Finding jobs tough for Kentucky actor

ASHLAND, Ky. -- Tough-guy actor Sonny Landham, whose roles alongside Arnold Schwarzenegger and Eddie Murphy made him popular among action-film fans, has found celebrity status means nothing in the search for work in eastern Kentucky.

He has been turned down for jobs as riverboat crewman, stock clerk, even bag boy.

"They didn't even call me in for an interview," Landham said. "Now that really hurts."

Landham, 60, settled in Ashland after his court-ordered release from federal prison last year. He had served nearly three years for making threatening and obscene phone calls to his ex-wife before an appeals court overturned his conviction.

Suffering from rejection

The appeals court concluded in May that while comments he made in phone calls to his now ex-wife were emotionally charged, they were neither threats nor obscene. Landham said he was imprisoned for using the same kinds of harsh words that many spouses exchange in heated arguments.

Landham, who played an escaped prisoner in the movie "48 Hours" with Murphy and Nick Nolte, said he is suffering in real life the same rejection that most ex-cons face, even though he was exonerated by the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

"I have been an actor, but I am also a human being," he said. "Nobody deserves this."

Jim Purgerson, who heads an economic development organization in Ashland, said the local economy is strong and jobs are available.

"For folks who have served some time and are trying to get employment, there can be a bias sometimes," he said. "People can be reluctant and skeptical about hiring them."

The Rev. Ed Talley, pastor of First Baptist Church in Ashland, said Landham is looking to God for strength. He was baptized on Sunday.

"We all have a pilgrimage and sometimes that takes us through some deep valleys in life," Talley said. "If we look to God for guidance and seek his will, those experiences can be a blessing."

When he is not seeking work, Landham is writing a novel about an American Indian who was sent to prison unjustly in the wake of a bitter divorce in a small Kentucky town. Landham is the main character.

Landham, who faced an alien in the Schwarzenegger film "Predator" and roughed up Sylvester Stallone in the movie "Lockup," said he believes prejudice against him because of his Cherokee and Seminole ancestry contributed to his legal problems.

Landham said he isn't giving up. He said he will continue looking for a job to pay an attorney to help him seek relief for the time he was locked away. At the least, he said, he would like an apology.