Fans of Woody Harrelson have expressed their amazement at learning the identity of his father, saying, “I never knew this!”
The 63-year-old actor gained notoriety for his parts in The Hunger Games, Zombieland, True Detective, and Cheers.
There is more to the Harrelson family than meets the eye, even though he made a name and reputation for himself.
Charles Voyde Harrelson, a mobster and contract murderer, is Woody’s father, as an Instagram account called historyfeels reminded users last month.
Alongside a photo of Charles on trial in the 1980s, the account penned: “Charles Voyde Harrelson, the father of actor Woody Harrelson, was a contract killer with deep ties to organised crime.”
“In 1979, he was charged with the assassination of U.S. District Judge John H. Wood Jr., the first federal judge to be murdered in the 20th century.”
“Harrelson carried out the hit for $250,000 on behalf of a drug dealer awaiting trial.”
“He was captured after a six-hour standoff with police, during which he confessed to multiple killings, including JFK’s, though that claim was widely dismissed.”
“In 1982, Harrelson was convicted and sentenced to two consecutive life terms. He spent the rest of his life in federal prison, where he died in 2007.”
Fans who were shocked expressed their incredulity in the comments section.
Users penned: “I was today years old when I learned this… Well alrighty then… Holy cow ! I never heard this story before!…”
“Wow. Had no idea… Never knew this… Interesting. Glad to know his son turned the family legacy around.”
Having outgrown his hellraising background, Woody is now a well-known and influential figure in the film industry. He is a father to three children.
Even though he avoided talking about his father in public, he was a strong advocate for him, spending millions of dollars on legal bills and trying to get him a new trial.
He has maintained that Charles was a covert CIA agent in addition to being innocent of killing Judge Wood.
“I think that it was not a fair trial . . . I’m not saying my father’s a saint but I think he’s innocent of that, said Woody more than 20 years ago.”
Asked if he really believed his father worked for the CIA, he replied, “I shouldn’t get into this right now. This is where we’re going to get into trouble . . . I know it’s true.”
When Charles left his wife Diane and their three sons in 1968, Woody was only seven years old.
Diane was left to rely on her pitiful income as a legal secretary in Houston, Texas, to support the family after marrying Charles only two weeks after they first met on a plane.
It comes after Woody said that at the age of twelve, he first became aware of his father’s questionable career.
In 2012, he informed The Guardian that he heard his father’s name discussed outside his San Antonio, Texas, home as a suspect in Judge Wood’s murder.
“I’m sitting there thinking there can’t be another Charles V. Harrelson. I mean, that’s my dad! It was a wild realization,” he told the newspaper.
“I tried for years to get him out. To get him a new trial…just being a son trying to help his dad. Then I spent a couple of million beating my head against the wall. Lawyers upon lawyers.”
Charles was apprehended after two years of evasion and confessed to killing Wood for pay in addition to claiming to have been involved in President John F. Kennedy’s assassination. Later on, he disputed this.
The two reunited in spite of his father’s job and absence from his life.
Woody was reportedly “devastated” when his father passed away in 2007 at the age of 69 from bad health while incarcerated.
Before his death, he said in a TV interview, “How do I feel about him? Well I love him.”
“I definitely love him. Very fond of him. I mean, there’s probably a lot of people who should be behind bars. I don’t necessarily think he’s one of them.”
