 New York City. May 8, 1949. Agnes Tarrulli Morra, a 15-year-old heroin addict, gives birth to Michael Morra. Addicted in utero, they added an opiate derivative to his formula to ease the pain of heroin withdrawal. This was his first of countless detoxes during his lifetime. His father and uncle were career criminals. After his father was deported to Italy, his mother took up with a junkie ex-boxer who beat him and his mother on a regular basis. Eventually, he murdered Michael s mother. After his mother s death, Michael Morra became Rockets Redglare. He went on to explore his own tragic beginnings through stand up comedy, partnering with Steve Buscemi in "The Rockets Redglare Taxi-Cabaret" and landing numerous roles playing characters not unlike himself or derived from the rough and seedy neighborhoods that were his home. He was bodyguard and drug dealer to Sid Vicious and Jean Michel Basquiat.