ABC/Eddie Chen(CHICAGO) — One of the most talked about moments of Sunday’s Oscars — that wasn’t the envelope screw-up at the end, that is — was Jimmy Kimmel’s busing a group of unsuspecting tourists into Dolby Theatre, where the ceremony was taking place.
That’s when the world was introduced to Gary Alan Coe and his fiancee Vickie Vines, the enthusiastic couple who were unofficially married by Vines’ favorite actor Denzel Washington.
However, ABC News’ Chicago affiliate WLS-TV discovered what was a Hollywood ending for the pair certainly didn’t start that way: Coe, who gave his hometown a shout-out during the Oscars, served 20 years in prison for “multiple felonies,” and was freed just 3 days before Sunday’s award show.
While he was serving his debt to society, WLS-TV notes, the pair met.
“Change is possible,” Coe said. “It’s a sad day to be in prison for 20 years and not be able to be a dad, granddad to your children.”
He added, “You know what my son told me today, man, and I almost come to tears: He said he’s proud of me. So to hear your children say that they’re proud of me means the world to me.”
The pair was supposed to get married in July, but black-ish star Anthony Anderson, who, unlike Washington, noted on his ABC Oscars after party that he’s ordained to marry in the state of California, and offered to do it sooner if the pair wished.
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