Leif Garrett lives the rock 'n' roll life

Leif Garrett has achieved the heights of success, but in spite of that has lived a life most of us wouldn't wish on our worst enemy. A teen idol at 17, Garrett toured the country as the apple of every young girl's eye. He had a huge hit, "I Was Made For Dancing," a TV and movie acting career and his future looked bright.

But what many people didn't know was that the sleepy-eyed teen with the flowing blond locks was partying like a Rolling Stone. From the age of 14 he was in the care of managers who, he now says, treated him like an adult, and on the fringes of a scene where drugs were offered freely, age notwithstanding.

At 17, he was involved in an accident that permanently paralyzed a longtime friend. Garrett's battle with drug addiction, particularly heroin, carried from his teen years through his late 30s, when his fame was long gone and his name was little more than a trivia mention.

A few years ago, the sensationalistic VH1 show "Behind The Music" featured him in one of the more poignant updates in the show's history. At the time, Garrett had cleaned up his act, but the death of a girlfriend soon afterward sent him back into another downward spiral.

Now three years clean at age 40, Garrett has formed a band called F8, which plays standard rock, and which Garrett hopes will catapult him back to the top of the celebrity heap, or at least provide him with enough success to make a living playing the music he loves, and provide a measure of fame beyond "former teen idol."

Bankrate spoke with Garrett about the business portion of his career.

Bankrate: Did the money from your teen idol days sustain you throughout the years?

Leif Garrett: It sustained me for many years, but not as long as it could have. It could have lasted me for the rest of my life if I'd been paid all of the money I legitimately made. Unfortunately, my managers had two sets of books, and their attorney was my attorney. There was a conflict of interest. So there were a lot of shenanigans going on that I could still sue over, but I just don't want my life being dragged through the media again.

Bankrate: When your fame faded and your personal problems multiplied, how were you living financially?

Leif Garrett: Off the teen-idol money. Plus I was still working, and I had a lot of residuals coming in. I've been an actor since I was 5 years old. I still collect residuals from jobs I'd done when I was 8. Of course, they're down to nothing. I got a check the other day from "Walking Tall" (1973). It was for, like, $11.

Bankrate: How are you living financially now?

Leif Garrett: I've done movies. I've written songs for movie soundtracks and things like that. I've been working here and there, but I've never had a 9-to-5 job, thank god. Quite honestly, rather than deal with my former managers ever again, I'd rather pump gas.

Bankrate: So what is your biggest source of income at this point?

Leif Garrett: My acting and music. It's always been the same. Touring. This will be our third tour in a year and a half. We make money off touring and merchandising, things like that. Plus, I'm doing a new David Spade movie right now. It's called "Dickie Roberts, Former Child Star." I play his really good friend. David Spade and his buddy Fred Wolf wrote me into the script.

Bankrate: Did you make enough money to take advantage of the stock-market boom?

Leif Garrett: I didn't invest in any of that. I didn't know anything about it. I'm so computer illiterate it's frightening.

Bankrate: How are you preparing for your future financially?

Leif Garrett: I have real estate. I have 40 acres of land I own and another 20 acres somewhere else. That's about all I have right now. Everything I've got I've been investing into what I'm doing. But as soon as I make some substantial amount, I've got some things I want to invest in.

Bankrate: Like what?

Leif Garrett: I have a friend's company I want to invest in. It's sporting goods -- snowboards.

Bankrate: So you 'd rather go with a company than the market?

Leif Garrett: I really don't know anything about the market or how it works. It's not my cup of tea.

Larry Getlen is a freelance journalist and comedian in New York.
Enjoy his frivolity at http://www.zhet.blogspot.com.