He was one of the biggest teen idols ever but his life took a horrible downward spiral

Throughout his career, the former teen idol experienced intense highs and devastating lows. The highs he chased through drug addiction ultimately led to the downfall of his career…

Before you see him today at 62, you might want to brace yourself…

Leif Garrett was quite the heartthrob back in the day. He began as a child actor, and by the 1970s, he had young women swooning as he transitioned into a music career.

My mom recalls going to the grocery store with her parents and seeing Leif’s face plastered across all the teen magazine covers at the checkout lanes.

The American singer and actor, born in Hollywood, California, made his film debut at just 5 years old in the 1969 movie *Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice*, which went on to become the sixth highest-grossing film of the year.

After that role, the sleepy-eyed, flaxen-haired heartthrob starred in *Walking Tall* and its two sequels. In 1983, he joined a lineup of fellow teen idols, including Matt Dillon, C. Thomas Howell, Patrick Swayze, and Tom Cruise, in Francis Ford Coppola’s *The Outsiders*.

Many might also recognize him from his appearances in TV series like *Family*, *The Odd Couple* (1974), *Wonder Woman* (1978), and *CHiPs* (1979).

In 1977, he released his debut album, *Leif Garrett*, and fans went wild for his covers of popular songs like Dion’s “The Wanderer,” The Beach Boys’ “Surfin’ USA,” and Paul Anka’s “Put Your Head on My Shoulder.”

Garrett was on top of the world. The blond, shaggy-haired singer toured globally, driving his mostly young female fans wild at every appearance.

“I was on a public appearance tour in Sydney, Australia, and they had to fly me in by helicopter. Then I jumped into an armored car and drove into the theater through the back door. I’d tried using a limo before, but the fans almost tipped it over. I guess it’s an adrenaline push for them. They just freak out. It’s very weird,” Garrett told *New York Daily News* in 1979.

But despite his music nearing the top of the charts, Garrett faced challenges behind the scenes. He struggled with management that made him feel like a “fraud,” and the transition to adulthood was equally tough.

“I think I was a good performer from the start, but I wish they had offered me singing lessons before ever making a record. Instead, they did the typical thing of punching in a sentence here or there or words or whatever,” Garrett shared in an interview.

“There’s a particular track, ‘I Was Looking for Someone to Love,’ that doesn’t even sound like me at all. I would even say I wasn’t on that track. And to me, that *is* fraud. It’s like a Milli Vanilli situation, except mine was blended many times with myself and somebody else.”

Garrett’s career took a devastating turn in 1979 when, under the influence of alcohol and drugs, he crashed a car in North Hollywood, sending it tumbling down a hillside. The accident left his close friend, Ronald Winkler, paralyzed from the waist down.

But that tragedy didn’t stop Garrett’s downward spiral.

By 1980, at what he describes in his book as “the apex of pinup fame,” Garrett was fully immersed in the rock-and-roll lifestyle. He found himself caught up in the world of sex, drugs, and music, partying with none other than Queen’s legendary frontman, Freddie Mercury. At the time, Mercury was working on *The Game*, the album that produced hits like “Crazy Little Thing Called Love” and “Another One Bites the Dust.” Garrett became friends with the band, who introduced him to the excesses of rock star life, complete with all the girls and drugs that came with it.

Garrett’s list of legal troubles is long. He repeatedly dropped out of rehab and had multiple encounters with the law, including being caught attempting to buy drugs from undercover officers and trying to conceal heroin in his shoe.

Despite his efforts to reclaim his former glory, Garrett ultimately fell back into his old destructive patterns.

Fortunately, Leif Garrett is now sober.

“I ended up with a 90-day sentence in county jail. Before that, I was in court-ordered rehab, but when my mom visited and told me she had stage IV lung cancer, I said, ‘I’m leaving to take care of her—nobody lives with her.’ Dealing with that, I started using again. So it was like, ‘Cuff him, bring him in,’ and I did the 90 days, and that was it,” Garrett recalls.

Despite everything, the former teen idol remains deeply appreciative of his fans.

“I’ve kept every photo or letter from fans, especially those who wrote about having my poster on their walls and kissing it good night before bed,” Garrett shared with Closer. “It’s surreal and a bit embarrassing, but incredibly flattering! I can’t thank them enough, because I’m still able to do something I love and get paid for it.”

We’re rallying behind Leif’s recovery and hope he can enjoy his life now!