20 Things We Learned From Joe Rogan's Podcast Interview With Jake Roberts

17. His Grandfather's Story Is Incredible

Tales of Jake's father Grizzly Smith are depressing, but his dad's life wasn't the only remarkable one. Roberts' grandfather had quite the ordeal himself after working as an oil miner in the 1920s. After an accident crushed both of his legs, Jake's grandpa ended up in hospital on morphine.

For 18 months.

Back then, doctors thought re-breaking the bones and resetting them as best they could was first-class medical attention. So, that's what they did, and it caused the man immense pain and torture as he waited on the bones to knit back together. Ravaged by the agony, he turned to booze, and he'd hide bottles around the house.

That's how Jake stumbled upon his first drink aged 11 or 12. He also told how his grandfather would take Antabuse medication in the morning, then ride out to get a "fifth of whiskey" the same afternoon. After that, he'd spend the rest of the night vomiting.