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Ken Wahl’s ‘Pets for Vets’ Advocacy: From Injury to Purpose
By Ed Gross
11-01-2024
Life can change in a blink of an eye, but in some ways – which may take going through a kind of personal hell before it becomes apparent – you can come out the other side with a renewed sense of purpose. That was certainly the case with actor Ken Wahl, who was forced into early retirement due to a traumatic injury and whose road to recovery was a long one, and not without a lot of despair as he made his way down it.
Wahl had made his debut in 1979’s The Wanderers, moved on to co-star with people like Paul Newman in Fort Apache, The Bronx (1981), Bette Midler in Jinxed (1982) and Cheryl Ladd in Purple Hearts (1984), took the lead in the acclaimed 1987 to 1990 television series Wiseguy, which garnered him a Golden Globe Award in the process; and then, in 1992, fell down a flight of marble steps, resulting in a broken neck and damaged spinal column. Miraculously, he wasn’t crippled, but life as he knew it was over.
“I went through such a deep depression,” Wahl explains to Woman’s World in an exclusive interview. “I can honestly say I never felt sorry for myself, but what caused my depression was that I felt so useless, and I don’t like feeling that way. I’ve always been kind of the rock in my family, kind of the go-to guy. Not just financially, but emotionally, and, truthfully, I enjoyed being that. But that was gone in a fraction of a second, and that sunk me into a very deep depression for seven years.”
Ken Wahl Looks Back on ‘The Wanderers’ 45 Years Later (EXCLUSIVE)
Actor Ken Wahl is probably best known for his role as one of New York’s finest alongside Paul Newman in 1981’s Fort Apache, The Bronx; and, especially, his Golden Globe-winning performance as Organized Crime Bureau (OCB) undercover agent Vinnie Terranova on the critically-acclaimed ’80s series Wiseguy. But he’s pragmatic enough to admit that neither of those […]
Seven years of feeling – again – useless, wrapped up with unhealthy doses of hopelessness and worthlessness, and while he emphasizes he was never suicidal, he was ambivalent about life. He would speak to God “or the forces of the universe, whatever you want to call it, and say, ‘If you’re ready to take me, go ahead, because I’m just a worthless piece of garbage now anyway. All I’m doing is taking up space and breathing and eating food that could go elsewhere to somebody more deserving.’ And that’s how I really felt for the longest time. I just completely withdrew from the human race for all that time, but I slowly worked my way out of it mentally and emotionally. But, man, those were dark, horrible days and I’m grateful, because a lot of people don’t come out of it. They eat a bullet or jump off a bridge or something.”
Ken Wahl’s advocacy for veterans
Ken Wahl with one of his rescue dogs. That last statement is significant in Wahl’s life or, in essence, rebirth, as it would be tied into part of his healing process, which initially consisted of getting his own rescue animals and then teaming up with wife Shane Barbi (of the Barbi Twins) to work as animal rescue advocates and activists, respectively. This would eventually lead to his efforts to speak out for bringing animals together with our country’s veterans for healing purposes.
Karma is a bitch
Sorry, I couldn’t help myself LOL