The famous teen of 70s, was an idol for his fans, where he was on many magazine covers. Sadly, he was struggling with the fame he received at a young age and that led him being addicted to substances.
He became an incredibly famous figure in his teen years, as he was a nationwide star. He was both handsome and talented. His babyface was serving a non-threatening, comforting persona to his fans.
He revealed that his acting led him to be a musician. “So obviously part of it was because of the look, but if you can’t back it up with some talent, which is why you’d still be out in the public eye, then you can’t be there for just the way you look,” the star said once.
“There was a lot of bad decision-making. But at the same time, I didn’t have the parental guidance that I should have at that time,” he said of his trouble with the fame.
His parents didn’t do much parenting, as they were looking at him as a money maker, instead of their son.
He was arrested in 2010 for drug possession. He spent 90 days in jail, and that was a call for him to stop using drugs. He stated, “Obviously, perpetuating this lie of me being this musical artist. I sang, but it wasn’t me 100 percent.”
“I didn’t feel like I was being heard. No one wanted to hear what I had to say. As long as people were buying my records, it didn’t matter.”
He had a tragic car accident in 1979, where his friend Roland Winkler paralyzed. In a 1999 episode of “Behind the Music,” he reunited with Winkler.
“That was as raw and real as it gets. I had no idea that I was going to be seeing Roland and that he would tell me that he did not hold me responsible, even though I held myself responsible big time for that and deservingly so,” he said.
Leif Garrett published his memoir, “Idol Truth,” in 2019, where he shared an unfiltered perspective of his life. He told his stories of how he became a teen idol, and how wild his live was in the past.
Today, Garrett is living a quiet life, where he had his lesson from the troubles of his past. “I look back at my life and there are many things I got to experience that other people never get to do. And I’m grateful for that. I just wish it could have been a better situation. I wish I had made better decisions,” Garrett said.
“I’m at the point where I am happy with who I am. I never want to stop learning, first of all. The moment we stop trying to investigate and try new things, we stagnate and die. There are physical aches and pains, but mentally I still feel 18. […] I love that,” Garrett laughed.
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