“30 Rock” Boss Gets Probation for Driving Drunk

Rip Torn could be back on the roads soon

Rip Torn has been accused of drunken driving three times, but he’s still going to be driving, as long as he passes driving school and can hear the guy who gives him his next driving test.

A state trooper stopped the 78-year-old actor -- Alec Baldwin’s boss, Don Geiss, on Tina Fey’s “30 Rock” -- on Dec. 14 on Route 44 in Salisbury, Conn. shortly after he had left the White Hart Inn.He was driving his 1994 Subaru in the breakdown lane with a Christmas tree was tied to the top.

Torn, whose name is Elmore Torn, failed part of a field sobriety exam and gave up after saying the ground was not level enough, state police said.

The Salisbury resident refused to take a Breathalyzer test and used profanity while in the trooper's cruiser, police said.

Tuesday, Torn got probation and the OK for admission into an alcohol education program. Instead of taking the state’s classes, he's heading to the Amethyst Foundation Inc. Epping, N.Y., a private, nonprofit with weekend a substance abuse program, according to the Register Citizen of Torrington.

The actor will still be allowed to drive but will have to be retested for his license because of his severe hearing impairment. In court, he struggled to hear and turned to his lawyer, A. Thomas Waterfall, to explain, according to the Waterbury Republican-American

“Mr. Torn was very happy that the judge thought the Alcohol Education Program was appropriate in his case,” Waterfall, told the Register Citizen.

If he completes the program, he will be cleared of the charges. If he’s nabbed again, he’s have to go to jail, the Republican-American reports.

Torn was arrested twice in New York, accused of drunken driving.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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