pop cultured

With pop hits like “Runaround Sue” and “I Was Made For Dancing”, Leif Garrett was one of the hottest teen idols of the 1970’s. I never dug his music, but thought his looks were totally dreamy.  Unfortunately, as happens to many child stars, Garrett got into trouble experimenting with drugs and alcohol. A car accident in 1979 left a passenger in his car (his best friend at the time, Roland Winkler), paralyzed.

Garrett spent the next two decades battling his demons, going through messy lawsuits and finally reuniting with Winkler in 1999 for a VH1 “behind the Music” episode. Through the 80’s he had bit parts in films, appearing in movies like ‘the Outsiders” and “The Spirit of ‘76” and he also continued with his singing career, although he went from singing sugary pop tunes to alternative music.

Never married, Garrett had 2 high-profile relationships: he dated Nicolette Sheridan in the early 1980’s and he dated Justine Bateman in the late 80’s.

He continued to struggle with drugs into the early 2000’s. In 2007 he released an album, “The Three Sides Of…”. Today he lives in California and continues his work as a singer.

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