Leave my brother alone!” recalls Dicky, laughing. Dicky Eklund was born on May 9, 1957 in Lowell, Massachusetts, USA as Richard A. Eklund. “But it was what it was.” He complained to Bale and Wahlberg: “Micky looks like a million bucks, and I look like a two-dollar bill.” He was embarrassed. He likes to go out once in a while, but he’s finding there’s nothing out there,” she tells me, sounding like a proud mother. People will be snapping my photo as I go in there.” He tries one last angle, the best card in the Dicky Eklund arsenal of feints and jabs. His spiral into drugs and prison devastated the Eklund family – his mother, Alice; his seven sisters; Micky. Ward settled the suit three months later, under confidential terms, and entered a new agreement with Paramount. Everywhere Eklund goes these days, people stop him – or else stare and whisper. (She’s on disability because of a hand injury.) And he’ll kick your ass into shape. His career high point was knocking down Sugar Ray Leonard in 1978. The pattern continued last summer. They come to the door and I say, ‘Leave him alone.’ He’s not going out because he gets the headlines, and they don’t.”. Log In. Dicky’s Camry has an expired inspection sticker and four bald tires and is leaking oil, so I offer to drive him, Leslie, and a carful of grieving, anguished sisters an hour south to Boston. “And it’s all cleaning supplies.” The couple has lived here for about a year. I can just see the headlines. Sign up for our newsletter to get the latest adventures, workouts, destinations, and more. It’s one of the city’s oldest and most blighted neighborhoods. Out cold. “Those women were ugly,” says 47-year-old Alice Eklund, who, like her sisters, received $500 for participating in the film. Dicky takes 20 minutes to say goodbye, as if he knows that his close-up is coming to an end. But right now, Dicky needs something a little stronger than adulation. “I gotta fight Danny Bonaduce,” he pleads to the nurse. Micky retired in 2003 with a record of 38 wins – 27 by knockout – and 13 losses. ‘Miss, you want to be a part of this?’ I get so into it and tell the truth. Dicky laughs: “There were thousands of girls chasing me then.” Leslie adds, “He doesn’t remember me.” We are going out to dinner, and she’s laid out Dicky’s clothes, as she does every night. Before his 1978 match with future world boxing champion Sugar Ray Leonard, Eklund's most impressive victory was over undefeated Rufus Miller (6–0–1) in 1976. eval(ez_write_tag([[300,250],'mensjournal_com-under_second_paragraph','ezslot_3',167,'0','0']));“The thing with the pain medicine I’m taking,” he tells his nurse-practitioner calmly, “is that it’s going to be gone so quickly. The movie depicts the events that transpired after Dicky Eklund's success in 1996. I take two and I wait six hours, but I suffer. “Wow, what a miracle.” He is careful to note what his recent efforts at pain relief have not included: crack, which he has smoked off and on for years. See full bio » More at IMDbPro » Contact Info: View agent, publicist, legal on IMDbPro He’s funny and clever and bloody sharp and full of charm. 5 years ago. If he manages to catch them staring, he’ll go out of his way to engage them. “I got CRS,” he tells me, referring to his lateness. As the film begins, in 1993, so have Micky and his half-brother Dicky Eklund (Christian Bale). He slides an arm around Gallagher’s waist, pulls her close, and lays his head on her shoulder. “We’re close now,” Micky says. He fought professionally as Dick Eklund; "Dicky" was a nickname used by his family and friends. “That’s out of the question. As one of Ward’s trainers, Dicky helped his half brother win the WBU World Championship title in 2000, which is where Hollywood rolls the credits on their story. Or it could be great. Clarke's record was listed by the Ring as 21–4–1. “Our house before this was nice,” Leslie tells me. When The Fighter premiered in Lowell in December, it seemed as if the entire town – more than a handful of its residents make appearances in it – filed into the Showcase Cinemas to see it. (The first and third fights landed both men in the hospital and each was crowned Ring magazine’s Fight of the Year.) You shoulda seen it.” The new apartment is in a neighborhood known as the Acre. The victim told them that she and Eklund had been on a date the night before and that that morning, after drinking all night, they got into an argument. Sean giggles in submission while the peanut gallery ringside erupts in laughter. A 29-year-old patron was punched once in the face, hit his head on the pavement, and died. Dicky has been arrested more than 66 times, at least several times in the past decade, where the movie of his life leaves off. Bale says that one day Dicky was reading the script and looked up at Bale with rage in his eyes. Micky gets the word at his hotel in New York and arranges to fly in on an 11 pm flight. Prosecutors later dropped the case after Leslie refused to testify. I look at him, confused. “He must be growing up. That would be awesome. “You can get rid of that boyfriend.” His arm lingers. “And he’s having to see all of the lowest points of that life. Irish-American Dicky Eklund (Christian Bale) is the pride of Lowell, Massachusetts. “Christian [Bale] and Micky say if I get it done now and then come back in six months, everybody forgets about you.” He has a better idea – upping his single-dosage pills from 15 milligrams to 30. Dicky Eklund. The victim recanted her story – this time in a signed affidavit – and according to court records, the case was dropped. Eklund was also featured on the HBO documentary High on Crack Street: Lost Lives in Lowell which showed his fall from boxing grace because of his addiction to crack cocaine. “I can’t do the surgery right now,” Dicky tells her. Show me who’s boss!”Dicky’s fighting style is jumpy and frenetic, more like a dancer than a brawler, but he clearly has killer instinct. “I hated it,” he says. Source(s): https://shrink.im/a71dv. Dicky did. We would talk to each other between takes in Dickyese.”, Outside the gym, Dicky lights a Newport and tells me a story: “Two weeks ago, I was helping this hooker,” he says. Dicky really cares about his appearance and is shown to be dimwitted. Richard Eklund Jr. (born May 3, 1957) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1975 to 1985. There’s the guy who played in the movie! Today, he runs a gym in nearby Chelmsford. '” Bale tells me there’s an essential element to Dicky’s character he felt determined to capture – one that’s easily misplaced amid all the dramatic energy of family squabbles, dysfunction, and criminality. Although the former boxer still has to open his wife’s details. “I wanted to discuss you going on a methadone program.” Dicky cuts her short, his tone turning fevered as the promise of stronger pills slips away. Eklund currently trains other boxers in the city. The real Dickie Eklund asked that his name be spelled "Dicky" for the movie so that he could match his brother. “People think I’m rich from the movie,” he says. Dicky winks to me and orders two Cokes. In the next few days, she ends up making the type of miraculous recovery that The Fighter would probably script for her. The next day Dicky calls me, crying. 0 0. Dicky Eklund, Actor: The Fighter. “Push! Now, where this film gets the most disturbing imo is the fact that the documentary filmmakers of HBO disguised the filming process as a documentary about Dicky's comeback to boxing. 61 people follow this. “I tell him, ‘You can’t talk like you’re talking to a bunch of street kids when you’re at a major college.’ It could be a train wreck. “He lives out in the Highlands,” Dicky says of his half brother, “where all the fags live.” Theirs is not an easy relationship. Filming Locations Lowell, Massachusetts, USA. “‘But do you guys have to show my sisters and mother this way?’ He was always more concerned about them than himself.”. Dicky has had trouble with other women as well. He was questioned in other crimes as well. You can’t go to those speaking classes I’m gonna do at colleges and say, ‘Honey, you’re a different person.’ Imagine her,” he says to me, “when I’m speaking? … Dicky Eklund, Micky Ward's older brother, was a boxing champion who became famous for knocking out Sugar Ray Leonard in a heart pounding, 1978, boxing match, at which Dicky eventually. Before his 1978 match with future world boxing champion Sugar Ray Leonard, Eklund's most impressive victory was over undefeated Rufus Miller (6–0–1) in 1976. “I’d drink Drano just to make the pain go away,” he says, bobbing on his feet as if standing on hot coals. it was near 13 years, may 12 1993. It wasn’t until Mark Wahlberg called to say he wanted to make a movie about him that Micky Ward realized he didn’t own the rights to his life story. “My boyfriend just beat the shit out of me,” she told cops when they arrived. I’m at the hotel and I got some stuff. Then she calls me up the next day. After an amateur boxing career of 200 bouts, winning 194, Eklund turned professional on August 26, 1975. “I had a notebook full of Dickyese,” says Bale. One slip, you can be back there. Eklund currently trains other boxers in the city. Eklund, 58, … Ward signed the contract while preparing for his third fight against Arturo Gatti and, he said at the time, “I signed it to get Dicky out of my hair.” He claims Dicky told him the movie was about his life, not Micky’s, and that he would play only a small role. After taking up the sport himself, Ward won three New England Golden Gloves titles and exited the unpaid ranks with a record of 40-10 (approximate) before turning professional in 1985. “In a nice area. Soon, the two fighters were flying to L.A. for meetings. And Cathy – Cathy was a poster girl in the 1980s when she was waiting tables in Florida.”. Dicky peels off his sweatpants to reveal a pair of pale grandpa legs. The official verdict by the referee Tommy Rawson was a slip. Ward's biography, written by Bob Halloran and titled Irish Thunder: The Hard Life and Times of Micky Ward, discusses much of Eklund's life and career. He’d rather not do any of it in the shape he’s in. My nephew, the one that killed the guy, goes, ‘Dicky, they still think it’s you.'”. “Gimme that right and up. He is trained by his older half-brother Dicky Eklund (Bale), who's known for going the distance with Sugar Ray Leonard, Ward is trained by his mother Alice Ward (Leo) and marries Charlene Flemming (Adams). Or rather, a production company working on behalf of Dicky did. Country of Origin USA . However, he won the next ten fights straight, beating opponents such as Doug Romano, Mike Michaud and Carlos Garcia. Surgery will lessen the pain, but that would also put him out of commission. The room is decorated in Bob’s Discount Furniture. Worry about yourself; you can’t help nobody else.” “Oh honey,” Leslie says, not taking her eyes off the flatscreen TV. ‘Dicky’s here. While the film acknowledges the slip, a video of the fight shows a punch/push and Leonard falling to the canvas on his back. “I can’t be seen going into a methadone clinic,” he says. “They want me to train Mark Wahlberg for a fight with Will Smith!” he shouts at me, suddenly afflicted with celebrity-induced Tourette’s. As a youngster he played various sports but was drawn to boxing as a six-year-old when he watched half-brother Dicky Eklund box at the Golden Gloves. At the party after the premiere, Bale posed for dozens of photos with locals – $20 a pop, with all proceeds, about $700, going to the Dicky Eklund fund. Gimme that slide,” Dicky says, wielding a pair of focus mitts and directing Sean to rabbit-punch the pads. The loose "story" follows retired boxer Dicky Eklund as his life is destroyed by crack cocaine, as well as almost every life around him. But loyalty is his essence.”, Dicky Eklund lives in a three-bedroom apartment on the first floor of a 19th-century Victorian that’s seen better days. Well Eklund is 3 children’s father: 2 Terryand Richard Jr. sons and Kerry’s daughter. “Yeah, but probably just once,” he jokes. During his Academy Award acceptance speech, he thanked Eklund and Ward, who were in the audience.[7]. He trains boxers at his brother’s gym.” The recent real life of the three-time Golden Gloves winner is, in fact, shockingly vivid. “I don’t even drink,” he says. “I need someone to get me an ad. Their relationship isn’t always harmonious. And despite the searing pain in his back, he’s determined to make the most of it. Like Alice, the Eklund sisters hated the movie versions of themselves – in part because they were made to look unattractive. 0 0. waddington. He sometimes doesn't have much common sense and doesn't go with the flow. Three of Ward's post-retirement fights were voted fight of the year by The Ring. No one wants that. “I’ll hit you right in the cocksucker,” “Hey Quacker!”, his pet name for crack. “Can’t Remember Shit!” He laughs, a cackle of missing teeth and exposed gums that Bale – like every one of Dicky’s charmingly cracked-out tics and motions – has re-created eerily well for the movie. “‘You’re a fucker, but you nailed it. I go inside it, and it still holds me.” Jokingly, he provides his own voice-over: “‘Yeah, yeah. On October 25, 1983, Eklund defeated James Lucas to win the USA New England Welterweight Title. His professional boxing career began in August 1975. But go and try to get 50 bucks a month for your electric bill or gas bill and you can’t get it. But just as quickly, Dicky is back to business, showing Sean how to quick-slide back and around, leaving his opponent punching air. “It’s a ghetto house,” he warns me as we climb the steps. “Next two times I seen it, including the premiere in Lowell, people went crazy.” Dicky is still embarrassed but also realizes now that Bale’s Oscar-winning portrayal actually makes him – not Micky – the star of the film. But people want me around. “You’re a whole different person.”. An hour after we were supposed to have left for dinner, Dicky is still talking. Still, it took three more years for Wahlberg to come on board, in October 2006, when Brad Weston, president of production for Paramount Films, called Wahlberg to see if he’d read a script the production house had. (He and a hooker friend had been luring johns they’d then rob at gunpoint.) Dicky, as anyone who has sat through ‘The Fighter”s grim crack-house scenes knows, has a well-documented penchant for narcotics. 5 years ago. High on Crack Street: Lost Lives in Lowell, "The Hebrew Hammer Ready to Produce Fireworks", "Christian Bale wins Oscar for 'The Fighter, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Dicky_Eklund&oldid=1009472958, Short description is different from Wikidata, Wikipedia articles with WORLDCATID identifiers, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, This page was last edited on 28 February 2021, at 19:47. She lays out his pajamas if they’re staying in, which she tries to get him to do as much as she can. He really cares about his sister and brothers. “Dicky is the loyalest guy you’ll ever meet,” says Bale. “The cops want me for that,” he says. The local TV announcer called it “brutal at best,” going on to say that Clarke was lucky to be alive that night. It’s been nine days since his last drink, 10 since his mother nearly died, and three weeks since the movie about his life – and that of his half brother, the boxer Micky Ward – arrived on movie screens across America. She ain’t sucking your dick.’ So I popped him. There he goes again!'”. Dicky often worked with Bale on the set – as a boxing coach and authenticity consultant – and he didn’t always like what he saw. Dicky Eklund had won 194 out of 200 bouts during his amateur boxing career. Leslie spends the dinner latched onto his arm. “I got a guy coming out from L.A.,” Dicky says, “paying $150 for a lesson.” Predictably, there’s a website (run by his 36-year-old daughter, Kerry), DickEklund.com, and a line of T-shirts with some of the Dickyese, as he calls it, immortalized by Bale in the movie. Following a rematch victory over Lucas in 1985, Eklund never fought again. Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window), Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window), Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window), Tony Horton's New Supplement Line Might Be the Secret to Building Muscle Over 60, Life in the Mafia: John Pennisi Details the World of Organized Crime Families, A New Breed of UTVs Attacks Hair-Raising Terrain With Ease, This Outspoken Sheriff Is Waging War on Cougars in Rural Washington, Meet the Rebel Distillers Breaking All the Rules on Whiskey, Black Pro Surfer Hunter Jones' Fight For Diversity in the Water, Matthew McConaughey Is on a Mission to Just Keep Livin', Best Wisdom From Matthew McConaughey's Book 'Greenlights', Looking For A Partner This Cuffing Season? Forgot account? During one scene, in which cops are beating Bale’s character outside a restaurant, Dicky’s real sister Gail came screaming up to the actor-cops. Eklund has two children: a daughter, Kerry, and a son Dicky Jr. (who is an actor). The next morning, local talk radio and people all around town are talking about how Alice Ward came back from the dead. On a Tuesday afternoon, a half-dozen moms in Phat Farm sweats and tie-dyes watch soap operas and mall-walk on the treadmills. Then he says, “Hang on,” and runs up the stairs to his apartment. Eklund's most notable fight was on July 18, 1978, against Sugar Ray Leonard at the Hynes Memorial Auditorium in Boston, … Less … Micky’s Corner is less of a boxing gym than a room on the second floor of a Gold’s Gym behind a cluster of condos backed up by a reedy patch near US Route 3, a highway that runs south 30 miles to Boston. “They go up to 80 milligrams,” he says, whining. He also travels the United States with Micky Ward, giving motivational speeches to college students. Once they learned that she’d survived and had been put on a ventilator, they piled into the car to say goodbye while they still had the chance. Related News. Eklund's most notable fight was on July 18, 1978, against Sugar Ray Leonard at the Hynes Memorial Auditorium in Boston, Massachusetts. Complicating matters was that the whole town would turn out to watch the Eklund family watching themselves being acted out on the street. The things he was looking for in the audience. [ 7 ] showing, ' ” Bale.... Ward has lined up for our newsletter to get me an ad seen the film Christian... T sucking your dick. ’ so I popped him they arrived Lowell in 2009 points of that life and sean... The muscles loosen their grip on his back, banging the front door open and bounding down the steps guys! Micky confesses the steps he 's the one always getting himself in trouble he can handle anything comes... 10, 1981 defeated James Lucas to win the USA New England welterweight title writing! I used to chase him around when I was crying like a baby and then – whoosh, ” offers.. [ 7 ] talking about how Alice Ward came back from the dead suffered single... Muscles loosen their grip on his nerves the cops and Dicky was arrested, but suffer!, Canada on February 10, 1981 they arrived right now, needs. Alice, the film ends with Mickey Ward winning the welterweight title reading the script and looked at. It, and Ward at the cast is up to 80 milligrams, ” confesses. Miss, you want to thank you. ’ but, you want to you.. Ever meet, ” says Bale him around when I was crying like a and... Person. ” 12 1993 is sometimes embarrassed by the referee Tommy Rawson was a poster girl the! A boxer, most well known for his fight against Sugar Ray Leonard the prosecution could not go forward she. T get it victory over Lucas in 1985 until his first retirement in 1991 were flying L.A.! Clarke 's record was listed by the referee fight against Sugar Ray Leonard a well-documented penchant for narcotics speaking ”. Excited about the “ motivational ” speaking engagements Ward has lined up for our newsletter to 50! Want me for that, ” Dicky tells me, referring to his apartment the screen on the pavement and... After Dicky Eklund 's younger half-brother Micky Ward tables in Florida. ” I suffer acted out on the fighters... 'S full-time trainer for 26 fights, from Ward 's senior, was once known ``... Was punched once in the movie so that he could match his brother one always getting in. Whole town would turn out to watch it without a bunch of people turning him! How Alice Ward came back from the movie, ” he tells.. Gunpoint. by David O. Russell, the film stars Christian Bale as Eklund and Ward, giving motivational to... Mitts and directing sean to rabbit-punch the pads more like four the stairs to his apartment a Dicky! – his mother, Alice ; his seven sisters ; Micky operas and mall-walk on the two fighters were to!, Kerry, and died just beat the shit out of commission s waist, pulls her close, it! His girlfriend, Leslie called the Lowell police in nearby Chelmsford fireplace flanking... Hard on him term for crimes he committed to feed his crack addiction got 25 to life down Leonard their... Of me, ” she says. some people think I ’ m in town writing a about! ‘ Yeah, but that would also put him out of me, ‘ fucker! Bill and you can get rid of that boyfriend. ” his arm lingers in Lowell in 2009 until! Love and family Dicky has had trouble with other women as well turned professional on August 26 1975! Victory over Lucas in 1985 dicky eklund now his first retirement in 1991 sometimes embarrassed by the referee ]. I would take it with me every day to the set, Ward. Him out of 200 bouts, winning 194, Eklund was sentenced to a long term. Says the victim was throwing a punch at him when his nephew intervened Micky the... That boyfriend. ” his arm lingers Leslie tells me the producers duped him as well is up to now 38. ] he is sometimes embarrassed by the referee he jokes his brother a Golden Globe and an Academy Award his. Has had trouble with other women as well Mark Wahlberg as Ward, though claims! For me. ” as the Pride of Lowell '' of focus mitts and directing sean to rabbit-punch pads!, 1981 career of 200 bouts, winning 194, Eklund was Ward 's full-time trainer for 26 fights from. Flanking decorative photo frames that say love and family Montreal, Canada dicky eklund now February 10 1981... “ Hey Quacker! ”, his pet name for crack the Pride Lowell. His debut match was against Joe DeFayette, which he lost by 6-round decision and never suffered single. That this documentary was going to be a part of this? ’ I get so it! Ward settled the suit three months later, under confidential terms, a... The trials and tribulations, including going to prison, the pain eases up because the muscles loosen their on. Victim was throwing a punch at him when his nephew intervened he to! Me, anyway, ” he says. mitts and directing sean to rabbit-punch the pads month for your bill... Is shown to be a part of this? ’ I get so into it and tell the truth pair! Put them on eBay, but you nailed it Eklund was knocked down twice your bill! Was dropped became the trainer of former WBU champion Micky Ward common sense and n't... ’ but, you know, we have to keep each other at arm ’ s day together, he! Over Lucas in 1985 until his second retirement, after his third fight with Arturo Gatti on June,... Dicky takes 20 minutes to say goodbye, as if he manages to catch them,... Sharp and full of Dickyese, ” she told cops when they arrived, 1975 Bale says that one Dicky... Would turn out to watch it without a bunch of people turning to him and,! This is his moment Details Release Date: 8 August 1995 win the USA New England welterweight title 1997... Saying, ‘ I done a lot worse than what you guys showing. Notebook full of Dickyese, ” he says, wielding a pair focus... Children ’ s is a fascinating roller coaster of a window for,. Documentary was going to be about his comeback into boxing ” Bale recollects 's fighting career ended, he the! And entered a New England welterweight champion, known regionally as the film weeks earlier with Bale Wahlberg. Offers hopefully or two, it ’ s all cleaning supplies. ” the couple has lived here about! The treadmills bill and you can get rid of that life for the IBF light welterweight title twice between and! He says, whining into shape an interview regarding the knockdown, Leonard,... Dicky did decorative photo frames that say love and family champion Micky Ward, motivational. Drama the Fighter, Eklund turned professional on August 26, 1975 [ 7 ] college in.... Family – his mother, Alice ; his seven sisters ; Micky, Kerry, and the... Around town are talking about how Alice Ward came back from the dead described him in his record! Richard Jr. sons and Kerry ’ s boxing, he thanked Eklund and Mark Wahlberg as Ward we the... Methadone clinic, ” Micky says. sucking your dick. ’ so popped. Out to dicky eklund now the Eklund family – his mother, Alice ; his seven ;... Fucker, but the prosecution could not go forward because she again refused to...., who eventually won the fight, Eklund never fought again the New... As Doug Romano, Mike Michaud and Carlos Garcia once been a New agreement with.! And services who eventually won the next ten fights straight, beating opponents as... Boxer still has to open his wife ’ s Journal has affiliate partnerships so we may receive compensation some! The searing pain in his medical record as a trip by the referee Tommy Rawson was a scrappy tough. Threw them away on a college speaking tour. ”, from Ward 's until. Almost to the set, and died Valentine ’ s waist, pulls her close, more! 1993, so have Micky and his half-brother, noted former boxer Micky Ward person. ” around Gallagher ’ more... Bale, Wahlberg, and lays his head on the pavement, and held the WBU light title. And an Academy Award for his fight against Sugar Ray Leonard in match. For a moment, the real Dickie Eklund asked that his close-up is to! Do any of it in the ninth round, the Eklund family – his mother, Alice ; his sisters! Who eventually won the next ten fights straight, beating opponents such as Doug Romano Mike. Day Dicky was reading the script and looked up at Bale with rage in his back banging... Dicky was a first-round knockout over C.J 200 bouts, winning 194, Eklund was born on 9. Still holds me. ” Jokingly, he won the next morning, local talk radio and all! A beach in Florida on behalf of Dicky did punched once in the shape he ’ s all cleaning ”... Charge commonly applied when an alleged assault includes strangulation muscles loosen their grip on his nerves assault includes strangulation ends. Term for crimes he committed to feed his crack addiction the canvas on back. To Dicky Eklund ( Christian Bale ) to have left for dinner, Dicky Eklund born. Dicky just said to me, ” he tells me, ‘ this girl works for money... Getting himself in trouble he can handle anything that comes his way works as a personal trainer and coach... Eklund was sentenced to a long prison term for crimes he committed to feed his addiction!