Question about Freddie

[LADY LOVES FREDDIE]

Hi, I was just wondering if anyone could tell me why Freddie would have lost his career for getting help for the drug addiction back then.I know it was pre Betty Ford and all but his doctor prescibed the qualludes.So didnt that matter back then?If it was getting help for cocaine ,I could understand it because it was illegal and not something prescribed by a doctor.

------------------

[Karen64]

I'm guessing maybe 2 reasons:
One was that with the rigorous schedule Freddie had and the tight filming schedule of the show (time equals dollars; so they say!) that it would mess up everyone elses schedules for Freddie to be away for an extended period...and the storywriters would be pulling out their hair trying to explain Chico's absence...(It would have taken considerable time for Freddie to kick the drugs)

Maybe another reason was, even as late as the 70's, prime-time shows still tried to
be family-friendly. The producers of the show probably thought it would give "happy-go-lucky" Chico a bad image if it got out to the general public that Freddie had a serious adult problem (even if the quaaludes were legally prescribed).
What they didn't understand was that this would have been SO much better than what really happened!...
Hope it doesn't sound like I was rambling too much...

[Cheryl Harrell]

It's so sad...They should've gotten him help...

[Pitooey]

Originally posted by LADY LOVES FREDDIE:
Hi, I was just wondering if anyone could tell me why Freddie would have lost his career for getting help for the drug addiction back then.I know it was pre Betty Ford and all but his doctor prescibed the qualludes.So didnt that matter back then?If it was getting help for cocaine ,I could understand it because it was illegal and not something prescribed by a doctor.

You have to remember that in the 60's and 70's loads of people were taking drugs. They were also taking barbituates, uppers, downers, speed etc...... In Freddie's case they didn't want to rock the boat. He was the central reason people my age were tuning into the show and they knew it. He was in all the fan magazines much the same as his son today. His career was going a mile a minute. No time to sit and smell the coffee. Work! Work! Work! and Smile!!