By Lori Acken, ReMIND Magazine
In the interest of full disclosure, I was one of the countless teenage girls who plastered their bedroom walls with Leif Garrett posters throughout the ’70s and early ’80s. In fact, I was so smitten with the sleepy-eyed, flaxen-maned heartthrob — who stole girls’ hearts in such fare as 1983’s Francis Ford Coppola film The Outsiders and guest spots on CHiPs and Family — that my best friend and I spent hours tossing suction-tip darts at the images and smooching the ones we hit.
When I finally got an opportunity to chat with my lifelong crush, I found that Garrett has evolved into an open, charming and entirely self-aware gentleman who is humbled by the international legion of faithful fans who refuse to see his tabloid press as the sum total of the man and his career.
“I guess everything coming together in perfect harmony at one moment made it happen,” recalls Garrett, 54, who now focuses on making music. “The way I looked and the way I presented myself — the clothing, the attitude, the music — that sort of thing. It’s very flattering and I feel privileged to have gone through it, even with the downsides.”
Those downsides were formidable. Though Garrett and his sister, Dawn Lyn, were sought-after child actors, their mother was a novice in an industry overrun by people skilled at taking advantage. “Everything was absolutely perfect up until ’84,” Garrett explains. “That was when [Garrett’s music producers] the Scotti Brothers made the mistake of telling Paramount and Universal that I didn’t want to sign a two-picture deal after doing The Outsiders. They started their own production company with me, instead — doing a movie about foosball. I just did The Outsiders and they’re having me do a B-movie about foosball? The people who were in charge had no intent of ever letting me have any kind of say. I was told I had no other offers and that nothing else came in. Because they were greedy.”
Garrett watched as his Outsiders costars moved into serious film careers, while he languished in toss-off flicks and bubblegum records focused on his heartthrob status instead of his talent. Soon he rebelled, immersing himself in the L.A. nightlife and spiraling into addiction that wreaked havoc with his career and personal relationships. Still, he kept his chin up, making the most of roles that tweaked his former teen-dream fame and earning a younger following in West Hollywood’s music clubs.
Garrett says he’s also been approached to do a Kardashian-style docuseries. “I just can’t figure out the format yet — how to do a reality show and keep as much of my private life private,” he smiles. “Maybe something like me trying racecar driving, having the cameras follow me doing that. Doing it without going into my home every day. ‘There’s Leif brushing his teeth!’ That’s just errrgh!”
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Photo Credit: Photo via Newscom
