Billy Hayes "Midnight Express" 1978 - Bobbie Wygant Archive

[@michellerene951]

I'm actually watching Midnight Express right now and I was curious to know where Billy Hayes is today. This is when I found this interview. Wow!

[@TheRuthdobson]

Me too, I'm just reading the book

[@michellerene951]

@@TheRuthdobson Ooohhh I heard it's way better(or different)than the movie. Enjoy!

[@suphihayta8523]

He is a liar. Watch his recent interviews.

[@NKCS7]

@@michellerene951 The book is far better, I don’t understand why they changed so much in the film.

[@michellerene951]

@@NKCS7 The books always seem to be better.

[@dalemmmm]

Wow I really respect him being so honest about everything!

[@hannesstuber222]

he looks real honest doesn't he`? Check out Turkish newspaper of 1970 where they write that he got busted for having heroin with him.

[@Eliminator5555]

He doesn't accurately portray Turkish society back then or now. I've spent a good deal of time in Turkey and also spoken with an acquaintance that lived there with his family off-base during the entirety of his father's deployment there in the 70s. He described Turkey being much the same back then as it is now, which is only serves to further paint Billy's portrayal of Turkish society as inaccurate.

[@Victor-jv1cn]

@@Eliminator5555 shut up you tolerant liberal ! Billy portrayed Turkish people as he experienced them and yes of course his experience was horrible so his depiction of the turkish people is negative. I'm sure that while you're defending turkish people, in the same time, you say that all cops are bastards or all conservatives must be murdered. If you lived in Europe in contact with the turkish community such as I do, you wouldn't be choked of the bad depiction of these people in the movie, but of course you probably live in a rich wealthy town far from violence and poverty.

[@krbn80]

@@Eliminator5555 Both he and Oliver Stone recently declared it was all an exaggeration. It’s Stone’s habit to exaggerate anyway, but it seems Hayes also liked the opportunity to become famous by the drama. And of course did it by using Turks, the favourite scapegoat of the Christian world. As a result, both of them apologized from Turks and said they are sorry for showing them like that.

[@twistoffate4791]

He is very intelligent & articulate & once he warmed up a bit, expressed his feelings with an admirable transparency.

[@Beneaththeglitterball]

This is a wonderful interview - as many from the archive - thank you so much x

[@zakkthemaniac0329]

Do what you like, But know what your doing! Love it

[@efraingonzalez731]

I was 11 when the movie came out, and my mother took us to see it. I never did what he did after watching what he went through.

[@suphihayta8523]

This is the purpose of the American state. Write a fake script. Scare people. Hollywood is exactly that. Bill apologized to the Turkish people. He said that the movie has nothing to do with reality.

[@williamrowlett740]

Great. The film should be a deterrent to kids thinking they can sell drugs the easy way and going overseas to get their product.

[@vinnyvincent2862]

The music played during the chase scene at the beginning is the intro music to Art Bell's Radio show ! r.i.p. Art Bell 😢❤🙏

[@thomaspenman4101]

I loved midnight express i love the ending music brilliant❤❤👍

[@christwisted]

Phenomenal film. A tough watch, shows how tough a person can be.

[@peakybennett8657]

I always wondered what happened to jimmy booth. I liked that character. I'd like to think he got out and lived a good life afterwards!

[@francaisediesachsenliebtsa8679]

And I , I always wanted to know what happened for Max ❤ I love this character, and would like if like the movie, Billy can keep promise and save him

[@JUVI9596]

There was no jimmy booth. He was based on a another prisoner named Harvey Bell. Max was paroled in 1976

[@capncake8837]

@@JUVI9596 What about Bell?

[@mariastewart9820]

​@@capncake8837 yes,im wondering too !

[@Jeff-o-Lee]

Hayes made 3 successful trips to Turkey smuggling hash. He was pinched on the 4th trip.

[@tlennox2991]

Finally someone says it..thanks

[@Reverands420]

How much did he make? Profit wise?

[@Stu-SB]

​@@Reverands420they smoked all the profits

[@1crackedup]

I was a student in Rome, Italy. Some friends went to Turkey to see him! What a case!

[@dg9015]

Really?

[@tylerhudson9538]

Excellent interview. Great 📣 sound all things considered!

[@samsmith4216]

Great interview. I wonder what kind of person Billy Hayes would be without his prison detainment.

[@denizliberal]

He was a drug dealer.

[@samsmith4216]

@@denizliberal of Hashish... big deal... today it's probably not even a serious crime in this country

[@uncletony6210]

@@denizliberal so are all M.D.s...

[@alenelevin1757]

It was great to see billy.

[@lekunberriko1]

Seems a very good man.

[@revanelson8810]

Wow! I like his hair.

[@TopxGee]

Midnight express is now on Netflix 😎

[@Reverands420]

Isn't it a movie? Netflix only has series

[@dora1980]

@@Reverands420 No it has movies too.

[@piznoctsauo8141]

The interviewer was in 1978. Hayes was in 2020.

[@sydneysheppard4979]

He's a legend!!! I'd love to meet him an smoke a joint with him an pick his brain!! You rock billy!!!

[@stephanielouise2442]

THIS GUY IS SO INSPIRATIONAL! SO TOGETHER FOR ONE SO YOUNG. MAYBE HE SHOULD PUT THE SHAME WHERE IT BELONGS...NOT ON HIMSELF ON THOSE WHO CREATED HIS HELL. THANK YOU FOR BRINGING THIS TO OUR CONSCIENSNESS.

[@usa26point2mileman]

He thought security had tightened by 1978. Can you imagine 2022?

[@wendelldallas7572]

1:53 - I feel like every American twenty something has that "James Bond image" of themselves and they learn very quickly that is not the reality of things, some harsher more than others

[@AZ-kr6ff]

Ohhh Billy!

[@theoriginalthinker9199]

Listening to this interview, I found myself thinking about Brittney Griner.

[@m.emilyonglatco8266]

Released today for prisoner exchange.

[@cultfilmfreakreviews]

now we know he'd smuggled hash successfully THREE times before they got him

[@chancelearson1949]

RIP Bill Hayes 🙏🕊🕊🕊

[@jibson2003]

He's not dead. Billy Hayes is very much alive and active. Brad Davies the actor who portrayed him in the movie died at 41.

[@Reverands420]

​@@jibson2003he died two days in OZONE PARK, NY. Fentanyl overdose... He's a real American hero in my eyes

[@robertrobinson3788]

If he got caught in America with that much hash at that time 1970 he would have gotten 20yrs in prison

[@capncake8837]

Yeah, Turkey was actually trying to make an example out of Billy after being criticized by Nixon for not doing enough to stop drug smugglers.

[@Bertrand146]

@@capncake8837 You're naive, it goes beyond drug. US Air Force bases and ballistic missiles in Turkey, it rings a bell ?

[@gutz323]

I admire his honesty. Not many heterosexual men, would admit to having a short homosexual relationship, especially in 1978, with the attitude that, some things that happened in prison should stay in prison.

[@Reverands420]

THAT IS AWESOME.... We all have these feelings but not many can openly admit it! WHAT A WARRIOR/MAN

[@cameronpickard7456]

he seems smart and legit

[@matttodd7801]

I was so crazy over that book as a teenage kid in the mid eighties I actually tried to call him on the phone-didn't work, my mom busted my ass for the charges too

[@Kotikjeff]

Very interesting interview. I see a scoundrel who got caught at the airport who is now a completely different, honest speaking man who has lived a life of horrors and survived.

[@butterflymustfly_1232]

I see the same. He wasn't a hero. He was a punk but he acknowledged his wrong and changed

[@RoyChadwick51]

STAY CLEAR OF ANY DRUG ACTIVITY .

[@tally1604]

Gotta give him major props for not trying to distsnce himself or paint in negative light hid same sex - definiteky not gay - relationships in prison. That was 1978, when even the liberal media gave him hell for it.

[@Reverands420]

For men sadly it's pathetic... For women you are considered very strange if you aren't attracted to other women !!

[@libbyvalley]

Ck out the interview Billy just did with the Shaun Attwood Show. 💥 Just WOW!

[@alenelevin1757]

He is my favorite ARIES.

[@raygreen5926]

Many people forget about a young Brit called Timothy Davey who was arrested for drugs in Turkey in 1970. He met Billy Hayes. He was only 14 years of age. He was released in 1974. I wonder where he is now

[@jackspring7709]

If I'm remembering correctly Hayes did mention him a few times in his book.

[@raygreen5926]

@@jackspring7709 He did mention him in his book. The thing is after 1976 Timothy Davey just seemed to vanish into thin air. Nobody seems to know what became of him.

[@jackspring7709]

@@raygreen5926 Ah. I see. Sometimes I do wonder what happened to those guys. I didn't even know that Max had got out, tbh.

[@Reverands420]

HES ALIVE AND WELL, he is currently OLD and living in Liverpool England, with his same sex Turkish husband

[@hawmandd]

From his archive video says stuff that are 360 degree different from his latest interviews.

[@AlexSaurel]

I was wondering which? Can you give exemp? Some how he was on film amd book promotion mode

[@nolagospeltracts8264]

The John Holmes Story starring Billy Hayes.

[@FOCOSOITALIANO]

I don't understand,he is smugglers and drug smugglers, do they blame those who arrested him? Does anyone know what happens if you get caught with 2 kilos of drugs at the airport in the USA?

[@MikeLopresti360]

He smuggled hashish, which by our time nobody even cares about. That's besides the point anyway, do you really think he deserves to be treated as trash for 5 years just because he smuggled an illegal substance? The guards behaved like barbarians, much worse than the actual crime that was committed by Billy Hayes.

[@FOCOSOITALIANO]

@@MikeLopresti360 I think the guards in prison in America are very kind)) this novie black propaganda movie has already admitted that it has nothing to do with reality Bill Heyes

[@FOCOSOITALIANO]

@@MikeLopresti360 If you want to see barbarians, look at Guantanamo, my dear friend.

[@inthezone4123]

@@FOCOSOITALIANO How many Americas will allow themselves to become aware of this?

[@RaiderJay9092]

@@MikeLopresti360 "I'm not up on all that. A drugs a drug seems to me."

[@barrylufc2648]

Does anyone know where max and Jimmy are today I can’t find anything about them

[@robertrobinson3788]

How is his British cell mate these days.

[@radiorob7543]

I can't hear it!!!

[@robertrobinson3788]

I can't hear it either...

[@radiorob7543]

@@robertrobinson3788 Cool name

[@DavidBarnwell876tkdja]

audio?

[@5thdimension954]

The audio didn’t transpose well, did it?

[@jerryaldini4535]

Did he get the hash back?

[@marianavarro3111]

Some lessons are learned from the stupid mistakes that we make and his situation remains me of Brittney Grinder the Russian prisoner. 🤔👍

[@humanbeing5300]

Very wise advice

[@sekainiheiwa3650]

Florida LA or Mexico wasn’t closer then turkey from NYC?😅

[@paudsmcmack3117]

Too bad people dont look like this anymore

[@alenel-rp3ri]

Billy, you get better with age.

[@glenknapke6771]

Saw Midnight Express on TV while in JR College I didn't have a High School Diploma later got it to enlist US ARMY journalism SUOMI Jr college law enforcement Hancock Michigan the Upper Peninsula Did Well First Semester 60 years old now all I remember about those days are Shakespeare & Russian Literature book Purchased & read by me store Retail there The Russians forgot the Author Paperback probably a B average me in curriculum @ time

[@cameronpickard7456]

i feel sorry for max hope he came sround

[@jibson2003]

Sound is terrible.

[@davido3026]

General advise: never get involved with any illegal drugs or danaging subsrances, ever!!!

[@Ironheart73]

The real Billy Hayes smuggled hash out of turkey 2 to 3 times, before he got caught. This is why they sought to extend his sentence. He also had a homosexual relationship in prison. The details of how he escaped in the film, was purely fiction. Nobody got killed. In fact the movie demonized the Turkish people so much, that Hayes had to eventually return to Turkey and apologize

[@jimguittard]

He looks a bit like John Holmes...

[@glenknapke6771]

Went once to the Boy Scouts w my semi homeless mentally ill Father didn't follow up with them

[@glenknapke6771]

Raised on 8 MILE DETROIT Michigan shined shoes in bars door to door greeting card salesperson Detroit Newspaper Delivery Boy Free Press Paper Boy

[@amenolife-b1p]

even they had not had educated dogs ?

[@alenelevin1757]

I read the book and the movie still scares me .

[@glenknapke6771]

Second Semester JR College started Alcohol Use more heavily MARIJUANA was nothing new to me as a kid smoked 1 small bowl black tar Opium

[@RememberMe123-b4b]

Ya gotta wonder how he disguised himself as a Turkish cop when he escaped.

[@RememberMe123-b4b]

@Hamster don't understand, explain.

[@beyoursman]

That was in the movie, in his book, he escaped thru the water. Google it.

[@josephalexander4561]

Hahahahahahaha

[@karanara6740]

He escaped from Imrali. It's an island prison. He stole a dingy

[@jack-dy7cx]

He stole a bus to escape

[@ADAMSIXTIES]

11:00 Bobbie asks the dumbest questions

[@karanara6740]

His story has full of holes. He screwed up and said Max is dead. He sounds like he is playing a part. I believe he was part of a propaganda against Turkey but he didn't really know that he was. His recent interviews are full of apologies to Turkish people

[@b0leg23]

he can't make up for the damage he caused. Lying son of a slvt

[@JohnORourke.]

Gay for the stay.

[@AM-np3hf]

and?

[@toygardadas1188]

Bu adama nasil ulasabilirim

[@fowchiiiliedpuppiesdied]

Billy deserved to be locked up.

[@sharonrigs7999]

What he said about Max is so true, opiate abuse kills your soul. It's crazy that now, I can walk 5 min to the store and buy legal hash 😂

[@hannesstuber222]

Max' name was Hans and he was Dutch. He stayed 8 years for having a pound of hash in his bag at the border.

[@teoteo3522]

I wonder if he turned gay because he lost self respect in there as he mentioned previously.

[@kevingoeminne5922]

Turkey is not europe and to be fair even then a kilo of hasj in all real European country's isn't that bad mayby 4 months...

[@dora1980]

Turkey is in Asia , it's not in Europe but in the '70s and even now you would go to jail if you try to smuggle drugs in Europe.

[@yearism]

Professional liar.

[@toygardadas1188]

Babam afina bu filmi dava edecegim

[@danielbisson8032]

billy hayes was gay

[@laxer123]

he was a liar and apologized decades later

[@teoteo3522]

What did he lie about?

[@teoteo3522]

What did he lie about?

[@teoteo3522]

about what

[@suphihayta8523]

@@teoteo3522 He said the movie had nothing to do with reality. He said that the guards were helpful and good people and that he had many Turkish friends in the prison. The movie is a typical Hollywood black propaganda job.