For Mackenzie Phillips, drugs overshadowed promising career - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

Brian Damage · 09-25-2009, 09:07 AM

http://edition.cnn.com/2009/SHOWBIZ/...llips.profile/

Actress Mackenzie Phillips has said that she believes she had a "genetic predisposition" to the life of sex, drugs and rock and roll that have come to define her.

Mackenzie Phillips tells CNN's "Larry King Live" that her father raped her in 1979.

In a 1999 interview on CNN's "Larry King Live" on "Why Some Childhood Stars Crash and Burn," the former "One Day at a Time" star said she didn't blame Hollywood for the years of drug and addiction she had endured.

"I think that for a lot of us, alcoholism and addiction is the root of the problem, not the fact that we were child stars," she said at the time. "Certainly, it lent to the problem, but it wasn't the root of the problem."

By the time she did the interview, her well-publicized addiction to cocaine, drug arrests and stints in rehab had overshadowed an acting career once full of promise.

Then, on Wednesday, the 49-year-old actress revealed on "The Oprah Winfrey Show" that she engaged in an incestuous relationship with her father, legendary musician John Phillips, for nearly 10 years.

In her tell-all memoir, "High on Arrival" -- named after a song her father dedicated to her -- she claims the relationship began in 1979. She claims her father forced himself on her while they were under the influence of drugs on the night before she was to marry Jeff Sessler, a member of the Rolling Stones' entourage.

She ended the relationship a decade later, when she became pregnant and realized she did not know who had fathered her child -- her husband or her own father -- and terminated the pregnancy, the actress told CNN's "Larry King Live." Watch Phillips discuss her alleged incestuous relationship with her father »

But before the incest claims -- and subsequent denials from relatives -- Mackenzie Phillips was better known as a child actor full of promise who fell from grace under the toxic guidance of her drug-addicted father.

Born Laura Mackenzie Phillips in 1959 to John Phillips and Baltimore socialite Susan Adams, Phillips told People magazine in 1980 that she alternated between two wildly different worlds after her parents divorced when she was three years old.

"My mother concentrated on bringing me up a proper lady," Mackenzie Phillips told the magazine. "And then on weekends at my dad's place, I would find Mick Jagger and Donovan and the Beatles hanging out. I remember crawling all over Paul McCartney."

Her father taught her to roll a joint when she was 10, she tried cocaine for the first time when she was 11 and lost her virginity at age 12, she told Meredith Vieira of NBC's"Today" show.

When she was 12, a talent scout for Francis Ford Coppola spotted her playing in a band with classmates on amateur night at the Troubadour, according to People.com. She eventually landed a memorable role in the 1973 hit coming-of-age flick, "American Graffiti."

After filming, her mother sent her to a Swiss boarding school, but the rebellious teen didn't last long in exile. She returned to her father's home in Los Angeles under the supervision of her father's sister, Rosemary Throckmorton. When her father and stepmother left for New York in 1974 and never returned, Mackenzie, her brother Jeffrey, moved in with their aunt in "a little house behind the Hollywood Bowl which we shared with 12 cats," according to People.com.

Despite her relocations, Phillips' career continued to advance. At 15, she appeared in her second movie, "Rafferty and the Gold Dust Twins," with Alan Arkin. In 1975, she was offered the role of Julie Cooper on CBS' hit sitcom, "One Day at a Time," according to IMDB.com.

"By the time I turned 18, I moved into a little chalet of my own and felt very grown-up," Mackenzie told People in an interview in 1980.

As her star grew, so did her appetite for drugs, particularly cocaine.

A few years later, just after she turned 18, Phillips was arrested when she was found collapsed on quaaludes on a street in Los Angeles.

Phillips said on "The Oprah Winfrey Show" that her father's response was, "Congratulations! Now you're a real Phillips. Now you know that even though they caught you, the rules don't apply."

Her weight loss and erratic behavior disrupted the show's filming and became a source of distress to her co-stars, Bonnie Franklin and Valerie Bertinelli, according to People.com.

According to Tim Brooks and Earle Marsh's "The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows," Phillips missed the 1980-81 season while in rehab for addiction issues.

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When she went to seek treatment at Fair Oaks, a psychiatric hospital in Summit, New Jersey, in December 1980, she joined her father and stepmother, who entered the hospital after being charged with conspiracy to distribute narcotics, according to People.com.

She left with a clean bill of health, but soon enough resumed using drugs even as she attempted to rebuild her career as a member of her father's new version of the Mamas & the Papas.

In her memoir, she recalls arriving at a hotel room to find two packages -- one containing her father's newly published memoir and another containing an eighth of an ounce of cocaine, according to excerpts of the book published on MSNBC.com.

After shooting up, she recalls reaching for the book and looking up her name in the index.

"Under my name was a list of subheadings and page numbers. I scanned down the entries:

Phillips, Laura Mackenzie

acting career of...

arrested on drug charges...

attempts to clean out...

in California...

childhood of...

drug use by...

early childhood of...

at finishing school in Switzerland...

Jeff Sessler and...

marriage to Jeff Sessler...

Peter Asher and...

rape....

shipboard romance on QE 2...

"There it was, my life to date, with highlights selected, cross-referenced, and alphabetized. I had been organized and reduced to a list of sensational and mostly regrettable and/or humiliating anecdotes. Being indexed, particularly under such dubious headings, gave me a weird feeling that definitely wasn't pride. I felt like I wasn't a real person, just a list of incidents and accidents," she writes in the book.

Her television career experienced a revival in the 1990s, with guest appearances on hot shows including "Beverly Hills, 90210," "Melrose Place," "Walker, Texas Ranger" and "Chicago Hope," her profile on IMDB.com states.

From 1999 to 2001, she had a regular role in the Disney series, "So Weird," and several other television guest appearances followed, according to IMDB.com.

She appeared to be getting her life back on track, eventually giving birth to a son, Shane.

She was arrested in for drug possession in 2008 on her way to an "One Day at a Time" reunion. Since then, she says she has been drug-free, and hopes that purging herself of the secret incestuous relationship will help her recover.

Yet she insists she does not hate her father for what he did.

"I have to say that I loved my father, and I still do. I've been trying to come to terms with this very difficult past," Phillips told Winfrey.

catlover79 · 10-21-2009, 03:10 PM

I am reading this book right now (checked it out of the library) and don't find the style trashy at all. I find Mac very forthright and to the point. She makes no excuses. She was a victim - of excess and lack of supervision. I wish Mac nothing but the best from here on out and pray she is able to conquer her demons.

ThomasE · 10-21-2009, 05:01 PM

Thanks Monika. I need to get that book myself.

catlover79 · 10-21-2009, 08:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ThomasE

Thanks Monika. I need to get that book myself.

My pleasure! Let me know when you finish reading it - I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Nighthawk76 · 10-22-2009, 02:28 AM

I bought a copy of the book this very afternoon and should be starting it after I finish a couple of other books that I have yet to read. I feel very sorry for MacKenzie and everything that she had to deal with.

I also think that John Phillips in on the same level of evolution as pond scum.

catlover79 · 10-22-2009, 09:36 AM

John Phillips was a musical genius but he was a horrible father and husband. It's a wonder Mac's survived it all.

catlover79 · 10-22-2009, 11:43 AM

Here's an awesome interview with Chynna Phillips supporting her sister on GMA:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dgJltCZ87gg

catlover79 · 10-23-2009, 12:53 AM

I finished the book - what a read!! The incest doesn't really take up that much of the book, but it seems that her father continues to haunt her, even though he's been dead for almost 9 years. Michelle (of all Mac's stepmoms) comes across very well in the book so now it comes as a surprise that her comments about the book are so harsh. But then again, as the sole surviving member of the Mamas & Papas (as well as co-writer on some of their songs) it might be threatening. She is their keeper of the flame.

I found in my local library years ago both John and Michelle's autobiographies. Both were published in the mid-80s and both are long out of print. But you may want to check to see if your local library has them or check places like Amazon. John's book is called Papa John, and Michelle's is called California Dreaming.

The only real complaint I have about Mac's book is the constant use of the F-word. I think they could've at least done something like "f***" and still gotten the point across. Then again, that's just my opinion.

Dr. Thong · 10-23-2009, 11:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by catlover79

I finished the book - what a read!! The incest doesn't really take up that much of the book, but it seems that her father continues to haunt her, even though he's been dead for almost 9 years. Michelle (of all Mac's stepmoms) comes across very well in the book so now it comes as a surprise that her comments about the book are so harsh. But then again, as the sole surviving member of the Mamas & Papas (as well as co-writer on some of their songs) it might be threatening. She is their keeper of the flame.

I found in my local library years ago both John and Michelle's autobiographies. Both were published in the mid-80s and both are long out of print. But you may want to check to see if your local library has them or check places like Amazon. John's book is called Papa John, and Michelle's is called California Dreaming.

The only real complaint I have about Mac's book is the constant use of the F-word. I think they could've at least done something like "f***" and still gotten the point across. Then again, that's just my opinion.

I can understand that, Monika, but I'd rather a person speak in their own voice and not censor themselves for some notion of political correctness. Again, that's just my opinion.

Me, I'm waiting for Schneider's tell-all book about how he did Bonnie Franklin and all the female guest stars!!

catlover79 · 10-23-2009, 04:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dr. Thong

I can understand that, Monika, but I'd rather a person speak in their own voice and not censor themselves for some notion of political correctness. Again, that's just my opinion.

Me, I'm waiting for Schneider's tell-all book about how he did Bonnie Franklin and all the female guest stars!!

Well, that's you're opinion and I can respect that. Again, to each his own. About Schneider's book, what it would be called? How about:

Schneider: The Tool With the Tool Belt

Dr. Thong · 10-23-2009, 05:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by catlover79

Well, that's you're opinion and I can respect that. Again, to each his own. About Schneider's book, what it would be called? How about:

Schneider: The Tool With the Tool Belt

Monika, you are a pistol!

Or, if he wrote in character, it would be titled something like...

One Broad At A Time.

See? I told you I hate political correctness!!

catlover79 · 10-23-2009, 08:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dr. Thong

Monika, you are a pistol!

Or, if he wrote in character, it would be titled something like...

One Broad At A Time.

See? I told you I hate political correctness!!

Yes, that sounds like the title of a Schneider book.

I hate political correctness, too.

Retro4Life · 10-23-2009, 10:16 PM

I used to love "One Day at a Time", at least until Mackenzie left/got fired. After that it kind of lost something.

I agree, Monika. It's a miracle the woman survived all that trauma and tragedy. Even SUBTRACTING the horrendous incestuous affair, the whole "showed her how to roll a joint at age 10" had me stunned and angered. That's about as bad as you can get.

I hope she can rebound and find peace. It's WAY past time for a "One day at a Time" reunion; maybe that'd be a neat way for the cast to show their support for her.

Marvo301 · 10-23-2009, 10:31 PM

I wonder if Mackenzie's predisposition to do drugs wasn't more enviremental than genetic. Considering who her father was and the people he hung out with and the lifestyle he chose to live for most of his adult life. Fortunately Mac no longer lives in that envirement. I hope and pray that this time she will stay clean and sober and that she will find peace and fulfillment in her new role as an advocate and role model for incest victims. She is a very courageous woman and I admire her very much. I also think it's very cool that she and I share the same birthday. (November 10)

Mr. Television · 10-23-2009, 10:40 PM

God bless Mac. I hope she is able to overcome her demons once and for all.

09-25-2009, 09:07 AM	#1
Brian Damage I'm Rich Bitch Forum Icon Join Date: Feb 03, 2002 Location: What Ain't No Country I Ever Heard Of...They Speak English in What? Posts: 63,107	For Mackenzie Phillips, drugs overshadowed promising career http://edition.cnn.com/2009/SHOWBIZ/...llips.profile/ Actress Mackenzie Phillips has said that she believes she had a "genetic predisposition" to the life of sex, drugs and rock and roll that have come to define her. Mackenzie Phillips tells CNN's "Larry King Live" that her father raped her in 1979. In a 1999 interview on CNN's "Larry King Live" on "Why Some Childhood Stars Crash and Burn," the former "One Day at a Time" star said she didn't blame Hollywood for the years of drug and addiction she had endured. "I think that for a lot of us, alcoholism and addiction is the root of the problem, not the fact that we were child stars," she said at the time. "Certainly, it lent to the problem, but it wasn't the root of the problem." By the time she did the interview, her well-publicized addiction to cocaine, drug arrests and stints in rehab had overshadowed an acting career once full of promise. Then, on Wednesday, the 49-year-old actress revealed on "The Oprah Winfrey Show" that she engaged in an incestuous relationship with her father, legendary musician John Phillips, for nearly 10 years. In her tell-all memoir, "High on Arrival" -- named after a song her father dedicated to her -- she claims the relationship began in 1979. She claims her father forced himself on her while they were under the influence of drugs on the night before she was to marry Jeff Sessler, a member of the Rolling Stones' entourage. She ended the relationship a decade later, when she became pregnant and realized she did not know who had fathered her child -- her husband or her own father -- and terminated the pregnancy, the actress told CNN's "Larry King Live." Watch Phillips discuss her alleged incestuous relationship with her father » But before the incest claims -- and subsequent denials from relatives -- Mackenzie Phillips was better known as a child actor full of promise who fell from grace under the toxic guidance of her drug-addicted father. Born Laura Mackenzie Phillips in 1959 to John Phillips and Baltimore socialite Susan Adams, Phillips told People magazine in 1980 that she alternated between two wildly different worlds after her parents divorced when she was three years old. "My mother concentrated on bringing me up a proper lady," Mackenzie Phillips told the magazine. "And then on weekends at my dad's place, I would find Mick Jagger and Donovan and the Beatles hanging out. I remember crawling all over Paul McCartney." Her father taught her to roll a joint when she was 10, she tried cocaine for the first time when she was 11 and lost her virginity at age 12, she told Meredith Vieira of NBC's"Today" show. When she was 12, a talent scout for Francis Ford Coppola spotted her playing in a band with classmates on amateur night at the Troubadour, according to People.com. She eventually landed a memorable role in the 1973 hit coming-of-age flick, "American Graffiti." After filming, her mother sent her to a Swiss boarding school, but the rebellious teen didn't last long in exile. She returned to her father's home in Los Angeles under the supervision of her father's sister, Rosemary Throckmorton. When her father and stepmother left for New York in 1974 and never returned, Mackenzie, her brother Jeffrey, moved in with their aunt in "a little house behind the Hollywood Bowl which we shared with 12 cats," according to People.com. Despite her relocations, Phillips' career continued to advance. At 15, she appeared in her second movie, "Rafferty and the Gold Dust Twins," with Alan Arkin. In 1975, she was offered the role of Julie Cooper on CBS' hit sitcom, "One Day at a Time," according to IMDB.com. "By the time I turned 18, I moved into a little chalet of my own and felt very grown-up," Mackenzie told People in an interview in 1980. As her star grew, so did her appetite for drugs, particularly cocaine. A few years later, just after she turned 18, Phillips was arrested when she was found collapsed on quaaludes on a street in Los Angeles. Phillips said on "The Oprah Winfrey Show" that her father's response was, "Congratulations! Now you're a real Phillips. Now you know that even though they caught you, the rules don't apply." Her weight loss and erratic behavior disrupted the show's filming and became a source of distress to her co-stars, Bonnie Franklin and Valerie Bertinelli, according to People.com. According to Tim Brooks and Earle Marsh's "The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows," Phillips missed the 1980-81 season while in rehab for addiction issues. Don't Miss Mackenzie Phillips: Dad wanted me to be his wife John Phillips had checkered, sometimes sordid, life People.com: The Drug Ordeal When she went to seek treatment at Fair Oaks, a psychiatric hospital in Summit, New Jersey, in December 1980, she joined her father and stepmother, who entered the hospital after being charged with conspiracy to distribute narcotics, according to People.com. She left with a clean bill of health, but soon enough resumed using drugs even as she attempted to rebuild her career as a member of her father's new version of the Mamas & the Papas. In her memoir, she recalls arriving at a hotel room to find two packages -- one containing her father's newly published memoir and another containing an eighth of an ounce of cocaine, according to excerpts of the book published on MSNBC.com. After shooting up, she recalls reaching for the book and looking up her name in the index. "Under my name was a list of subheadings and page numbers. I scanned down the entries: Phillips, Laura Mackenzie acting career of... arrested on drug charges... attempts to clean out... in California... childhood of... drug use by... early childhood of... at finishing school in Switzerland... Jeff Sessler and... marriage to Jeff Sessler... Peter Asher and... rape.... shipboard romance on QE 2... "There it was, my life to date, with highlights selected, cross-referenced, and alphabetized. I had been organized and reduced to a list of sensational and mostly regrettable and/or humiliating anecdotes. Being indexed, particularly under such dubious headings, gave me a weird feeling that definitely wasn't pride. I felt like I wasn't a real person, just a list of incidents and accidents," she writes in the book. Her television career experienced a revival in the 1990s, with guest appearances on hot shows including "Beverly Hills, 90210," "Melrose Place," "Walker, Texas Ranger" and "Chicago Hope," her profile on IMDB.com states. From 1999 to 2001, she had a regular role in the Disney series, "So Weird," and several other television guest appearances followed, according to IMDB.com. She appeared to be getting her life back on track, eventually giving birth to a son, Shane. She was arrested in for drug possession in 2008 on her way to an "One Day at a Time" reunion. Since then, she says she has been drug-free, and hopes that purging herself of the secret incestuous relationship will help her recover. Yet she insists she does not hate her father for what he did. "I have to say that I loved my father, and I still do. I've been trying to come to terms with this very difficult past," Phillips told Winfrey.
	__________________ The Key to the Kingdom of Heaven: John 3:3 *Money Doesn't Buy Happiness...But I'd Rather Cry in My Private Jet*

10-21-2009, 03:10 PM	#2
catlover79 God Bless Val Forum Addict Join Date: May 29, 2006 Location: Bewitched in Ohio Posts: 70,392	I am reading this book right now (checked it out of the library) and don't find the style trashy at all. I find Mac very forthright and to the point. She makes no excuses. She was a victim - of excess and lack of supervision. I wish Mac nothing but the best from here on out and pray she is able to conquer her demons.
	__________________ "Jesus loves you and He approves this message." "I'm alive. I'm feeling good. I'm trying to live every moment as much as I can." - Valerie Harper, March 2013

10-21-2009, 05:01 PM	#3
ThomasE Member Moderator Forum Fanatic Join Date: Apr 04, 2000 Location: New York, New York, U.S.A. Posts: 10,857	Thanks Monika. I need to get that book myself.
	__________________ Check out my my "It's A Living" Facebook Fanpage!!! https://m.facebook.com/groups/107208...&source=result

10-23-2009, 10:16 PM	#13
Retro4Life Accept No Substitutes Forum Veteran Join Date: Feb 04, 2009 Location: IL Posts: 6,708	I used to love "One Day at a Time", at least until Mackenzie left/got fired. After that it kind of lost something. I agree, Monika. It's a miracle the woman survived all that trauma and tragedy. Even SUBTRACTING the horrendous incestuous affair, the whole "showed her how to roll a joint at age 10" had me stunned and angered. That's about as bad as you can get. I hope she can rebound and find peace. It's WAY past time for a "One day at a Time" reunion; maybe that'd be a neat way for the cast to show their support for her.
	__________________ Alex Reiger :[Trying to convince Louie not to antagonize Bobby] "It's not hard to make people feel bad about their lives. What's hard is making people feel good about their lives."

10-23-2009, 10:31 PM	#14
Marvo301 I'm NOT a Blockhead! Forum Celebrity Join Date: May 17, 2002 Location: The Great White North Posts: 21,460	I wonder if Mackenzie's predisposition to do drugs wasn't more enviremental than genetic. Considering who her father was and the people he hung out with and the lifestyle he chose to live for most of his adult life. Fortunately Mac no longer lives in that envirement. I hope and pray that this time she will stay clean and sober and that she will find peace and fulfillment in her new role as an advocate and role model for incest victims. She is a very courageous woman and I admire her very much. I also think it's very cool that she and I share the same birthday. (November 10)
	__________________ Only a life lived for others is worth living. Albert Einstein A life isn't worth living unless it has impact on other lives. Jackie Robinson Be always at war with your vices, at peace with your neighbors, and let each new year find you a better man. Benjamin Franklin

10-22-2009, 02:28 AM	#5
Nighthawk76 Rachel Berry Forum Celebrity Join Date: Feb 28, 2003 Location: Illinois Posts: 23,254	I bought a copy of the book this very afternoon and should be starting it after I finish a couple of other books that I have yet to read. I feel very sorry for MacKenzie and everything that she had to deal with. I also think that John Phillips in on the same level of evolution as pond scum.

10-22-2009, 09:36 AM	#6
catlover79 God Bless Val Forum Addict Join Date: May 29, 2006 Location: Bewitched in Ohio Posts: 70,392	John Phillips was a musical genius but he was a horrible father and husband. It's a wonder Mac's survived it all.

10-22-2009, 11:43 AM	#7
catlover79 God Bless Val Forum Addict Join Date: May 29, 2006 Location: Bewitched in Ohio Posts: 70,392	Here's an awesome interview with Chynna Phillips supporting her sister on GMA: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dgJltCZ87gg

10-23-2009, 12:53 AM	#8
catlover79 God Bless Val Forum Addict Join Date: May 29, 2006 Location: Bewitched in Ohio Posts: 70,392	I finished the book - what a read!! The incest doesn't really take up that much of the book, but it seems that her father continues to haunt her, even though he's been dead for almost 9 years. Michelle (of all Mac's stepmoms) comes across very well in the book so now it comes as a surprise that her comments about the book are so harsh. But then again, as the sole surviving member of the Mamas & Papas (as well as co-writer on some of their songs) it might be threatening. She is their keeper of the flame. I found in my local library years ago both John and Michelle's autobiographies. Both were published in the mid-80s and both are long out of print. But you may want to check to see if your local library has them or check places like Amazon. John's book is called Papa John, and Michelle's is called California Dreaming. The only real complaint I have about Mac's book is the constant use of the F-word. I think they could've at least done something like "f***" and still gotten the point across. Then again, that's just my opinion.

10-23-2009, 10:40 PM	#15
Mr. Television 23 Years at Sitcoms Online Forum Icon Join Date: Jun 06, 2003 Location: Somewhere you're Not Posts: 62,132	God bless Mac. I hope she is able to overcome her demons once and for all.
	__________________ Sonny