The Tragic Real-Life Story Of Leif Garrett

Along with the likes of Shaun and David Cassidy and the Bay City Rollers, Leif Garrett is one of those names people automatically think of when it comes to 1970s teen idols. Similar to modern-day counterparts like Justin Bieber, Garrett earned the adulation of young fans around the world thanks to his combination of boyish good looks and earworm-worthy bubblegum pop songs. Compared to the mostly sexually-charged disco acts and alcohol-fueled rock bands of the era, Garrett was ostensibly the wholesome, inoffensive alternative, not only for his fanbase largely made up of pre-teen and teenage girls, but also for their parents.

Unfortunately, it wasn't long before Garrett was seemingly all washed up, having fallen victim to the pitfalls that doom the adult careers of many a former child actor or teen pop heartthrob — of which he was both. By the mid-'80s, Garrett's music career was essentially over, and while he did return to acting, it was mostly in forgettable B-movies. Worse, he was also in the throes of a serious drug addiction and was dealing with guilt over his involvement in a vehicular accident that paralyzed one of his good friends. Here's a look at the tragic life and checkered career of Leif Garrett, starting from his younger days as an actor-turned-musician.

Born on November 8, 1961, in Hollywood, Leif Garrett first got involved in the entertainment industry at 5 years old, and appeared in movies such as 1969's Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice and 1973's Walking Tall.

Five days before the entertainer's 18th birthday, he and his friend Roland Winkler were involved in a serious car accident. As noted by the Los Angeles Times, both young men had allegedly consumed their share of drugs and alcohol at a party before driving off in Garrett's leased Porsche. The car rear-ended another vehicle and flew off a freeway embankment, leaving Winkler paralyzed — an especially tragic outcome for someone who made a living as a dancer. Garrett, who was behind the wheel, emerged relatively unscathed.

Following the accident, Garrett and Winkler were involved in a messy legal battle with each other for several years. But the incident had a lasting impact on Garrett that went far beyond any financial settlements he and his family's insurers had to pay, as it left him feeling guilty over his role in the car crash that rendered his friend paraplegic. The two estranged friends would tearfully reunite, however, on a 1999 episode of VH1's Behind the Music, (posted on YouTube), when Winkler said that Garrett somehow saved his life and that he wouldn't trade places with him if he had the chance to relive the night of the accident.

Sadly, Roland Winkler died on May 25, 2017, at the age of 57, having dealt with "constant physical problems from the accident which eventually led to his passing," according to his Find a Grave page.

But outside of a minor role in 1983's The Outsiders, which also starred future Hollywood icons such as Tom Cruise, Emilio Estevez, and Patrick Swayze, the former teen idol mostly appeared in a slew of forgettable B-movies, as shown on his IMDb page. Apparently, he was also deep into heroin abuse as he found himself further and further removed from his glory days as a pop star.

Per Biography, Garrett revealed on his Behind the Music episode in 1999 that he had recently beaten his heroin addiction, and that, combined with the rekindling of his friendship with Roland Winkler, looked like a happy ending for the former hitmaker. That wasn't the case after all, as shortly after the episode premiered on VH1, he was arrested in Los Angeles by undercover cops posing as drug dealers.

Amid multiple failed musical projects, as well as a self-parodying role in the 2003 David Spade film Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star, Garrett's drug problems continued, as evidenced by separate arrests in 2004 and 2006, the latter of which resulted in jail time. His most recent drug arrest was in February 2010, when officers at a Los Angeles train station found some black tar heroin in his shoe, per CNN. Later that year, he was part of the cast for season 4 of Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew, though he would allege in 2011 that the show's producers tried to manufacture drama by urging him to use drugs on-camera, according to Today.

Leif Garrett is best remembered as a musician, landing a string of hit disco tunes and covers like "I Was Made for Dancin'," and "Surfin' USA." The music was really more of a side gig for Garrett, a way to exploit his popularity with young audiences garnered from a healthy acting career — he was all over TV in the '70s, appearing on "Gunsmoke," "Cannon," "Family Affair," and "The Odd Couple" as well as featuring in the hit "Walking Tall" movies.

Garrett regrets how he entered into a musical career, and looking back on it, wishes he'd handled it differently and taken it more seriously. "When I was a young man, I was offered this chance to have a music career. But instead of doing it the right way – training with a singing coach – my voice was processed to the point where it barely even sounded like me," Garrett told Fox News in 2020. "You hear me singing on the records, but it wasn't just me alone." Some tracks he laid down in the '70s barely feature him at all. "If you listen carefully, it's just not me at all. My vocals are mixed in there but it's just not me." Because his voice wasn't up to the rigors of professional pop recording, producers brought in a session singer named Jim Haas. Garrett even pinpoints his habitual, problem-level drug use on trying to flee the "lie of me being this musical artist."

Leif Garrett was raised in a single-parent household, his mother rearing him by herself from the time that the future pop star was 5 years old. That's the age he was when his father left the family, completely disappearing from his son's life for more than a decade, resurfacing in 1977 when Garrett was a teenager and a famous entertainer. "I saw him for a half-hour when I was 16 and then I didn't see him again until my forties," Garrett told Fox News.

Then, once again, many more years passed until Garrett and his father spent a substantial period of time together. In the 2010s, the elder Garrett fell ill and his son became his primary caregiver. "It was all about that. He wasn't able to give me what I wanted," Leif Garrett explained. In late 2019, Garrett's father died, with many issues remaining unresolved. "I'm still beat up from that because I really wanted to get to know him," Garrett said. "I wanted to understand so many things I never got answers to."