Turning Over a New Leif?

Fallent teen idol agrees to strict diversion program to deal with latest drug-related troubles

By Joal Ryan Jan 20, 2006 8:45 PMTags

Leif Garrett's alarming mug shot will be forever, but his jail stay won't be.

The fallen teen idol, now 44, was due to be released from custody Friday after taking a Los Angeles court commissioner's strong suggestion, and opting to deal with his latest troubles by agreeing to "intensive" drug rehab, said Jane Robison of the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office.

Garrett is to begin his one-year minimum treatment on Monday, Robison said. The course can be administered on either an in-patient or out-patient basis, she said.

In a message on Garrett's official Website, his mother, Carolyn Stellar, said he was "profoundly touched and truly thankful for the overwhelming love and support he has received during this very difficult time."

Garrett had been in custody since his arrest, and mug shot session, last Saturday for alleged heroin possession. He pleaded innocent to that drug charge on Wednesday, Robison said. He's due back in court on the matter on Feb. 2.

Friday's drug rehab agreement takes care of a probation violation related to Garrett's 2005 guilty plea to attempted cocaine possession.

A long-ago Tiger Beat pinup, Garrett has been arrested at least four times since 1997 on various charges relating to cocaine or heroin possession.

At the courthouse on Wednesday, Stellar made pleas in the press for help, not punishment, for her son. "He needs rehab," Stellar said in the New York Daily News. "This is a disease. Prison can't help him."

For the most part, Garrett's fame outstripped his credits during his 1970s heyday. As an actor, Garrett was the guest star and not the star of TV series such as Family. He did have a featured role a 1978 movie about skateboarders. It was called Skateboard.

Garrett owed his renown to the devoted readers of teen magazines, many of whom likely made "I Was Made for Dancing" a disco-bubblegum hit in 1979.

The grown-up Garrett, relying on a bandana to provide the cover his feathered blond locks once did, largely has played himself in TV and movies.

Of late, music has been Garrett's main pursuit. In 2004, he cut the song, "Betty Ford for Xmas," an ode to the celebrity-favored rehab center.

"Hope I make some friends there," Garrett sings. "I've got nowhere else to go."