Celebrity Nooz: Ken Wahl

Ken Wahl (Actor) as Vinnie - Wiseguy

Updated: 4/22/2007

Name: Ken Wahl

Birth Name: Anthony Calzaretta. "Ken Wahl" is in honor of a man who saved his father's life in the Korean War.

Born: October 31, 1959 in Chicago, Illinois

Claim To Fame: When I think of the oh so very handsome Ken Wahl, I immediately think of the TV series 'Wiseguy.'

Family Life: Shane Barbi (September 1997 - present?)
Corinne Wahl (1984 - 1991) (divorced) 1 child, son, Raymond

Info: In an interview with E! Entertainment Ken talked about the 1992 story he told of the horrific Motorcyle crash He had said that it occurred when he was riding his Harley at 2:30 a.m. and was cut off by a car. Only one problem -- the accident never happened.

In actuality, Ken fell down a flight of stairs. The problem is that they were not his stairs. The incident, he says now, really happened at the home of Rodney Dangerfield's girlfriend, Joan Child. "We were dating casually, Ken says, "I stayed over at her house one night, fell down these stairs, and she begged me not to say that in the press. She said, 'Because if Rodney finds out, he's going to cut me out.'"

Joan went on to marry Rodney.

Trivia: Has eleven brothers and sisters.

Wife Shane Barbi was a Playboy model and magazine cover girl in the early and mid-1990s, half of the famous blonde Barbi twins with identical-twin sister Sia.

Was arrested in December 1996 after pulling a knife on a bartender who refused to serve him any more alcohol at the Beverly Hills Plaza Hotel. Was charged with making a terrorist threat, assault with a deadly weapon, brandishing a knife, and vandalism for $800 in damage done to the bar with the knife. Pleaded no contest, and was sentenced to a live-in alcohol rehabilitation program and ordered to pay the hotel damages. Was also ordered to stay away from the hotel and write a letter of apology to the bartender.

First wife, actress Corinne Alphen Wahl was Penthouse Pet of the Year in mid 1980s.

After September 11th he began selling personally designed commemorative American Flags, for $155 each on his web site

Crashed his motorcycle in 1984 as he was on his way to a meeting with Diane Keaton to co-star in Mrs. Soffel. The part went to Mel Gibson.

Admitted his problems with alcohol on Entertainment Tonight in a 1997 appearance. When asked if he was an alcoholic, his response was "I don't think I am. I know I am." After an incident at a Beverly Hills hotel bar, in March of that year he was sentenced to a court-mandated alcohol live-in treatment center. The actor claimed that vodka is the only thing that dilutes the pain from a 1992 motorcycle accident.

In 2003 the Barbi Twins filed suit against Hustler publisher Larry Flynt to stop publication of photos of "intimate sexual acts between the twin sisters" which were taken by Ken Wahl, who is married to Barbi Twin Shane. This revelation in the lawsuit apparently contradicts an earlier statement made in 2001 by the twins that they had experimented with lesbianism but not with each other. Unspecified damages were sought.

He was teamed romantically with Bette Midler in the aptly named "Jinxed!" (1982); their off-screen animosity spilled onscreen.

Where Are They Now: To this day, Ken says he still experiences excruciating pain from his spinal column all the way down to his right toes. ''It feels like somebody is stabbing you with a heated
knife,'' he explains. ''It's searing, like your flesh is on a barbecue.'' He's supporting himself, he says, with monthly disability checks.

While he says he doesn't want anyone to feel sorry for him -- one of the main reasons he has stayed quiet for so long -- Ken can't help but pity himself: "I try to keep a positive outlook on life and a sense of humor, but I'm only human and sometimes it does get to me. Yeah, I know that other people have got it worse, but I truly did lose everything. I lost my insurance and all the money that I had, my health, and my livelihood. Everything -- gone."

He now devotes much of his time to animal charities, namely... New Leash On Life and The Feral Cat Alliance.

Write To Ken Wahl:
Ken Wahl
c/o Sherry Salerno Management
9654 W 131st St #206
Palos Park, IL 60464

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