The headache I’m currently experiencing is getting worse just reading about Michael Caine’s past and how he used to drink a bottle of vodka, plus smoke several packs of cigarettes per day.
“I was a bit of a piss artist when I was younger,” Caine told the Hollywood Reporter. He attributed these bad habits to stress over his career, particularly in getting parts, remembering lines, and being able to get up early in the morning.
Why did Caine stop? He met his second wife, Shakira Baksh, a former Miss World finalist from Guyana. In 1971, he saw her in a commercial for Maxwell House coffee, and then found out that she was only a mile away from in London. “Without her, I would have been dead long ago. I would have probably drunk myself to death,” Caine said.
Baksha and Caine are still married, and have a daughter together. Caine himself is now 82 years old, and is still enjoying a thriving acting career.
And if you’re curious, Caine stopped his smoking habit after Tony Curtis apparently threw his cigarettes into the fire at a party. He also tried marijuana once, but after five hours of laughing, he decided it wasn’t for him.
(via The Hollywood Reporter)
