Show Mel Gibson seems to live a charmed life— but he works hard at It maintains die values of his youth and never lets feme go to his head WASADREAMERWHO fantasized a kxn Mel Gibson said about his childhood “I was always staring out a window someplace long-in-g to be somewhere else zoning out” Mel Gibson 46 was bom in Peek-ski- ll NY and raised in near poverty as one ofJ 1 children in a devoudy Caddie working-cla- ss family He was a middle child doted on by four older sisters and beloved by his mother He became an actor almost by dunce and soon was oneof the world’s leading movie stars: But he was unprepared for the enormous fame that came to him at age 25 He dealt with it badly drinking too much and getting out of control “When you first become famous you don’t know that you can’t go back to a Irish-immigr- normal life anymore’’ he explained “that you’ve walked into a flytrap that it's dark down there and that there is no way out of it not really Later you realize that you've given away all kinds of personal stuff and after that you have to either adapt or go crazy" Gibson has since appeared in more than 25 pictures including four hugely1 profitable Lethal Weapon films their six sons and daughter I wanted to discover what drew him to acting why which won him Oscars for Best Director and Best Film of 199SHind Ransom ( 1 996) His new movie Signs a riveting supernatural thriller coctaning his marriage has lasted and his drinking stopped and what dreams hadcome true I be by asking about his parents “My mom was a really good mom Joaquin Phoenix opens next Friday: I visited Gibsonat his five-acr- e comMalibu in he where lives Calif pound with Robyn 46 his wife of 22 years and always accessible' very softhearted emotional and poetic" he replied “She just did what she had to do which was take care ofa bunch of people She was Brave-heart- — B COVER PHOTOGRAPH BY NIGEL PARRY Y D O selfless” Anne Reilly Gibson ah artist andhousewife died in 1990 at age 69 “My dad was a guy who hoot for money My dad would say ’It’s foughtwiththeUSAminWfridWar flat Guadalcanal” he continued “He’s about money’ blue-coll- ar M now vety intelligent knowledgeable Latin and Greek and canon law Both parents always had tremendous faith in God even when times got rough and we were on welfare They didn’t give a T S O N asintowonyIt’salackoftrustmGod’ I grew up like that I didn’t give a damn Mel’s father Hutton Gibson worised as a railroad brakeman until he was bad-i-n ly injured on thejob making foe fami-n- y Independent on public assistance for a time Then in 1968whenMel was 12 his dad won $21j000 competing on TV’s R MSB A ft July M D E R 008 MMDBIMnaflM |