Born on November 8, 1961, in Hollywood, California, to show business parents, Leif Garrett was one of the most popular teen idols of the 1970s. With a successful career in both singing and acting, Garrett seemed to have it all. But trouble with drugs and the law derailed his career at times, and his exploits outside the entertainment arena have garnered him more attention Contents
Singer, actor. Born on November 8, 1961, in Hollywood, California. Once one of the most popular teen idols of the 1970s, Leif Garrett has become better known for his battles with substance abuse than his talents in recent years.
Born to show business parents, Garrett got into acting at an early age. He started working around the age of 5 and made his film debut a few years later in the hit comedy Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice (1969) in an uncredited part. Garrett’s next notable film role was in the southern action drama Walking Tall (1973) as one of the children of Buford Pusser, the film’s crusading lawman. His sister Dawn Lyn also had a role in the film as one of Pusser’s other children.
On television, Garrett landed several guest starring roles, appearing in episodes of Nanny and the Professor, Family Affair, and Gunsmoke. He starred in the adventure series Three for the Road as the son of a freelance photographer (Alex Rocco) who accompanied his father on his different assignments along with his brother (Vincent Van Patten) in 1975. Unfortunately, the show was cancelled after only a few months on the air. This disappointment did little hamper his career. He remained in demand, appearing such films as Macon County Line (1974) and Walking Tall, Part 2 (1975) around that same time. Music Career
While he was a popular young actor, Garrett also wanted to sing. He signed a deal with Atlantic Records in 1977 and released his first album that same year. Scoring hits with covers of the Beach Boys’ “Surfin’ U.S.A.” and Dion’s “Runaround Sue,” Garrett soon developed a huge following among young teenage girls. Pictures of the 16-year-old star were often featured in fan magazines, such as Tiger Beat, 16, and Teen Beat. His next album for Atlantic, Can’t Explain (1978) featured more 1960s rock covers, including The Who’s “I Can’t Explain.”
Moving to the Scotti Brothers record label, Garrett went for a more contemporary sound—disco. He scored his biggest hit to date with “I Was Made for Dancing” off of Feel the Need (1978), which did well domestically and internationally. In addition to his success as a singer, he continued to act. Garrett had a recurring role on the domestic drama Family in 1978 as Kristy McNichol’s boyfriend. He also starred in Skateboard: The Movie (1978).
Off screen, Garrett was on a path for self-destruction. He has said that he started using drugs when he was 14. By the age of 17, Garrett’s partying ways caught up with him. He was high when he crashed his car, leaving his passenger and best friend Roland Winkler, in a wheelchair for life. A legal battle ensued between Garrett and Winkler, which was later settled. Garrett’s guilt over the incident, however, haunted him for years. Branching Out
Despite his personal problems, Garrett released two more albums, Same Goes for You (1979) and My Movie of You (1981). He also made several film appearances, most notably Francis Ford Coppola’s The Outsiders (1983). By the end of the decade, however, Garrett had all but disappeared. He later told the Los Angeles Times that “I made a point of stepping away from it for a while, from all of the hoopla because the glare was too bright. It was too much.”
In the late 1990s, Garrett resurfaced on the series 8-Track Flashback on the cable music channel VH-1, replacing another teen heartthrob David Cassidy as host. VH-1 went on to feature Garrett in a 1999 episode of its Behind the Music series. The show included a reunion between Garrett and his former friend Winkler who told Garrett that he had forgiven him for the accident. Seemingly sober, Garrett talked about how he conquered his heroin addiction on the program. His addiction got the better of him shortly after the episode aired when he was arrested in Los Angeles’ MacArthur Park for trying to buy drugs from uncover officers.
Around this time, Garrett also released his latest music effort as part of a group called Godspeed. They only recorded a handful of tracks before splitting up in 1999. After that, Garrett joined up with grunge pioneers The Melvins briefly. He even did the vocals for their cover of the Nirvana hit, “Smells like Teen Spirit,” on their album The Crybaby. Later, Garrett formed the hard rock band F8 and took an active role behind the scenes, writing most of the group’s songs.
Source: http://www.biography.com/people/leif-garrett-328692?page=1
