Shia LaBeouf's Dad sold weed to the Hawaiian mafia

Wonderwall, Thursday, June 11, 2009, 3:36pm (PDT)

In the upcoming issue of PARADE, Shia LaBeouf opens up about his troubles with fame, alcohol and losing the love of his life. In the online exclusive, Shia talks more about his unusual childhood, including his father's marijuana side business in Hawaii, his family's money problems and more. Check out these intriguing excerpts below, then read the full story here.

Shia's dad, the pot entrepreneur:

"My dad was a Vietnam vet. He was in Vietnam long enough to come back and be a disaster. My dad brought something called the 'elephant seed' to Oahu, Hawaii. And in Oahu, it became the 'Thai' stick. But how do you make millions on weed when you don't own a plant? Nobody owns a plant. Well, my dad wasn't thinking franchise. He was selling things to the Hawaiian mafia, and then they would give it to their cab drivers to sell when they picked people up from airports."

We're not entirely sure what Shia is saying here, but it seems like the gist of it is that his dad sold joints to the Hawaiian mafia. Aloha, Mr. LaBeouf!

Growing up in a family of starving artists:

"My dad and my mom were both artists who never found an audience for their artwork. And so I lived in poverty. Now that I'm not poor, I know that is what it was. Like Hemingway said, you can't write anything if you've never been shot at or been gorged by a bull, you know? So I look back at that stuff and I'm grateful. It's like scars. You become proud of them."

So, does Shia pull out the old "I lived an impoverished childhood" line every time he meets a new hot girl? Probably. Chicks totally dig that.

Shia as a 10-year-old insult comic:

"I just knew that money was a solution to whatever the hell was going on in my household. With money, I and my family would have had more options. So I went after a job that I thought I could make the most money for a 10-year-old or an 11-year-old boy. I started doing stand-up at this place called the HBO Theater. And then the Ice House let me come in, and Baked Potato. I'd get up there and go, 'Hey, m--f--! It's time for some jokes.' And all the drunks would be like, 'Hey, wait a minute. This is weird as hell! What's this 10-year-old talking about?' Plus at the Ice House, where they would normally serve drinks during the show, they had to hold the drunks' drinks while I was performing, which they didn't like, so you're already starting off on a bad foot. So I would just attack them. I would come at guys, like, 'What's going on with you in your life, man?' I would just break a whole guy's life down. 'He's a 50-year-old man at a comedy club by himself?' There are so many jokes there, sad, weird, twisted stuff. And everybody would laugh at it, and that guy would hate it. I was like an insult comic."

Paging Triumph the Insult Dog: Shia's been digging some holes in your turf, dawg.

More on Parade.com:

See Photos From Our Old Hollywood-Inspired Shoot With Shia LaBeouf

Shia, Britney, Justin: See Photos of Disney Stars Who Broke Out Big

From Red Lobster to Hooters: See Celeb First Jobs

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