Former teen idol Leif Garrett’s life took a horrible downward spiral – this is him now
Leif Garrett stole the hearts of millions of teens when he landed a career as an actor back in the day. He later turned to music and was regarded one of the most famous teenage stars of his time.
When he first appeared on screen, in the film Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice in 1969, which was the sixth highest-grossing film of the year, Garrett was just five years old. His performance, however, was so good that everyone predicted a successful career for him.
Following that role, the sleepy-eyed heartthrob landed a part in the film Walking Tall, along with its two sequels. In 1983 he joined a number of fellow teen sensations, including Matt
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Dillon, C. Thomas Howell, Patrick Swayze and Tom Cruise, in Francis Ford Coppola’s The Outsiders.
Other series Garrett took part in, among the rest, are Family, The Odd Couple (1974), Wonder Woman (1978) and CHiPs (1979).
As his career as an actor skyrocketed, he decided to try himself as a musician and was as successful. His first album, Leif Garret, was released in 1977, and it didn’t come as a surprise that it gathered the attention of many. Soon, tours followed, and Garrett felt like he was on top of the world, which wasn’t far from the truth.
”I was on a public appearance tour in Sydney, Australia, and they had to fly me in by helicopter and then I jumped into an armored car and drove into the theater by back door. I’ve tried using a lim there before, but the fans almost tipped it over. I guess it’s an adrenalin push for them.
They just freak out. It’s very weird,” Garrett told New York Daily News in 1979.
He, however, faced challenges, and one of them was his transition to adulthood, as well as issues with his managers.
“I think I was a good performer from the get-go but I wish they had offered me singing lessons before ever making a record and doing the typical punching in a sentence here or there or words or whatever,” Garret said in an interview.
