Leif Garrett | |
---|---|
Background information | |
Birth name | Leif Per Nervik |
Born | November 8, 1961 |
Origin | Hollywood, California, U.S. |
Genres | |
Occupations |
|
Instrument(s) | Vocals, guitar |
Years active | 1966–present |
Labels | 20th Century, Atlantic, Scotti Brothers, Tongue and Groove, Cleopatra, Golden Lane |
Website | www |
Leif Garrett (born Leif Per Nervik; November 8, 1961) is an American actor, singer, and television personality. He worked as a child actor, then in the 1970s became famous as a teen idol in music. He later received much publicity for his drug abuse and legal troubles.
Garrett was born in Hollywood, California, to Rik Nervik and actress Carolyn Stellar, [4] and started his entertainment career at age five. His father was absent for most of his life. [5] He graduated from high school aged 15. [6]
This section of a biography of a living person needs additional citations for verification .(May 2023) |
Garrett and his sister Dawn Lyn worked a variety of acting jobs. They co-starred in the horror movie Devil Times Five as juvenile mental patients who go on a murder spree at an isolated ski resort. Dawn and Leif also guest-starred in an episode of Gunsmoke as well as Wonder Woman . [7]
Garrett's more notable performances include the breakthrough role of Jimmy Henderson in Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice (1969); the protagonist's son Mike Pusser from the Walking Tall movies (1973, 1975, 1977) and the recurring role of Zack Russell on the ABC TV series Family . [8] He also played the role of Leonard Unger, the son of Felix Unger (Tony Randall), on the ABC series The Odd Couple , a part that had been previously played by Willie Aames.
In late 1975, Garrett appeared in the role of Endy Karras in a 12-week CBS drama series Three for the Road , with Alex Rocco as his father, Peter Karras, and Vincent Van Patten as his older brother, John Karras. [9] Garrett's appearance in the program triggered a response from teenage girls and led to his first appearances in teenage magazines, such as Tiger Beat . Garrett also played alongside Lee Van Cleef in two Spaghetti Westerns shot mainly in Israel: Kid Vengeance and God's Gun . He played the title role in the television film Peter Lundy and the Medicine Hat Stallion and also starred in the film Skateboard . [10]
In the early 1980s, Garrett returned to acting, appearing in a small role as Bob Sheldon in the 1983 Francis Ford Coppola film The Outsiders . In 1985, he starred in Thunder Alley as the lead singer of a pop band that is torn apart by drugs, and in Shaker Run as a mechanic. Other notable Garrett movies from the decade include Delta Fever and the horror film Cheerleader Camp . He played a deranged murderer who was in love with his sister in Party Line .
In late 1976, Garrett signed a five-album recording contract with Atlantic Records. In early 1977, he released a single called "Come Back When You Grow Up", and recorded his first album, Leif Garrett . The album was released in July 1977, and his first four singles charted modestly on the US Billboard Hot 100. All of these hits were covers of late 1950s and early 1960s hits such as the Dion covers "Runaround Sue" and "The Wanderer". In mid-1978, he signed with Scotti Brothers Records and recorded his second album, Feel the Need . Its first single, "I Was Made for Dancin'", reached number 10 on the US Hot 100 and number 4 on the UK Singles Chart early in 1979. It became his greatest hit in the US and the UK. [11]
Subsequent singles failed to crack the Top 20 in either country, but he continued to record, releasing the albums Same Goes For You (1979), Can't Explain (1980) and My Movie of You (1981) in quick succession. In May 1979, he hosted a TV special, Leif, with guest stars Brooke Shields, Marie Osmond, Bob Hope and Flip Wilson. [12]
In 1981, Garrett recorded "I Am a Rebel", words and music expressly composed for him by Victorio Pezzolla and produced by Richard Finch of KC and the Sunshine Band which became the theme song for an Italian TV program entitled Il Barattolo. He mostly stopped recording music in the early 1980s and concentrated on acting for the rest of the decade. [13] He later claimed the producers would not allow him to make music aimed at an adult audience when he reached his early twenties. [14] In 1986, he provided lead vocals to the song "The Way to Happiness", and backing vocals to the title track of the L. Ron Hubbard album The Road to Freedom .[ citation needed ]
In the mid-1990s, Garrett returned to acting and singing, appearing in the 1995 low-budget horror film Dominion, touring with the Melvins and recording vocals for their cover of "Smells Like Teen Spirit" on The Crybaby (2000). In 1998, a greatest hits compilation, The Leif Garrett Collection , was released. Garrett, however, has stated: "My former record label was bought out. The label was started by me … meaning my music started it, funded it. And then it was bought out by some company that released the Greatest Hits Collection. Not only have I not seen any royalties from that, but they wanted me to promote it—the compensation being a couple of CDs." [15]
In the late 1990s, Garrett hosted the series 8-Track Flashback on the cable music channel VH-1, replacing fellow teen idol David Cassidy. VH-1 went on to feature Garrett in a 1999 episode of its Behind the Music series. [16]
In 1999, he formed the band Godspeed with Christopher Wade Damerst and Michael Scott (the Distortions, Deadtime Stories). They recorded a three-song EP on Garrett's own label, Tongue and Groove Records.
Garrett's stage work includes playing the title role in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat and, in late 2000, appearing in the National Theatre of the Deaf's production of A Child's Christmas in Wales. He also appeared in summer stock at The Barn Theatre's production of Old Timer in 2001. In the same year, he voiced himself in the animated television series Family Guy episode "The Thin White Line".
In 2003, Garrett appeared as himself in the David Spade film Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star . He co-wrote and sang "Former Child Star" for the film's soundtrack and was one of the singers of "Child Stars on Your Television", which played over the ending credits. He appeared with Aaron Carter in the 2005 film Popstar .
In September 2006, Garrett appeared on the celebrity edition of Fear Factor . He won the grand prize of $50,000. On New Year's Eve 2006, Garrett first appeared in Las Vegas with retro act Original Idols Live!, hosted by Barry Williams. The show also featured the Bay City Rollers, Bo Donaldson and the Heywoods, and the Cowsills, with selected appearances by Merrill Osmond, Tony DeFranco, and Danny Bonaduce.
In August 2007, Country Music Television (CMT) cast Garrett in the short-lived Ty Murray's Celebrity Bull Riding Challenge, among nine celebrities appearing on the show. However, he quit after one episode, citing soreness and lack of desire to continue. [17]
In November 2007, Garrett released the album Three Sides of..., which constituted songs he recorded with his current band F8 and his 1990s band Godspeed as well as some new songs.
In 2008, the producers of TruTV's The Smoking Gun Presents: World's Dumbest... added Garrett to their cast, which features comedic commentary from celebrities like Garrett who have had brushes with the law. Garrett has frequently spoofed his troubled past and participates in a wide variety of sketches and skits written specially for him by the show's producers. In a 2010 episode, Garrett reenacted his recent arrest with two actors, including Todd Bridges, another show regular, portraying police officers.[ citation needed ]
Garrett toured South Korea in May 2010, with shows in Seoul and Busan. This marked the 30th anniversary of Garrett's first performance in Korea in June 1980. He embarked on another tour of the country in 2013.
Garrett was a cast member in the fourth season of Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew , which documented Garrett's struggle with addiction to heroin. The season premiered December 1, 2010. [18] Garrett's sister, Dawn Lyn, and mother, Carolyn Stellar (November 6, 1934 – September 2, 2022), who was battling Stage 4 lung cancer, both appeared in Episode 7, which was filmed during Family Day, when the recovering addicts were visited by their loved ones to discuss how their addiction affected their family relationship. [4]
In the early 2010s, Garrett began collaborating with punk rock artist and songwriter Craig Else. He released two singles on the Internet, sharing Else's credits, "Everything" (released in 2010) and "Help You, Make You" (released in 2012). The two also recorded a cover of Neil Young's "Old Man".
He published an autobiography entitled Idol Truth in 2019. [19] In the biography and related interviews, Garrett explained that in multiple tracks in his earlier albums, Jim Haas, actually replaced his vocals entirely. The producers had wanted him to "smooth" Garrett's uneven vocals, but made the choice sometimes to replace Garrett entirely on his own albums. In some cases, Garrett's producers even brought in Haas to sing for Garrett behind a curtain during some live concert tour performances. [20] [21]
Garrett and actress Nicollette Sheridan dated on and off for five years until 1985. [22] Garrett also dated celebrities such as his former Family co-star Kristy McNichol, [23] Tatum O'Neal, and Justine Bateman. In the 1990s, he was in a long-term relationship with actress Elaine Bilstad, who died in 1999 of a heart ailment.[ citation needed ]
In October 2001, Garrett was in a personal bankruptcy proceeding in a federal court in Los Angeles. Court papers stated his only regular income was a $1,000 monthly gift from his mother. His only listed possessions were his clothes, some household goods and about $350 in cash. Garrett had accumulated a $76,198 debt in unpaid credit card bills over a four-year period. [24]
Garrett admitted that he started using drugs when he was 14. [16] On November 3, 1979, five days before his 18th birthday, he crashed a Porsche 914 that was being leased to his mother [25] after a midnight party while he was driving to buy more cocaine. His blood alcohol level was three times over the legal limit of that time and place, [26] and he was high on quaaludes. [27] The accident left his passenger and friend, Roland Winkler, a paraplegic. [28] Garrett had only met Winkler about a month earlier. [29] Neither Garrett nor Winkler was wearing a seatbelt. Garrett was later tried as a juvenile on drunk-driving charges; his driver's license was suspended for a year and he was placed on a year's probation. [30] Winkler sued in January 1980, claiming Garrett was at fault in the accident. [31]
In December 1984, Los Angeles Superior Court ordered Garrett's insurers, Transamerica Insurance Co., to pay $3.9 million to Winkler. Jurors assessed total damages in the civil negligence case at $4,215,500, but subtracted 8% of that amount, or $337,240, on the grounds that Winkler contributed to his own injuries by agreeing to ride in a car with a driver who he knew was drunk. Both Garrett and Winkler admitted in court that they were drunk and had taken depressant drugs; the court heard they had each taken equal amounts of alcohol and drugs that night. The panel ordered Garrett to pay $15,000 in punitive damages, which was not diminished by Winkler's partial responsibility. Winkler's attorney, Edward Steinbrecher, attributed the relatively small punitive damage award to Garrett's testimony that his net worth was only $50,000 to $100,000. [32] In 1987, Winkler settled for $6 million with the Premier Insurance Co., which had insured the firm leasing the Porsche to Garrett's mother. [25] Garrett and Winkler were reunited in 1999 for an episode of Behind the Music , where Garrett was relieved to learn that Winkler had no bad feelings towards him and even said that Garrett's actions following the accident had actually saved his life.[ citation needed ] [33]
Garrett was arrested for possession of cocaine in 1997. [34]
On June 29, 1999, Los Angeles police arrested Garrett in the MacArthur Park area after he allegedly tried to buy heroin and cocaine from undercover officers. [35] In March 2001, a Los Angeles judge issued a warrant for his arrest when he failed to attend court for a progress report required by his 1999 conviction. [36] Two days later, the judge lifted the warrant and dropped the 1999 charges after Garrett submitted evidence that he had completed a rehab program. [34]
In 2004, Garrett was arrested for possession of cocaine. [37] He pleaded guilty in March 2005 to attempted possession of cocaine-based narcotics and was placed on probation. [38] When he failed to appear in court in December 2005 for a status report, a warrant was issued for his arrest. [39]
On January 14, 2006, when Garrett was arrested on a Los Angeles Metro Rail platform for not having a ticket, police found heroin in his possession. [35] Because of the outstanding warrant for violating probation in a cocaine-related arrest, he was held without bail. He agreed to join a strict drug-diversion program, and his release from jail was ordered. [39]
Garrett dropped out of the rehabilitation program and was taken into custody again on March 30 after a Superior Court commissioner determined he failed several drug tests while staying in a live-in drug diversion program. [40] [41] Garrett acknowledged he needed more help. On May 11, after failing to complete court-ordered drug rehabilitation, he was sentenced to 90 days in jail and three years' probation. [42] He was given credit for the jail time he had already served since March 30. [43]
On February 1, 2010, Garrett was arrested again for possession of narcotics. [35] After denying having any drugs in his possession, he finally admitted to police that he had black tar heroin in his shoe. [44] He posted $10,000 bail and was charged with a felony count of heroin possession. [45] On October 18, 2010, he pleaded no contest to heroin possession in Los Angeles and entered a court-ordered rehabilitation program. [46]
Year | Album | Peak chart positions | Record label | |
---|---|---|---|---|
US | AUS [47] | |||
1977 | Leif Garrett | 37 | 2 | Atlantic Records |
1978 | Feel the Need | 34 | 8 | Scotti Brothers Records |
1979 | Same Goes for You | 129 | — | |
1980 | Can't Explain | — | — | |
1981 | My Movie of You | 185 | — | |
1998 | The Leif Garrett Collection | — | — | Rock 'n Roll Records |
2003 | F8 | — | — | |
2007 | Three Sides of... | — | — | Cleopatra Records |
Year | Title | Peak chart positions | Record label | B-side | Album | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
US | US AC | AUS [47] | UK | JPN | GER | |||||
1977 | "Come Back When You Grow Up" | — | — | — | — | — | — | 20th Century Records | "Young World" | |
"Surfin' USA" | 20 | — | 2 | — | — | 6 | Atlantic Records | "Special Kind of Girl" | Leif Garrett | |
"Runaround Sue" | 13 | 48 | 8 | — | — | 19 | "I Wanna Share a Dream with You" | |||
1978 | "Put Your Head on My Shoulder" | 58 | — | 24 | — | — | — | "Kari" | ||
"The Wanderer" | 49 | — | — | — | — | — | "Love on the Run" | |||
"I Was Made for Dancin'" | 10 | 38 | 2 | 4 | 12 | 10 | Scotti Brothers Records | "Living Without Your Love" | Feel the Need | |
1979 | "Sheila" | — | — | 63 | — | — | — | "Fun, Fun, Fun" | ||
"Feel the Need" | 57 | — | 97 | 38 | 72 | 43 | "New York City Nights" | |||
"When I Think of You" | 78 | 11 | — | — | — | — | "New York City Nights" | |||
"Memorize Your Number" | 60 | — | — | — | — | — | "Moonlight Dancin'" | Same Goes for You | ||
1980 | "I Was Looking for Someone to Love" | 78 | — | — | — | — | — | "Little Things You Do" | ||
"You Had to Go and Change on Me" | — | — | — | — | — | — | "Roweena" | Can't Explain | ||
"New York City Nights" | — | — | — | — | 56 | — | "I Was Made For Dancin'" | |||
1981 | "Uptown Girl" | — | — | — | — | — | 74 | "Just Like a Brother" | My Movie of You | |
"Runaway Rita" | 84 | — | — | — | — | — | "Just Like a Brother" | |||
Garrett has also sung on releases by the Melvins (The Crybaby), the Crush Ups ("Betty Ford for X-Mas") and Liberty n' Justice ("Sight Unseen" on Soundtrack of a Soul), among others.
Daniel Leroy Baldwin is an American actor. He is the second oldest of the four Baldwin brothers, all of whom are actors. He is best known for playing the role of Detective Beau Felton in the NBC TV series Homicide: Life on the Street. He also starred in films, Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man (1991), Hero (1992), Mulholland Falls, Trees Lounge, Vampires, Phoenix, Paparazzi (2004), Sidekick (2005), The Beach Party at the Threshold of Hell (2006), and Grey Gardens (2009).
David Drew Pinsky, commonly known as Dr. Drew, is an American media personality, internist, and addiction medicine specialist. He hosted the nationally syndicated radio talk show Loveline from the show's inception in 1984 until its end in 2016. On television, he hosted the talk show Dr. Drew On Call on HLN and the daytime series Lifechangers on The CW. In addition, he served as producer and starred in the VH1 show Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew, and its spinoffs Sex Rehab with Dr. Drew, Celebrity Rehab Presents Sober House. Pinsky currently hosts several podcasts, including Ask Dr. Drew, The Dr. Drew Podcast on the PodcastOne Network, and The Adam and Drew Show with his former Loveline co-host Adam Carolla. From February 2019 - December 2023, he hosted Dr. Drew After Dark on the Your Mom's House network.
Edward Walter Furlong is an American actor. He won Saturn and MTV Movie Awards for his breakthrough performance at age 13 as John Connor in James Cameron's 1991 science fiction action film Terminator 2: Judgment Day, which was followed by a mini-sequel, short attraction film T2-3D: Battle Across Time.
Jason Edward Mewes is an American actor, comedian, film producer, and podcaster. He is best known for playing Jay, the vocal half of the duo Jay and Silent Bob, in longtime friend Kevin Smith's View Askewniverse franchise.
Todd Anthony Bridges is an American actor. He portrayed Willis Jackson on the sitcom Diff'rent Strokes and had a recurring role as Monk on the sitcom Everybody Hates Chris. Bridges worked as a commentator on the television series TruTV Presents: World's Dumbest... from 2008 to 2013.
Eric Anthony Douglas was an American actor and stand-up comedian. Douglas was the youngest son of actor Kirk Douglas and his second wife Anne Buydens. His half-brother was actor and producer Michael Douglas. Douglas pursued a career in show business but did not attain the same level of success as his father and siblings. His career was overshadowed by his numerous run-ins with the law and problems with alcohol and drugs.
Mackenzie Phillips is an American actress. Her best-known roles include Carol Morrison in the film American Graffiti, Julie Cooper Horvath on the sitcom One Day at a Time, Molly Phillips on Disney Channel’s supernatural series So Weird, and Barbara "Barb" Denning in Orange Is the New Black.
Julie Ellen "Tawny" Kitaen was an American actress. She began her career as a television actress, appearing in the television films Malibu (1983) and California Girls (1985). She also starred in the comedies The Perils of Gwendoline in the Land of the Yik-Yak and Bachelor Party, and the horror film Witchboard (1986).
Seth Brooks Binzer, better known by his stage name Shifty Shellshock, was an American rapper and singer-songwriter who cofounded the rap rock band Crazy Town, known for their hit song "Butterfly". He later had a solo career as well. Binzer struggled with addiction throughout his career and appeared on the reality television series Celebrity Rehab and Sober House.
Todd Marvin Marinovich is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL), Canadian Football League (CFL), and Arena Football League (AFL). He played college football for the USC Trojans. Marinovich is known for the well-documented, intense focus of his training as a young athlete and his brief career as a professional, cut short primarily because of his addiction to drugs.
Jessica Ann Sierra is an American former singer and was the tenth-place finalist on the fourth season of American Idol. She was the third finalist eliminated, on March 30, 2005. Sierra released her single Enough in October 2010, from her shelved debut album Rebound.
Jeremy Dunn Jackson is an American actor and singer. He is best known for his role as Hobie Buchannon on the television show Baywatch.
Michael Christopher Starr was an American musician best known as the original bassist for the rock band Alice in Chains, with which he played from the band's formation in 1987 until January 1993. He was also a member of Sato, Gypsy Rose, Sun Red Sun, and Days of the New.
Cameron Morrell Douglas is an American actor.
The Wonderland Gang was a group of drug dealers involved in the Los Angeles cocaine trade during the late 1970s and early 1980s; their home base was located on Wonderland Avenue in the Laurel Canyon neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. On July 1, 1981, three members and one associate of the gang died in the Wonderland murders.
Antonella Maria Barba is an American singer. Born in Santa Monica, California and raised in Point Pleasant, New Jersey, Barba rose to prominence while competing on the sixth season of American Idol. She attracted media scrutiny after semi-nude photos of her were leaked online. The show was criticized for allowing Barba to continue to compete when producers had disqualified second season contestant Frenchie Davis under similar circumstances.
Arthur Steven Lange Jr. is an American stand-up comedian, actor, and radio personality best known for his tenures on the sketch comedy series Mad TV from 1995 to 1997 and The Howard Stern Show from 2001 to 2009. Raised in New Jersey, Lange first worked as a longshoreman and taxi driver to help support his family, following the death of his quadriplegic father. He debuted as a stand-up comic in 1987 and took up the profession full-time five years later, developing his act on the New York City club circuit.
Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew, later called simply Rehab with Dr. Drew, is a reality television show that aired on the cable network VH1 in which many of the episodes chronicle a group of celebrities as they are treated for alcohol and drug addiction by Dr. Drew Pinsky and his staff at the Pasadena Recovery Center in Pasadena, California. The first five seasons of the series, on which Pinsky also serves as executive producer, cast celebrities struggling with addiction, with the first season premiering on January 10, 2008, and the fifth airing in 2011.
Joseph Eugene Kovar was an American model and reality television star and bodybuilder who first appeared in the twentieth season of MTV's The Real World, The Real World: Hollywood, in 2008.
Alexis Christine Haines is a member of the Bling Ring and a former television personality. At the age of 18, she was arrested for her involvement in a string of burglaries that targeted the homes of multiple celebrities. Haines served one month of a six-month sentence after her conviction for one count of first degree residential burglary.