Another Fallen Star

I read today that former teen idol Leif Garrett is back in jail.  The 70's heart throb is doing 45 days after he tested positive for drug use.  Garrett was arrested in January when he tried to ride the Los Angeles subway without paying for a ticket.  When he was arrested, the police found he was in possession of heroin.  The judge allowed him to enter a court-supervised out-patient drug treatment program in lieu of doing time in jail.  Garrett vowed to stay clean in order to avoid going to jail.  He said he was embarrassed by his rough appearance in a widely published booking photo.  He said he never wanted to look like he did in his mug shot.  Apparently that doesn't bother him now.

Last month, the judge ordered Garrett to stay in the rehab program another 30 days.  The former teen idol could have been home a couple of days ago if he'd stayed clean and hadn't failed his drug test.  He could have been released from the program on April 6 if he hadn't screwed up.  So now he's doing 45 days in jail, and wearing that orange jumpsuit that he vowed he would never wear again. 

Unfortunately, Garrett has a history of drug problems.  He pleased guilty in March 2005 to attempted possession of cocaine.  His judge must have been a big fan of his in the 70's, because she placed him on probation for that little infraction. In 1999, Los Angeles police arrested the bandanna-wearing musician in the MacArthur Park area after he allegedly tried to buy narcotics from undercover officers.  And,in 1979, Garrett was behind the wheel of a Porsche and allegedly under the influence of beer and drugs when he rear-ended a car, leaving his passenger disabled.  He's already gotten more chances than the average person would have in that situation, but he just doesn't seem to learn.

I never was a Leif Garrett fan in the 70's.  I was all into Shaun Cassidy instead. But I remember getting hacked off because he was in Tiger Beat and all of the other teen magazines all the time.  The girl next door was a big Leif Garrett fan and I would trade her Leif Garrett pictures and articles for Shaun Cassidy and Andy Gibb things.  Even as a young girl, looking at the pictures of Garrett in the magazines, I remember thinking that he looked like he was high all the time.  After reading about his drug problems, it looks like he might have been.