Hollywood actor gets into a fight at 4th of July parade in LA
Danny Trejo, in his vintage car, waves to the crowd during the 4th of July parade in LA on Thursday. Marlene Angela/Facebook
LOS ANGELES – Tough-guy actor Danny Trejo got into some real-life fisticuffs during a July 4 parade after a spectator threw a water balloon at the procession, according to several media reports.
Trejo, 80, was among the participants in the Sunland-Tujunga Independence Day Parade on Thursday morning, whose theme was “The Magic of Sunland-Tujunga.”
The parade began around 10 a.m., heading west on Foothill Boulevard from Mt. Gleason Avenue to Sunland Boulevard.
Somewhere along the way someone hurled a water balloon at one of the vehicles in the procession, according to the entertainment website TMZ. Trejo then left his vehicle to go after the perpetrator, according to the website.
According to Fox11, Trejo was hit by a second water balloon, threw punches and was knocked to the ground at one point.
Image: Marlene Angela/Facebook
“He was more like confronting. It wasn’t like he went there to hit somebody,” witness Arnie Abramiam told the station. “But then I think once he got hit, he was throwing punches.”
Video posted on the site showed a brief confrontation and Trejo being held back by a few paradegoers, but police told TMZ that no one was arrested.
Trejo is known for his role as gadget inventor Isador “Machete” Cortez in four “Spy Kids” films and a different version of the character in “Machete” and “Machete Kills.” He is the owner of eight restaurants, including Trejo’s Tacos and Trejo’s Cantina.
Image: officialdannytrejo/Instagram
The actor, who was born in Los Angeles, has been open about his troubled youth, which included several stays in juvenile hall and later state prisons, before cleaning himself up and embarking on a successful show business career.
Trejo has not commented on Thursday’s incident.
Trejo, actor Steve Guttenberg and Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna were among the participants in parades in Los Angeles County Thursday marking Independence Day.
Guttenberg was the grand marshal of the 76th Pacific Palisades 4th of July Parade, which began at 2:05 p.m. on Via de la Paz at Bowdoin Street, preceded by skydivers landing on Sunset Boulevard near Swathmore Avenue.
Army Lt. Gen. Steven Gilland rode in the parade. Gilland is superintendent of the United States Military Academy, a position once held by Douglas MacArthur.
Guttenberg was Pacific Palisades’ honorary mayor from 2002-06. He is best remembered for his roles in four “Police Academy” movies, “Three Men and a Baby,” “Cocoon” and “Diner.” (With CNS report)
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