The Death of
Peter Laughner
photo by Steven Gullett
(www.stevengullett.com)
The bummer is, Peter died. He pulled off the incredible feat of
destroying his body before his 25th birthday ever arrived. He
did it by savagely consuming virtually any mind altering
substance he could put his hands on, but it was mostly the booze
and speed -- both among the most destructive chemicals around --
that destroyed his liver and inflamed his pancreas.
Here's what Pete wrote to a
close friend during the summer of 1976, when his health troubles
began in earnest:
"I'm fucking drinking myself to death... No band, no job,
running out of friends... .It's easy; you start upon waking
with bloody mary's and beer, then progress thru the
afternoon to martinis, and finally cognac or pernod. When I
decided I wanted to quit (in July) I simply bought a lot of
speed and took it and then drank only about a case of beer a
day, until one day I woke up and knew something was wrong,
very wrong.... I couldn't drink, I couldn't eat, I couldn't
piss or shit anything but water... And then the pain
started... Slowly, like some kind of rat eating at my guts
until I couldn't stand it anymore and was admitted to the
hospital..."
That "rat" was the first bout
of pancreatitis... and the beginning of the end. This is very
sad stuff, but there's an abject lesson here: drugs and alcohol
CAN kill you -- especially if you buy into certain pop culture
myths...
Here's a selection of the many
words printed about Peter after his death on June 22, 1977.
Cleveland Plain Dealer
Cleveland Press
Cleveland Sceneealer
Cleveland
Plain Dealer
Jane Scott Obit
