Harry Hamlin Reveals Harrowing Jail Experience: Forced to Smoke PCP
LOS ANGELES, Calif. — In a candid and surprising revelation, veteran actor Harry Hamlin disclosed during a recent episode of the podcast “Let’s Not Talk About the Husband” that he was once forced to smoke PCP while briefly incarcerated in 1970. Long before his acclaimed roles in television and film, including his celebrated work on “Mad Men,” Hamlin found himself entangled in a legal ordeal that led to a harrowing jail experience.
Hamlin, who co-hosts the podcast with his wife, former “Real Housewives” star Lisa Rinna, recounted the events leading to his arrest. While attending the University of California, Berkeley, Hamlin was asked by upperclassmen in his fraternity to transport pills to a fraternity house at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. “They didn’t want the pills, so I had to take them back,” he explained during the December 5 episode.
Attempting to smuggle the pills onto a plane hidden inside his guitar case, Hamlin was apprehended and subsequently arrested. Despite leveraging personal connections — notably with the prison warden, whose brother taught acting at Berkeley — to avoid severe repercussions, Hamlin still spent a short period in jail.
It was during this incarceration that Hamlin experienced a disturbing encounter with PCP, a powerful hallucinogenic drug known for its dangerous effects. According to Hamlin, a fellow inmate pressured him into smoking a joint, which unbeknownst to him was laced with PCP. “Somebody had brought in a little sack of rolling tobacco that was soaked in PCP… so they were smoking it and there was no odor. But they were high as kites,” Hamlin recalled.
He admitted to being forced to take three or four hits, resulting in a profoundly unsettling state. “I was so stoned because they forced me to take three or four hits of it and I was completely messed up after I had that,” he said. PCP, classified as a Schedule II substance by the Drug Enforcement Administration, is notorious for its unpredictable psychological effects.
The incident sheds light on the often overlooked and troubling realities within the U.S. jail system, where inmates can be exposed to coercion and illicit substances. The Federal Bureau of Prisons has acknowledged challenges in controlling contraband within correctional facilities, despite ongoing efforts.
Hamlin’s story also touches on the broader issue of drug enforcement and incarceration policies in the United States. According to data from the Bureau of Justice Statistics, drug-related offenses continue to account for a significant portion of arrests and jail populations nationwide.
While Hamlin’s experience is unique due to his later celebrity status, it underscores the complex and often harsh realities faced by many individuals in the criminal justice system. His willingness to share this personal history contributes to ongoing conversations about drug policy, prison conditions, and rehabilitation.
Listeners interested in hearing the full account can find the episode on major podcast platforms. For more information on drug enforcement and prison statistics, visit the DEA and Federal Bureau of Prisons websites.
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