Celebrities Are No Strangers to Hotel Debauchery
June 7, 2005 — -- The story is a familiar one: A big-name star has been arrested for aggressive or unlawful behavior in an exclusive luxury hotel.
Furniture may have been ripped to pieces, or perhaps glass and bottles are shattered on the once-perfectly carpeted floor after a long night of rowdy behavior. Charges are then considered, and the gossip hounds go wild over the salacious details.
This time around, it's actor Russell Crowe making the headlines -- the Australian star has been charged with second-degree assault and possession of a weapon after allegedly lobbing a phone at a clerk at the Mercer Hotel in New York.
While Crowe deals with the legal fallout from his frustrated attempts to call his wife in Australia, here's a look at some of the other notorious moments that occurred when a star may have felt a bit too at home in his or her hotel room. After all, checking into a five-star establishment doesn't mean you own the place.
Caught on Tape: Rob Lowe made it to the White House on "The West Wing." But before he reached the upper echelons of government this actor was caught in the type of scandalous behavior around a political convention that would have spelled the end to most politicians' careers.
During the 1988 Democratic Convention in Atlanta, the former brat packer filmed a sex tape with two underage girls in his hotel room.
Your Bill, Ms. Love? From room service to hotel taxes, the bill is often not what you may have expected when you checked in to a luxury hotel room. But most folks still ante up before heading home. That is, unless you're a notorious rock star. Courtney Love decided to leave the International House in New Orleans last year without paying her bill. Her management company eventually picked up the tab.
You're Evicted! Mickey Rourke raised the ire of Donald Trump long before the real estate mogul conquered the television world with his tough-talking demeanor and penchant for kicking apprentices out of his boardroom. Rourke reportedly racked up a $20,000 fine for trashing his luxury hotel suite at the Trump-owned Plaza Hotel in 1994. Rourke was then told to leave.
Not Quite a Honeymoon in Vegas: Christian Slater found himself on the sour end of a marital scuffle in a Las Vegas hotel room. His wife, Ryan Haddon, was arrested in 2003 for allegedly striking Slater with a glass at the Hard Rock Hotel. Slater required nine stitches after the assault.
No Vacancy for Leo The same year he played a global traveler in "The Beach," Leonardo Di Caprio made another kind of splash at a Southern California hotel. In 2000, he trashed a hotel with his party pals, reportedly leaving broken bottles and furniture in the back yard. He may not be so eagerly welcomed back to West Hollywood's Argyle Hotel, which once played home to a celebrity whom Di Caprio portrayed -- Howard Hughes.
Spontaneous Hotel Makeover: Johnny Depp was somewhat prepared for his job trashing a hotel room as Hunter S. Thompson in the movie "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas." The actor, who now frequently waxes poetic on the joys of fatherhood, has come a long way from his wilder days.
Nearly 11 years ago, he spent a night with his then-girlfriend Kate Moss in a Manhattan hotel room and decided to do some unexpected redecorating. Depp was arrested for breaking some of the furnishings and later agreed to pay $9,700 in damages.
Moss can't seem to escape the hotel drama. This past winter, her on-again, off-again boyfriend, British singer Pete Doherty, found his own hotel troubles. The former singer for the Libertines was arrested in February after getting into a fight in a London hotel. The assault charges have since been dropped.
Morbid End: New York's Chelsea Hotel has played home to a long list of actors, artists and musicians who took up residence in its famed halls. The spot may be most notorious for a 1978 incident. Punk rock's Sex Pistol's bassist Sid Vicious reportedly dealt his girlfriend, Nancy Spungeon, a fatal stab wound in the hotel bathroom.
Rock's Legacy: Possibly the most notorious hotel crashers of all time are the rock stars. Trotting from city to city to the delight of their fans, rock stars are generally expected to party hard and shake things up a bit. From The Who in the 1970s and later to Slayer and Motley Crue in the 1980s, big guitar solos and slamming drums were just part of how these guys became famous for blowing off steam. They all also built names for themselves for their raucous behavior, which included trashing hotel rooms while on the road. It's a wonder some of these stars can still find a home out on the road.