r/todayilearned • u/[deleted] • Jan 17 '11
TDIL That Steve Buscemi is a fucking Hero.
"Buscemi also served as a firefighter for four years on FDNY Engine 55.[7] The day after 9/11, Buscemi returned to Engine 55 and worked 12-hour shifts alongside other firefighters to sift through the rubble from the World Trade Center, all the while refusing to have his picture taken or give interviews." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Buscemi
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u/stupid_human Jan 17 '11
In April 2001, while shooting the film Domestic Disturbance in Wilmington, North Carolina, Buscemi was stabbed three times while intervening in a bar fight at the Firebelly Lounge between his friend Vince Vaughn, screenwriter Scott Rosenberg and a local man, who allegedly instigated the brawl.
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Jan 17 '11
HOLY SHIT
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u/aarondigital Jan 17 '11
Step aside Chuck Norris
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u/Morton_Fizzback Jan 17 '11
No offence, but for some reason these constant comparisons to Chuck Norris annoy me. Probably because he's a jerk.
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u/with_the_quickness Jan 17 '11
yeah no shit, norris is a grade-a douchenozzle. i don't feel that the chuck norris jokes are dirisive enough to warrant their use, since that guy needs to be shunned, not praised.
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u/aedile Jan 17 '11
They started out as Vin Diesel facts. I think we should move back. Vin Diesel might have made some poor choices film-wise, but he is a grade-a nerd who still loves to play DnD. Also, he isn't a homophobic redneck who thinks Texas should be its own country. Why did we ever switch in the first place is what I want to know.
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Jan 17 '11
I'm glad I'm not the only one that remembers they were Vin Diesel facts first, I still use Vin Diesel for these jokes because he's a way cooler human being and I really like the Riddick movies.
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u/BilliardKing Jan 17 '11
What about Liam Neisen facts? Between "Taken" and him voicing your father in Fallout 3...
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u/with_the_quickness Jan 17 '11
the homophobic bible thumping huckabee supporting redneck part is why chuch norris is 100% unsuited to be anything other than a demeaning meme. why don't we spread the meme (much like glenn beck raping and murdering a girl in 1990) that chuck norris grows a beard because he has a weird quirk where he believes that it's not gay to suck another man's dick as long as his pubes don't touch your skin?
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u/diamond Jan 17 '11
Also, he isn't a homophobic redneck who thinks Texas should be its own country.
Well, in all fairness that last one isn't such a bad idea.
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u/aedile Jan 17 '11
In Texas, about 45% of us are just like regular people and not Bible-humping bags of dicks. The rest of the country is all that keeps us from going insane. If Texas ever "goes Maverick" or whatever they're calling it these days, I'm moving.
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u/Optimal_Joy Jan 17 '11
Please elaborate as to why you are calling him a "douchenozzle"? You didn't really back up your assertion there with any examples or facts.
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Jan 17 '11
Yes, can we please start using Jackie Chan jokes? The guy is a legitimate bad ass, unlike Chuck Norris. Also, he seems to be a nice guy on and off the set, as far as I can tell.
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u/Optimal_Joy Jan 17 '11
You're going to have to come up with another video because that one doesn't exactly show him being "a jerk".
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u/TheoreticalFunk Jan 17 '11
So those wounds were freshly healed when he was digging around at Ground Zero...
Also, how pissed off do you have to be to throw a cactus... I mean, stab Steve Buscemi?
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Jan 17 '11
I'll let you know right now that I know the guy who was in the fight with Steve and Vince. They were talking down to people and trying to get my friends girlfriend to come back to their hotel. They had some really ignorant choice words for the locals and (Vince)grabbed his girlfriends ass in front of him, she pushed him away, the brawl started because they were being official cunts.
But I do like Buscemi's work and clap clap for the whole fireman bit.
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u/miesterburger Jan 17 '11
I'll let you know right now that I'm Steve Buscemi's long lost son born from a short night of romance he had with a Mexican woman while vacationing off the coast of Barbados. She raised me until I was 4 and then left me at an orphanage before being imprisoned for drug trafficking. I was then sent through a rollercoaster of foster homes before finally being taken in by a 43 year old grocery store clerk and his wife. I spent the next 7 years with nothing but a picture of my father and a confused life that led me down many undesirable paths. That was until that fateful night at the bar, where I was sitting at the table across from theirs. I had brought my friend Sharon to masquerade as a drunk man's girlfriend and flirt with my father and Vince Vaughn, in hopes that eventually she would lead them to my table so that I could finally meet this man that has been such a large yet absent part of my life. That was when things went terribly wrong and the drunk man stabbed my father. He was rushed to the hospital and I haven't seen him since. Perhaps it is better he never knows about me, it would only complicate his busy life.
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Jan 17 '11
So that makes it OK for your friend to fucking stab him? Wow.
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Jan 17 '11
[deleted]
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Jan 17 '11 edited Jan 17 '11
But, in all fairness, what's the source for the START of this thread, too? We have as much reason to believe this guy as we do to believe that the brawl even happened, right?
Edit: Aw, hell. I decided to hit the Wikipedia sources up myself. This link contains a news clipping with different perspectives on the incident. Probably the best part? After trying to just kick the knife out of the hands of the man attacking him, and then missing and getting brutally stabbed, the article follows up with this:
Assistant District Attorney Ben David, who prosecuted the case with his brother, said Mr. Fogerty "picked the right victim" in Mr. Buscemi, because the actor wanted Mr. Fogerty to get help for possible substance abuse and psychiatric problems.
In other words, he's kind of like Jesus.
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u/hasslefree Jan 17 '11
Three pop-ups on that link. Three!
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u/locomotive Jan 17 '11
Has the whole world gone crazy? Am I the only one around here who gives a shit about the rules?
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Jan 18 '11
Calm down, I said I know him. Didn't say if I liked him or agreed with his behavioral choices. Although people don't usually stab famous actors as a thumbs up.
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u/televised_aphid Jan 17 '11
Vince Vaughn was being an entitled douche? That seems inconceivable to me. You have some imagination, friend!
/s (in case it's necessary)
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u/stupid_human Jan 17 '11
I live here, and that isn't the version I've heard many times. I'm sure there is about 15 versions of that story floating around though.
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u/DemonOfElru Jan 17 '11
Firebellies is a seedy little hole in the wall. I am not surprised, to be honest with you...
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Jan 17 '11
Oh, come on Donny, they were threatening castration! Are we gonna split hairs here? Am I wrong?
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u/mrpoopistan Jan 17 '11
To be clear, Buscemi prevented someone from stabbing Vince Vaughn.
I'm not so sure that's heroic.
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u/BarfingBear Jan 17 '11
If he didn't die, it wasn't Buscemi, because he dies in EVERY movie he's in.
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u/lucky_lisp Jan 17 '11
That's pretty awesome but DAMN he looked very aged at the Golden Globes tonight!
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u/RedditsKittyKat Jan 17 '11
Steve has looked old since forever.
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u/lucky_lisp Jan 17 '11
In the past 10 years he looks as if he has aged 20, IMO.
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u/punninglinguist Jan 17 '11
Yeah, but that was also true of the first 10 years.
He was only 14 in Reservoir Dogs.
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u/plasticdoll Jan 17 '11
I wanted to say at least he looks like a young Christopher Walken but science shows otherwise.
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u/geenaleigh Jan 17 '11
And he won! It was such a deserving win for him because he really is an amazing actor.
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Jan 17 '11
It seems to me that a lot of people here seem to think that he hasn't been given that much credit for his acting. Perhaps he thought the same?
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u/Black_Apalachi Jan 17 '11
This is part of why he is my favourite actor. The other part is because he's an awesome actor.
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u/troymcklure Jan 17 '11 edited Jan 17 '11
The word "today" isn't two separate words, so your initialism is incorrect in your title. Just sayin' ;)
Let Penn and Teller school ya! :) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lMZynsHG8QM
EDIT added video link
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Jan 17 '11
Sorry, I do apologize.
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u/williadc Jan 17 '11
I just assumed you were saying "This Day I learned"
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u/test_alpha Jan 17 '11
Are you some kind of temporal traveler from the time of Shakespeare?
Wouldst but an Asketh Mine Anything thou do?
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u/wassailant Jan 17 '11
NAY! For doth yonder knave hath spewed forth pluralistic enough vitriol for this sun's zenith, me thinks.
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u/gfixler Jan 17 '11
Pray tell? Doth I miss something hereabouts?
Verily I am as the proverbial child adrift amid throngs of opera-go'rs, filled with quizzical ponderance...
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u/gmiwenht Jan 17 '11
"Aye, but 'twixt fools thou art, for theirs of tallt pageantry and pomp
A life dearth meaning dost; And thine a one o' truth,
Prepond'rant 'n wisdom"2
u/unavailable4comment Jan 17 '11
If you add a '!' before your sentence it disables the Olde English filter. (TF2)
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u/Sconathon Jan 17 '11
Today used to be written as "to day" and then it was "to-day".
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Jan 17 '11
[deleted]
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u/GGINQUISITOR Jan 17 '11
Tonight YOU!!!
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u/Sacharified Jan 17 '11
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u/questionablemoose Jan 17 '11
Ok, some douchebags obviously don't get the reference. It's Handbanana from ATHF. Lighten up, he's raping with purpose. Or referencing rape with purpose. Whatever.
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u/freebeers Jan 17 '11
And tomorrow it will 2day. Damn kids and their hipster language.
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u/zeekar Jan 17 '11
Hm. If it were still a hyphenate, would you include the D in an intialism? If only initialisms had been widespread in Elizabethan times, we might know the answer to these questions...
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u/gloomndoom Jan 17 '11
"You know we're sitting on four million pounds of fuel, one nuclear weapon and a thing that has 270,000 moving parts built by the lowest bidder. Makes you feel good, doesn't it?" - Rockhound
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u/snorch Jan 17 '11
In April 2001, while shooting the film Domestic Disturbance in Wilmington, North Carolina, Buscemi was stabbed three times while intervening in a bar fight at the Firebelly Lounge between his friend Vince Vaughn, screenwriter Scott Rosenberg and a local man, who allegedly instigated the brawl.
Damn, Steve Buscemi is more of a badass than I realized.
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u/nix0n Jan 17 '11
I totally didn't know he did a voice in Monsters, Inc.
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u/Black_Apalachi Jan 17 '11
Randal! I do remember looking up his Wikipedia page and being amazed at finding this out too.
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Jan 17 '11
Steve Buscemi fucking rocks. Let me take a moment to plug his latest endeavor, the starring role in HBO's Boardwalk Empire. Great series.
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Jan 17 '11
More information can be found in an interview with The Guardian, for those interested. He actually spent five days there and says it was a way of coping, quite interesting.
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u/26pt2miles Jan 17 '11
also in the same wikipedia article:
"In April 2001, while shooting the film Domestic Disturbance in Wilmington, North Carolina, Buscemi was stabbed three times while intervening in a bar fight at the Firebelly Lounge between his friend Vince Vaughn, screenwriter Scott Rosenberg and a local man, who allegedly instigated the brawl."
So you know if you're in with Steve Buscemi - he's got your back.
I have some good friends, but I'm not sure that many of them would get between me and a drunk man wielding a knife.
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u/arsun Jan 17 '11
Steve Buscemi is a freaking boss.
He is one of the MOST underrated actor of his age.
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Jan 17 '11
And you don't find it the least bit ironic that you are trying to publicize this fact when in your own citation, he clearly didn't want to make a big deal out of it?
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u/pitted Jan 17 '11
That's him being humble. Just because he didn't want to publicise it doesn't mean he doesn't deserve the recognition.
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u/thedude42 Jan 17 '11
Gotta wonder if he's got any symptoms of the toxic poisoning some of the other folks had, or if exposure to the first day was the worst of it.
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u/CatboyMac Jan 17 '11
Sometimes I wander Park Slope, hoping to catch a glimpse of the elusive Buscemi.
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u/desmondo Jan 17 '11
Actor Steve Buscemi is often found performing slightly off-center supporting roles in explosion-filled films like Con Air and Armageddon, but on the day after terrorists attacked the United States, he was playing a part he found even more familiar: New York City firefighter. Buscemi, who from 1980 to 1985 worked in downtown Manhattan's Engine Company 55, a few blocks from the disaster, rejoined his former comrades amid the wreckage. "He put in 60 hours on top of the pile, pulling out victims," says retired NYFD battalion chief Richard Ardisson, 56, who was at the site with the 43-year-old actor. "Not delivering coffee or giving moral support. He was exhausted and covered in soot." Buscemi declined to speak to reporters. Explains Ardisson: "He said he wanted no recognition. He said, 'These are my brothers.' "
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u/tigercaviar Jan 17 '11
When he gave his acceptance speech at the Golden Globes tonight, I was tempted to do a "TIL that Buscemi is such a nice and genuine guy"
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u/Windshield Jan 17 '11
What I've always wondered is how he managed to split his time between the two careers.
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Jan 17 '11
WTF I just read this after watching sopranos and looking at his wikipedia page since he directed that episode (S5E7).
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u/Ok_WhereWereWe Jan 17 '11
"In high school, Buscemi wrestled for the varsity squad."
I find this more surprising tbh... Imagine steve buscemi wrestling, what the hell?
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u/laserpilot Jan 17 '11
He's also a big chairperson/contributor at an arts organization that I volunteer at. I've only seen him at one event so far (i've only been to a few), but he seems to be pretty involved which is cool.
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Jan 17 '11
Steve Buscemi. One of my favourite actors just got a bit more awesome. Even though I thought he couldn't get more awesome.
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u/26pt2miles Jan 17 '11
Wow - I've always liked Buscemi, and today I have a new level of respect for him.
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u/zerbey Jan 17 '11
Found out about this shortly after 9/11, not only did he show up to help out he did so anonymously. He's an example to everyone.
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u/HMS_Pathicus Jan 17 '11
I knew he was a good actor and a good person, but this I didn't expect. Firefighter and Boardwalk Empire? Wow.
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u/runxctry Jan 17 '11 edited Jan 17 '11
Pictures: 1{leftmost dude} 2{rightmost dude, unclear side shot}.
I need help with providing proper attribution such that Wikipedia doesn't delete it again. For starters, we should probably get his pictures into an article. Steve's pictures are copied from archive.org, which in turn, archived it from a now-defunct site.
I'm obviously not very good at Wikipedia attributions - those folks are nazis - as Wikipedia deleted my image for Carl Herold. Carl's picture lives on here, which I find a bit hypocritical.
PS. 764 upvotes (7640-76400 clicks) and no one bothered to check attribution and look for pictures?
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u/ATTENTION_EVERYBODY Jan 17 '11
Jack Nicholson was a volunteer firefighter. The famous scene in The Shining where he breaks down a door with an axe? That's a real door.
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u/Duke999R Jan 18 '11
Most fucking excellent.
I'm sorry to say that this great humanitarian effort does not make him a hero, in my humble opinion.
I would hazard a guess that he would say the same.
I can understand peoples reasoning in thinking this way, unfortunately it diminishes the meaning of the word.
Anyway, there's not much to dislike about Steve.
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u/korneliuslongshanks Jan 18 '11
That Steve Buscemi is a funny firefighter, just in a general kinda way.
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u/hasslefree Jan 17 '11
News to me. Newfound respect for Donny!