Craig T. N. AA maleCraig T. N. AA male
Recovery Radio Network
Comedian and actor Craig Tienen recounts his journey from early drinking and Hollywood excess to AA, sponsorship and long‑term sobriety. His story mixes dark humour, painful honesty and spiritual experiences that suggest change might be possible even after years of chaos.
46:58•2 Jul 2026
Chaos, Comedy and a Second Chance: Craig Tienen’s Journey from Hollywood to AA
Episode Overview
- Early drinking and drug use escalated gradually, even when life looked outwardly successful.
- A blackout performance on stage became the emotional bottom that opened the door to AA.
- Hearing about self‑centredness, obsession and craving helped Craig see the difference between heavy drinking and alcoholism.
- Service work in meetings – cleaning up, setting chairs, making coffee – gave structure and purpose in early sobriety.
- Guidance from a sponsor, including learning to give respect and love rather than demand them, was central to emotional and spiritual change.
“"If you want respect, you’ve got to give respect. And if you want love, you’ve got to give love."”
What makes a recovery story truly inspiring? Craig Tienen’s AA share on Recovery Radio Network might be one of those talks you end up replaying in your head for days. Craig takes you from a seemingly picture‑perfect 1950s childhood in Spokane – “warm summer evenings” and Little League – to throwing up on a neighbour’s lawn after his first beers at 13, and on through decades of chaos in Hollywood, Mount Shasta survivalism, and drug‑fuelled nights in Bangkok.
The storytelling is funny, self‑deprecating, and brutally direct, with lines like, “I was chatty Cathy… and then I could drink” bringing dark humour to very serious territory. You’ll hear how alcohol and cocaine wrapped themselves around his career in show business, from early TV breaks to performing a stage play in New York entirely in a blackout.
That terrifying moment, waking up mid‑bow while his co‑star silently flipped him off, becomes the turning point that pushes him towards AA and a sobriety date of 21 January 1984. The heart of the episode is Craig’s description of early recovery: shaking through dinners, cleaning up meetings, making coffee, and slowly realising “there was something going on” when he heard AA’s ideas about obsession and craving.
His relationship with his sponsor Frank is a highlight – both hilarious and moving – especially Frank’s blunt advice: “If you want respect, you’ve got to give respect. And if you want love, you’ve got to give love.” Craig also talks about parenting, grief, and unexpected spiritual moments, like standing soaked by cemetery sprinklers and realising his late father’s sense of humour hadn’t gone anywhere.
Anyone wrestling with alcohol, drugs, or just the fear of feeling anything may see themselves in this story and find some hope in how Craig describes being “rocketed into a fourth dimension” of life. Could this be the kind of raw honesty that nudges you towards your next step?
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