"When I look at that picture, I look at change," said King, who notes with a smile that he's been sober for three months. "No matter how many steps it takes, I'm trying to make my life better."
Unlike the image much of the public holds about him, King, the divorced father of three, is not sullen or par- ticularly shy. He is friendly, polite and talkative. And he is relentlessly upbeat.
"Waking up sober is a good day," said King as he relaxed in the home he shares with his fiancee, Dawn Jean, whom he has been with for six years. "I love being able to wake up and do positive things, to go to the gym."
He also works with teens, coaching baseball for the city's recreation and parks department. "It just feels so good to be alive and not sick. I'm blessed."
He blames his alcoholism for much of his legal problems, which have included at least six arrests, including two for drunk driving and two for domestic abuse involving his former wife, his mother and one of his daughters.
He has served more than 300 days in jail. His addictions were also behind his July 1995 conviction for trying to run down his former wife with his car. And in 2001, he was arrested at a park in Pomona for indecent exposure and for being under the influence of PCP -- a crime for which he was later ordered to enter a yearlong drug treatment program (not his first stint in rehab).
Since the infamous LAPD beating, King has returned twice to the site in Lake View Terrace where he was pulled over after a high-speed chase. It provided no answers for him and left him feeling "numb." "It's a real uneasy subject to talk about," he said slowly. "There's so many sides to what happened."
Vulnerable around the clock
KING voluteered to have his more negative side exposed for "Celebrity Rehab," in which the worst nature of addicted personalities is displayed. The series is one of the most popular entries in VH1's "celebreality" cycle that includes "I Want to Work for Diddy," "Hogan Knows Best" and "Flavor of Love." Last season's slate of patients included Jeff Conaway ("Taxi," "Grease"), Brigitte Nielsen ("Rocky IV"), Daniel Baldwin ("The Sopranos"), porn actress Mary Carey and former pro wrestler Chyna.
The show, which has been completed, also sparked controversy about the ethics of violating the privacy that traditionally surrounds rehab patients. Still, producers say they were approached by representatives of several celebrities impressed by the first season who wanted to come on the series.
