# Famous junkies **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 6, 2005, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-junkies/329796 "2005-11-06T16:01:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![marymargaret](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@marymargaret](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/marymargaret)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2005, 12:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-junkies/329796/61 "2005-11-14T12:58:07Z")
Marianne Faithful Gia - model ---
**Author:** ![kidchameleon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/898d66/32.png) [@kidchameleon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kidchameleon)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2005, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-junkies/329796/62 "2005-11-14T16:00:35Z")
> [@SHAKES](#): > > I’m not sure I agree with this. I know they did some heavy drinking but don’t ever recall drug use a problem. (Not that they didn’t use them just that it was never along the lines of what I would consider a “Junkie”) Nikki overdosed twice and was pronounced legally dead once. Once when he ODed he got out of the hospital, got two fans to drive him home and shot up again. I think that’s when he started thinking about quitting… I’m not sure about Mick, other than the alcohol his drug use isn’t really discussed much. Oh, and Mike Ness of Social Distortion. Really hurt the band when he got so messed up he couldn’t write any music. ---
**Author:** ![marymargaret](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@marymargaret](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/marymargaret)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2005, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-junkies/329796/63 "2005-11-16T00:06:44Z")
> [@Sampiro](#): > > [Glenn Quinn](http://imdb.com/name/nm0703849/) had success as the oldest son-in-law on _Roseanne_ and later as the half-demon sidekick on _Angel_ and was part-owner of a very popular L.A. nightclub. His heroin addiction not only cost him his _Angel_ job but he sank so low that he not only had to sell his nightclub share to partners but was banned from the place for asking patrons for money. He died of an overdose in a run-down apartment complex where he was crashing on a sofa three years after he was fired from _Angel_. I can’t believe I never heard that. He was really good on Roseanne. ---
**Author:** ![darcy666](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e5b9ba/32.png) [@darcy666](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/darcy666)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2011, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-junkies/329796/64 "2011-06-18T16:32:00Z")
all of jane’s addiction,minus stephen. casey niccoli. andy wood. william burroughs. hunter thompson. so many talented people…the list goes on forever. and yes, billie holliday WAS a hardcore dope fiend, RIP. ---
**Author:** ![darcy666](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e5b9ba/32.png) [@darcy666](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/darcy666)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2011, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-junkies/329796/65 "2011-06-18T16:33:06Z")
he was a CRACKHEAD, not a junkie of the heroin variety. ---
**Author:** ![darcy666](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e5b9ba/32.png) [@darcy666](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/darcy666)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2011, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-junkies/329796/66 "2011-06-18T16:34:34Z")
mick mars was only addicted to oxys cause of his degenerative bone disease. nikki saved him from dying about four years ago, found him lying on a twin bed in a furnitureless apt in hollywood strung out on oxys and about 90 lbs, poor guy. ---
**Author:** ![darcy666](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e5b9ba/32.png) [@darcy666](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/darcy666)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2011, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-junkies/329796/67 "2011-06-18T16:35:50Z")
😕😕😕 > [@kidchameleon](#): > > Nikki overdosed twice and was pronounced legally dead once. Once when he ODed he got out of the hospital, got two fans to drive him home and shot up again. I think that’s when he started thinking about quitting… > > I’m not sure about Mick, other than the alcohol his drug use isn’t really discussed much. > > Oh, and Mike Ness of Social Distortion. Really hurt the band when he got so messed up he couldn’t write any music. > [@ms.deanna](#): > > miles davis, tom petty tomn petty? really? wow. ---
**Author:** ![darcy666](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e5b9ba/32.png) [@darcy666](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/darcy666)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2011, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-junkies/329796/68 "2011-06-18T16:37:23Z")
> [@marymargaret](#): > > Marianne Faithful > > Gia - model AND marianne f’s BFF, keith;'s girl, anita pallenburg, i’m fairly certain… ---
**Author:** ![darcy666](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e5b9ba/32.png) [@darcy666](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/darcy666)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2011, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-junkies/329796/69 "2011-06-18T16:38:50Z")
JUNKIE means HEROIN. F Coke. Its only a psychological addiction. Oh, and Yoko was a junkie wirth John. And they were openly on and off methadone for years. ---
**Author:** ![darcy666](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e5b9ba/32.png) [@darcy666](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/darcy666)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2011, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-junkies/329796/70 "2011-06-18T16:40:58Z")
> [@marymargaret](#): > > Marianne Faithful > > Gia - model > [@Spiff](#): > > Hmmm. His Wikipedia entry mentions drug use and “heavy drinking” but doesn’t specifically mention narcotic drugs. Where did you get your info? > [@Sampiro](#): > > I don’t know if heroin was one of his drugs of choice (though he admits to having tried it along with almost every other drug there is), but George Carlin and his first wife were both addicts during the 1970s. They cleaned up late in the decade after arrests for possession when they were threatened with the removal of their teenaged daughter. > > Some famous junkies by whichever definition (heroin specifically or narcotics in general): > > MacKenzie Phillips and her “Papa John” Phillips. He was a despicable oxygen-thief who introduced her to hard drugs when she was a kid and allowed her to have sex with his roadies when she was an adolescent. (She claims she was raped by one of his bandmembers around this same period.) Most of her money from _One Day at a Time_ went into her arm or up her nose, destroying a very promising career that has never regained full momentum. After several trips to rehab she got clean. He did also, but it took years and years and led to his death at a relatively young age. > At one point his ex-wife Michelle arrived to drop off their daughter Chynna for one of John’s custodial weekends and found John Phillips, Mackenzie Phillips and John’s third wife all so strung out that she not only took Chynna back home without dropping her off, but took Tam, Phillips’s son with his third wife, home with her as well. > > [Glenn Quinn](http://imdb.com/name/nm0703849/) had success as the oldest son-in-law on _Roseanne_ and later as the half-demon sidekick on _Angel_ and was part-owner of a very popular L.A. nightclub. His heroin addiction not only cost him his _Angel_ job but he sank so low that he not only had to sell his nightclub share to partners but was banned from the place for asking patrons for money. He died of an overdose in a run-down apartment complex where he was crashing on a sofa three years after he was fired from _Angel_. i had NO idea that george carlin was a junkie. wow. that blows my mind. ---
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2011, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-junkies/329796/71 "2011-06-18T16:55:54Z")
All should note that **darcy666** has revived a thread from 2005 (not that I see a problem with that). It remains news to me if either Petty or Carlin was ever a junkie. “Junkie” means _opiate addict_. Not everyone who has ever used an opiate has become an addict (though certainly the potential is strong). A user of other drugs who doesn’t touch opiates is definitely not a junkie. > [@Larry\_Mudd](#): > > > [@Rodgers01](#): > > > > Bill Maher had a line about getting down on your knees and thanking drugs every time you look at your record collection. > > That was Bill _Hicks_, sir – may god rest his bitter, freakin’ hilarious soul. I don’t think that line was meant to refer to opiates. Certainly a number of musicians were or have become junkies, but from what I can tell, this (addiction) has usually impeded, not assisted, their work. Marijuana and psychedelics are what I’d be more likely to give thanks for, looking at my record collection. Still–Mike Ness. ETA: I see he was mentioned. ---
**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2011, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-junkies/329796/72 "2011-06-18T17:04:21Z")
Am I the first to mention Aerosmith?? ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2011, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-junkies/329796/73 "2011-06-18T17:08:29Z")
> [@spark240](#): > > I don’t think that line was meant to refer to opiates. Certainly a number of musicians were or have become junkies, but from what I can tell, this (addiction) has usually impeded, not assisted, their work. Marijuana and psychedelics are what I’d be more likely to give thanks for, looking at my record collection. He didn’t specify because it wasn’t really important. The joke was about how there are positive aspects to drugs, and that anti-drug rockers play shitty music. **darcy666** ’s profile says “thanks, shiva, for poppies,” and I’m not sure how to take that in context of this thread. :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2011, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-junkies/329796/74 "2011-06-18T17:21:52Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > He didn’t specify because it wasn’t really important. The joke was about how there are positive aspects to drugs, and that anti-drug rockers play shitty music. I understand. But it _is_ relevant to this thread, and to some people’s misunderstanding of what “junkie” means. ---
**Author:** ![Kobal2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kobal2/32/20_2.png) [@Kobal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kobal2)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2011, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-junkies/329796/75 "2011-06-18T17:35:13Z")
> [@spark240](#): > > I don’t think that line was meant to refer to opiates. - Mommy, mommy, the man has a blood bubble coming from his noooose - SHUT UP AND LISTEN TO HIM PLAY ! Now, I admit I’m no expert on mind-altering substances, but I don’t think 'shrooms and weed give you nosebleeds. I don’t think Bill was really into drawing lines between the good drugs and the bad drugs - he was more about ranting that it’s none of the government’s fucking business what people do with themselves. ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2011, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-junkies/329796/76 "2011-06-18T17:37:26Z")
Was Corey Haim’s downfall opiates, or cocaine? ---
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2011, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-junkies/329796/77 "2011-06-18T17:50:35Z")
> [@Kobal2](#): > > - Mommy, mommy, the man has a blood bubble coming from his noooose > - SHUT UP AND LISTEN TO HIM PLAY ! > > Now, I admit I’m no expert on mind-altering substances, but I don’t think 'shrooms and weed give you nosebleeds. I don’t think Bill was really into drawing lines between the good drugs and the bad drugs - he was more about ranting that it’s none of the government’s fucking business what people do with themselves. Okay. I wasn’t familiar with the whole original routine, and was interpreting only the line first quoted here. I agree with the sentiment as you express it, but stand by the assessment that, with a few exceptions, actual junkiedom tends to hamper creative expression rather than providing fodder for it. ---
**Author:** ![Don\_Draper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b2d939/32.png) [@Don\_Draper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_Draper)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2011, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-junkies/329796/78 "2011-06-18T20:53:16Z")
> [@zoogirl](#): > > Others to consider: > > Jim Morrison, Truman Capote, Jack Kerouac, Woody Guthrie, Arlo Guthrie, Grace Slick,\*\* Alice Cooper\*\* I wouldn’t count Grace Slick. By her own confession, she is certainly a card-carrying, meeting-going alcoholic, and quite liberally used cocaine, LSD and other hallucinogens. But in her memoir, she says that heroin is the one drug she did stay away from. Even marijuana didn’t particularly interest her too much. I don’t know if it’s true, but legend has it that Patsy Cline shot heroin when she was six months pregnant. ---
**Author:** ![Springtime\_for\_Spacers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Springtime\_for\_Spacers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Springtime_for_Spacers)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2011, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-junkies/329796/79 "2011-06-18T22:01:19Z")
Russell Brand. He was sacked from MTV as a result of his unreliability (to put it mildly). He then successfully went through rehab and was able to kick start his UK career before reaching today’s dizzying heights. His autobiography, the stupidly titled My Booky Wook, tells the story. ---
**Author:** ![Gilles\_de\_Rais](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@Gilles\_de\_Rais](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gilles_de_Rais)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2011, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-junkies/329796/80 "2011-06-18T22:05:21Z")
Aleister Crowley Arthur Rimbaud Charles Baudelaire Arthur Sullivan [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-junkies/329796.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-junkies/329796.md?page=5)