There's a world-famous, truly iconic photo of a defiant Johnny Cash giving the finger during his 1969 San Quentin State Prison gig. Cash was said to be expressing what he thought of the prison authorities.
Cash's son, John Carter Cash, may have been expressing his own version of his dad's distain for authority when he started shedding his clothes in the middle of a Canadian airport on Monday afternoon (Oct. 27). The 44-year-old producer, author, musician and singer stopped short of ending up in the buff. He stripped down to his underwear, the CBC reported.
Cash, the only son of country legends Johnny and June Carter Cash, was arrested at the Deer Lake Airport in Newfoundland. He had been in the Canadian province on a hunting trip, and was at the airport to board a plane bound for Nashville, where he lives.
Airport security personnel determined that the country music scion seemed to be drunk or suffering from medical issues - and he had missed his flight back to Tennessee. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police were reportedly called.
By the time the RCMP arrived, airport security officers had persuaded Cash to put his stripped-off clothes back on.
Cash was arrested for disturbing the peace and being drunk in public. He was held until Tuesday morning, giving him ample time to sober up. He was then allowed to leave Canada on a flight home back to the U.S.
No charges were filed against Cash, according to People. The fact that the RCMP stated that he was cooperative with them and airport security, and that he had no previous criminal record, apparently factored into his release without charges.
As a producer, Cash has credits for "Johnny Cash's America" in 2008, "Walk the Line," starring Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon in 2005 and "Johnny Cash: Live at Montreux 1994," also in 2005. He has three children: Anna Maybelle, Jack Ezra and Joseph John.
His dad fought his own battles with drugs and alcohol.
"I took all the drugs there are to take, and I drank," Johnny once recalled. "Everybody said that Johnny Cash was through 'cause I was walkin' around town 150 pounds. I looked like walking death."
Johnny Cash, whose biggest hits included "I Walk The Line," "Ring of Fire" and "A Boy Named Sue," died in Nashville in September 2003, in the wake of complications from diabetes. He was 71. His passing came four months after the death of his wife, June.
