin shared that he would "play video games from, like, 9 a.m. to 11 a.m" as a way to "wind down" after long nights of partying. "This was the only way I could go 'beta' and go into that state I needed to be, where I could calm down and take my mind off everything," he wrote. During that time, Baldwin had landed his big break on "Knot's Landing," where he said he was "making tens of thousands of dollars a week, which was part of the problem."
Baldwin told GMA that he had been feeling extra pressure because of his upbringing. "I just was obsessed with work and making money 'cause of my dad," he explained, going on to say that his father was "crushed by debt." Eventually Baldwin realized he couldn't live like that and got sober. He shared, "I'm glad I got it when I did, 'cause not many people get sober when they're young."
If you or anyone you know is struggling with addiction issues, help is available. Visit the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration website or contact SAMHSA's National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).
Alec Baldwin's falling-out with his brother
A difference in political views drove a wedge between members of one of Hollywood's most well-known families. For years, Alec Baldwin portrayed former President Donald Trump on "Saturday Night Live,"and while the performance was great for his career, his brother Stephen Baldwin didn't seem to appreciate it. Stephen, who is conservative, said on CBS News in 2016, "I don't want to be a party pooper here, but I don't think it's very funny."
While the brothers were known for being close, Alec and Stephen evidently let politics get between them and stopped speaking to one another. Stephen told CBN News two years later, "I still haven't talked to my brother Alec since the election. And I'm cool with that." While he did say he does "love him to death," Stephen explained why Alec's Trump impression bothered him. "It goes too far," Stephen said, "when you're attacking the wife, and you're attacking the kids...don't pick on peoples' families. That's not cool." However, in 2019, Alec seemed to extend an olive branch to his estranged brother in the form of a silly old photo that he posted of them on Instagram, writing, "Gonna get the band back together."
Feuding publicly with one of your siblings cannot be easy, but on a brighter note, it sounds like reconciliation was never totally off the table.
A difficult divorce
Alec Baldwin may be happily married these days, but his previous relationship with actor Kim Basinger resulted in a tumultuous divorce. As People recounted, the two got married in 1993 after meeting on the set of "The Marrying Man." Seven years into their marriage, Baldwin described Basinger as "an exotic, lovely person" in a Vanity Fair profile. Yet their relationship was described even then as "volatile" with them actually arguing during the interview. That next year, Basinger filed for divorce.
Following their split, the famous former couple would often take digs at each other in interviews, proving that their separation wasn't the usual amicable one that most celebrities present to the press; there wasn't much "conscious uncoupling" to be found. When discussing his divorce, Baldwin told The Guardian, "That was very painful in so far as someone who I thought wasn't capable of a certain kind of behavior wound up being the Marquis de Sade." He went on to compare it to war and said it was like "staring off a cliff for six years."
Basinger didn't hold back either. She told Net-A-Porter (via HuffPost) in 2016 that she ended up choosing to do "The Marrying Man" over "Sleeping with the Enemy," joking, "Isn't it funny that I turned down 'Sleeping with the Enemy' and then I went on to sleep with the enemy!" Bassinger clarified that they're finally "cool now," but it clearly took a while to get there.
Alec Baldwin's 'damaged' relationship with his daughter
It's clear from his Instagram that actor Alec Baldwin adores his children, but a voicemail that made headlines in 2007 painted a less-than-savory picture of him as a father. In the message heard around the world, Alex angrily referred to daughter Ireland Baldwin, who was 11 years old at the time, as a "rude thoughtless little pig." The "It's Complicated" star blamed his ex-wife Kim Basinger for leaking the voicemail, writing in his memoir, "Nevertheless" (via E!), "If the goal of my ex ... was to damage or ruin my relationship with my daughter, then I certainly gave them the ammunition to do that with." He added, "My relationship with my daughter was permanently harmed by that episode."
Appearing on "Good Morning America" years later, he called the incident a "permanent break" in his relationship with Ireland. "It's a scab that never heals cause it's being picked at all the time by other people," he said. "My daughter, that's hurt her in a permanent way." He also said the public continues to use the incident "as a constant spearhead" to "admonish" and "attack" him.
While Alec still regrets what happened, it seems he and Ireland were able to repair some of the damage, even poking fun at the whole thing in an Instagram photo in 2015. "The only problem with that voicemail," Ireland said in Page Six in 2012, "was that people made it out to be a way bigger deal than it was."
Alec Baldwin's wife's ended up in a strange scandal
As if Alec Baldwin's family life wasn't complicated enough already, in 2020, his second wife, Hilaria Baldwin, involved him in yet another cringeworthy scandal. Near the end of that year, Twitter users accused Hilaria of faking her Spanish heritage and accent since it was discovered she wasn't actually from Spain as she had claimed. According to Page Six, Hilaria, whose real name was found to be Hillary, eventually admitted that she was born in Boston but was raised in both the U.S. and Spain.
In a now-deleted Instagram video (via Glamour), Hilaria said, "I am that person that if I've been speaking a lot of Spanish, I tend to mix them, and if I'm speaking a lot of English, then I mix that." She even did an interview with The New York Times where she claimed, "I'm living my life and my life is created by my parents, my different experiences, my languages, my culture."
Addressing the drama in an Instagram video, Alec appeared stressed and annoyed. After going on a rant about how he dislikes social media, he touched on the rumors. "There's things that have been said lately about people I love, people I care about deeply, which are ridiculous... Consider the source," he said. It seems Alec and his family have had to deal with a lot of negative press, which surely cannot be pleasant.
His years-long struggle with Lyme disease
Alec Baldwin didn't just have to deal with family-related drama over the years. He also had some serious health scares that came from contracting Lyme disease. The actor first mentioned he had gotten the tick-borne illness in a 2011 interview with The New York Times. He later revealed (via People) in 2017 that he believed he had chronic disease after getting bitten for the first time almost two decades before. "The first time was the worst of all," he said. "And I really thought this is it, I'm not going to live. ... I was lying in bed saying, 'I'm going to die of Lyme disease.'"
On the podcast "Hypochondriactor," Baldwin even said that he and wife "live in fear of Lyme" because of where they live in the Hamptons, and because of Baldwin's history with it. "I got bit twice," he shared, "and I probably had it four times over five years where it came back at the exact same time."
As he told the podcast hosts, when it has hit him, it's hit him fast — and it's relentless. "I wound up laying in my bed for three days sweating through my sheets and just this horrible joint pain and soreness and exhausted," he said. "I couldn't even get up for like three days." Lyme disease is treatable, but if left untreated, it can cause "fever, rash, facial paralysis, and arthritis," according to the CDC website.
The death of Alec Baldwin's father
Alec Baldwin appears to still have a lot of sorrow over the death of his father, Alexander Rae Baldwin Jr., who passed away in 1983 at the age of 55. In 2019, Alec posted a tribute to his father on his Instagram on the anniversary of his death, describing him as "a uniquely caring, dedicated, stern, smart and, at times, funny man." He also mentioned how he "served as a public school teacher and coach for 28 years."
When commemorating his father, Alec touched on the anguish he felt after losing him, writing, "The death of my father effected me tremendously and set me on a course of seeking other men to advise me. To care for me. Mentor me. No one has quite filled that position." It seems that Alec and his father were close, and the actor makes a point to publicly remember him. In 2020, he posted another photo of his father, writing in the caption, "Happy 93rd birthday, dad."
According to the Stony Brook Cancer Center, Alec's father had died of lung cancer and just a few years later in 1990, his mother, Carol M. Baldwin, was diagnosed with breast cancer which "nearly took her life." Not only did Carol survive but she later created the Carol M. Baldwin Breast Care Center, which all of her famous sons have openly supported. On December 15, 2020, she celebrated her 91st birthday.
Alec Baldwin's legal woes
Alec Baldwin's had many brushes with the law. As the Los Angeles Times reported at the time, he was put under citizen's arrest for punching a paparazzi in the nose days after the birth of daughter Ireland Baldwin. Alec maintained it was self-defense; the photog claimed it was assault. According to the LA Times, the jury found both negligent, and Alec ultimately paid the pap $4,500 for injuries.
Then there was his infamous 2011 incident where he was kicked off a flight for not turning off his cellphone. Alec later quipped on Twitter, "Last flight w American. Where retired Catholic school gym teachers from the 1950's find jobs as flight attendants." From there, he reportedly had several aggressive run-ins with photographers, including one altercation in 2013 that, according to TMZ, apparently got physical. (Both parties decided to drop it.) Then, as Time reported in 2014, Alec wasn't only arrested for biking the wrong way down Fifth Avenue in New York but also for disorderly conduct.
In 2018, Alec was nabbed yet again for assault and harassment charges after allegedly punching a man. He blamed the media for the negative attention, tweeting that it's "become a sport to tag people w as many negative charges and defaming allegations as possible for the purposes of clickbait." According to ABC News, he pleaded guilty to harassment and agreed to paying over the nominal fine and attending anger management courses.