Terrence Howard Witnessed His Father Commit a Horrifying Act of Violence in 1971 When He Was Only 2

American actor Terrence Howard is famous for his starring roles in many popular movies and television series. However, away from the screen, he is a complicated man and experienced violence at a young age.

Today, Terrence Howard is one of America's top actors and has portrayed diverse characters in his career. That, in many ways, is commendable given that as a two-year-old, Terrence witnessed his dad killing another man following an argument.

The incident happened on Christmas Day 1971. Terrence's dad, Tyrone Howard, had taken his family to see Santa Claus. While waiting in line, he met John Fitzpatrick, a white man with his wife and three kids. Tyrone was also there with his wife and three kids.

Both men argued over who was next in line. The argument escalated and led to a fight, which ended with Tyrone grabbing a nail file, which he used to stab Fitzpatrick to death.

The incident made national headlines and became known as the "Santa Line Slaying." Tyrone was convicted for second-degree murder and spent 11 months in jail, after which he was paroled for good behavior.

In a loaded Rolling Stone Interview, Terrence narrated how he watched his dad kill Fitzpatrick. He said he was standing next to his father and watching.

He added that everything happened quickly, and the next moment they had blood on their coats and jackets, and then his dad went to prison.

In the following years, Terrence learned so much from his dad, who taught him to be a man and never take the vertebrae out of his back or the bass out of his throat. Tyrone also told his son he was not raising sheep but men and urged him to stay a man.

In September 2008, Terrence lost his mom, Anita Williams. She died after a long battle with cancer. The "Hustle & Flow" actor was struck by his mom's passing and took time privately to grieve with his family.

Terrence has been married four times to three different women. His first marriage was to Lori McCommas in 1993. The marriage ended in 2001. However, they remarried in 2005 and divorced for the second time. Their second divorce was finalized in 2007.

He shares three children with McCommas, daughters Aubrey and Heaven and son Hunter. Aubrey has a son and a daughter, making her dad a grandfather of two.

Terrence revealed he would be done with acting after shooting the final season of "Empire."

In 2010, Terrence married his second wife, Michelle Ghent. However, she filed for divorce a year after their marriage. In December 2011, she filed for a restraining order and accused Terrence of physically abusing her.

In May 2013, their divorce settlement was finalized. However, it was overturned in 2015 after a judge ruled Terrence signed it under duress of Ghent, threatening to tarnish his image by selling his nude pictures and other personal information.

In late 2013, Terrence married his third wife, a model and restaurateur named Mira Pak. In 2015, they welcomed a son named Qirin Love. They welcomed another son named Hero in 2016. However, Pak and Terrence divorced in 2015.

Three years after their divorce, Terrence proposed to Pak again. The "Empire" star revealed he had asked Pak to marry him for the second time via a post on his Instagram page.

He shared a picture of Pak's stunning engagement ring and a heartwarming speech about finding true love in the post. He said it took him 45 years to find her and promised to spend the rest of eternity at her side now that he had her in his 50th year.

Terrence also prayed for everyone to find the person who would complete them for all eternity because it means everything and ended his toast by expressing his love to Pak.

His uncle told him he was a young prince and would grow up to become a king one day.

Terrence is a proud dad of his youngest children, Qirin and Hero. In a 2017 interview with People, he spoke about his fatherhood journey.

He said he became a father at 24 when he was still becoming a man. Hence, he did not really put the time into his kids. He also said:

"I called them every day and they said they saw me more than enough, but I feel like I missed out on a lot of personal time with them. Now I'm more conscious and present this time around."

Besides acting, Terrence is into other things. He studied chemical engineering and applied materials at Pratt Institute but did not complete his program due to a disagreement with a professor.

Although he has always been criticized, Terrence believes "1 x 1 = 2" and has gone to different lengths to prove his theory. He formulated his logic language called "Terryology," which he kept a secret until patenting it.

With the logic language, he proved in his way that "1 x 1 = 2." Terrence spends several hours each day constructing plastic models and wire he patented and claimed to confirm his theory.

In 2019, Terrence revealed he would be done with acting after shooting the final season of "Empire." He said he would focus on bringing truth to the world after retiring from acting and added that he would miss the "Empire" cast and crew very much.

However, the actor, who starred in the first "Iron Man" installment before being dropped for Don Cheadle for subsequent installments, has not entirely given up acting.

In his Rolling Stone interview, Terrence said he spent all his childhood trying to fit in until his uncle asked him why he was trying to fit in when he was born to stand out.

His uncle told him he was a young prince and would grow up to become a king one day. After going through many legal, marital, and personal issues, one can say Terrence is finally coming into his own and determined to stand out.