Leif Per Nervik (born November 8, 1961) better known by his stage name of Leif Garrett is an American singer and actor. He became famous as a teen idol and received publicity as an adult for his drug abuse and legal troubles.

Early life

Garrett was born in Hollywood, California to cameraman, stuntman, and actor Rik Nervik (né Rick Nervick) and Carolyn Stellar (née Carolyn Underwood). His younger sister is actress Dawn Lyn of My Three Sons. The family is of Norwegian descent. He attended Robert Louis Stevenson Elementary in Burbank, CA. His mother had run-ins with Leif's first grade teacher over his hair length.

Career

Garrett began his acting career as a five-year-old. His notable roles as a child actor include his breakthrough as "Jimmy Henderson" in Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice, his role as the protagonist's son "Mike Pusser" in the Walking Tall series, and his recurring role as "Zack Russell" on the ABC-TV series Family.
In autumn of 1976, Garrett signed a recording contract with Atlantic Records and recorded his first album, Leif Garrett. The album was released in 1977 and his first four singles charted modestly on the US Hot 100, with "Runaround Sue" reaching the highest at #13. In mid-1978, he signed with Scotti Brothers Records and recorded his second album Feel the Need. The album's first single, "I Was Made For Dancin' ", reached #10 on the US Hot 100 and #4 on the British Chart but subsequent singles failed to crack the top 20 in either country. Neverthless, Garrett continued to record, releasing the albums Same Goes For You (1979), Can't Explain (1980), and My Movie of You (1981) in quick succession.
In the 80s Garrett returned to acting, appearing as "Bob Sheldon" in the 1983 Francis Ford Coppola film The Outsiders. In 1985, he starred in Shaker Run as a mechanic and in Thunder Alley as the lead singer of a pop band that is torn apart by drugs. Other notable Leif Garrett movies from the decade include Delta Fever and the horror film Cheerleader Camp. After a brief break from 1990 to 1995, Garrett returned to acting and singing, appearing in 1995's low-budget horror film Dominion, touring with The Melvins, and recording vocals for "Smells Like Teen Spirit" on their album The Crybaby. In 1998 he released The Leif Garrett Collection, a greatest hits collection, and in 1999 formed the band Godspeed with Christopher Wade Damerst and Michael Scott (The Distortions, Deadtime Stories). They recorded a 3 song EP on Garrett's own label, Tongue and Groove Records, and debuted on the Rosie O'Donnell Show but broke up after only a few shows. In 2003, Garrett appeared as himself in the David Spade film Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star. He also sang and co-wrote "Former Child Star" for the film's soundtrack and was one of the singers of "Child Stars On Your Television", which played over the ending credits.
In September 2006 Garrett appeared on the Celebrity edition of Fear Factor. Garrett made the finals and went on to win the grand prize of US$50,000.
On New Year's Eve 2006, Garrett first appeared in Las Vegas with retro act Original Idols LIVE! hosted by Barry Williams and also featuring the Bay City Rollers, Bo Donaldson and The Heywoods, The Cowsills with selected appearances by Merrill Osmond, Tony DeFranco and Danny Bonaduce. The tour has current bookings and will continue for the 2007 summer/fall schedule.
In August 2007, he was on television when CMT cast Garrett in Ty Murray’s Celebrity Bull Riding Challenge. He was among nine celebrities cast on the show, however he quit after one show citing soreness and lack of desire to continue. [1]

Personal troubles

In 1979, three days before his 18th birthday, Garrett crashed his car while drunk and on Quaaludes. The accident left his passenger, best friend Roland Winkler, a paraplegic. A guilt-stricken Garrett publicly promised to look after Winkler but, after he failed to do so, Winkler's mother filed a $25 million negligence lawsuit against him. Garrett insisted that he did not have the money and the suit was eventually settled out of court for $7.1 million, leaving the friends completely estranged [1][2]. Garrett and Winkler remained estranged until he was approached by VH-1 to film a 1999 episode of the television series Behind The Music. The episode featured Garrett's reunion with an apology to Winkler; Winkler forgave Garrett and acknowledged that Garrett's actions following the accident may actually have saved his life [3]. Since then, the two have remained in touch.
Despite claiming on Behind the Music not to have used drugs since a 1996 intervention, Garrett was arrested for possession only months after the episode aired. Garrett was arrested again in March 2005 and pled guilty to possession of cocaine. However, he subsequently violated his probation, prompting a judge to issue a bench warrant for his arrest in December. On January 14, 2006, Garrett was arrested on a Metro Red Line subway platform in downtown Los Angeles, California for allegedly not having a ticket [4]. Heroin was found in his possession and Garrett was held in jail without bail before being sentenced to a live-in drug rehabilitation program. He left the program, believing it to be too strict, and was consequently sentenced to 90 days in jail and three years' probation on May 11, 2006. He was credited with the time served since March 30, when he was placed in custody for failing a drug test.

Discography

Albums

• 1977 - Leif Garrett US #37
• 1978 - Feel the Need US #34
• 1979 - Same Goes for You US #129
• 1980 - Can't Explain US #185
• 1981 - My Movie of You
• 1998 - The Leif Garrett Collection

Chart singles

• 1977 Surfin' USA US #20
• 1978 Put Your Head On My Shoulder US #58
• 1978 Runaround Sue US #13
• 1978 The Wanderer US #49
• 1979 I Was Made For Dancin' US #10, UK #4
• 1979 Feel The Need US #57, UK #38
• 1979 When I Think Of You US #78
• 1980 I Was Looking For Someone To Love US #78
• 1980 Memorize Your Number US #60
• 1981 Runaway Rita US# 84

Notes

Garrett has sung on releases by The Melvins (The Crybaby), The Crush Ups ("Betty Ford For X-Mas"), and Liberty n' Justice ("Sight Unseen" on Soundtrack of a Soul), among others.
Garrett's stage work includes playing in The National Theatre of The Deaf's production of A Child's Christmas is Wales in late 2000. He also appeared in summer stock at The Barn Theatre's production of Old Timer in 2001.

Filmography

1. 2006 Fear Factor (Celebrity edition) (TV)
2. 2005 Popstar
3. 2005 American Black Beauty (TV)
4. 2003 Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star
5. 1999 The Art of a Bullet
6. 1998 I Woke Up Early the Day I Died
7. 1998 The Next Tenant
8. 1996 The Whispering
9. 1995 Dominion
10. 1995 VH1's 8-Track Flashback (TV)
11. 1990 The Spirit of '76
12. 1989 The Banker
13. 1988 Party Line
14. 1987 Cheerleader Camp (released in the UK as "Bloody Pom-Poms")
15. 1987 Delta Fever
16. 1986 The Road to Freedom: L. Ron Hubbard and Friends (V)
17. 1985 Thunder Alley
18. 1985 Shaker Run
19. 1983 The Outsiders
20. 1981 Longshot
21. 1980 God's Gun
22. 1978 Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
23. 1978 Skateboard
24. 1977 Peter Lundy and the Medicine Hat Stallion (TV)
25. 1977 Final Chapter: Walking Tall
26. 1977 Kid Vengeance
27. 1976 Flood! (TV)
28. 1976 Diamante Lobo
29. 1975 Walking Tall Part II
30. 1975 Three for the Road (TV)
31. 1975 The Last Survivors (TV)
32. 1974 Strange Homecoming (TV)
33. 1974 Macon County Line
34. 1974 Devil Times Five
35. 1973 Walking Tall
36. 1971 Black Noon (TV)