Beach Boys Founder Brian Wilson Suffering From Dementia as Reps Seek Conservatorship
Beach Boys leader Brian Wilson, the wildly talented but troubled genius who co-founded the legendary group and composed most of its landmark Pet Sounds album, is suffering from dementia at the age of 81, court filings obtained by Rolling Stone confirm.
In a petition for a conservatorship filed Wednesday in Los Angeles, representatives for the singer-songwriter publicly revealed the magnitude of his cognitive decline for the first time, saying Wilson is “unable to properly provide for his own personal needs for physical health, food, clothing, or shelter.” The representatives explain that Wilson’s wife of three decades, Melinda Ledbetter Wilson, had been attending to his daily needs until her death last month.
The new petition requests that Wilson’s longtime publicist and manager, Jean Sievers, and his longtime business manager, LeeAnn Hard, be named co-conservators of his personal and medical affairs only, not his estate. The move is necessary considering Wilson’s wife was responsible for his health care before she died, and his Advance Health Care Directive did not name a successor, the paperwork explains.
A request for conservatorship over Wilson’s estate isn’t included because Wilson’s financial assets are held in a trust, with Hard named as trustee as well as Wilson’s power of attorney, the filings state. “Mr. Wilson will remain in his home, and it is Ms. Sievers’ and Ms. Hard’s intent to ensure that all of Mr. Wilson’s daily living needs are satisfied, and he has the best possible care while remaining in his home,” the petition promises.
More details about Wilson’s condition are included in a capacity declaration filed with the petition. It states that Wilson, the writer behind dozens of Top 40 hits including “I Get Around,” “Help Me, Rhonda,” and “Good Vibrations,” would find it “emotionally very stressful” as well as physically difficult to attend any court hearings in person. “He is easily distracted” and “often makes spontaneous irrelevant or incoherent utterances,” the declaration from Dr. Stephen S. Marmer, a clinical professor of psychiatry at the UCLA School of Medicine, states.
Wilson also has a “very short attention span and while unintentionally disruptive, is frequently unable to maintain decorum appropriate to the situation,” the doctor says, adding that Wilson is taking a drug called Aricept to treat his dementia. The doctor notes that Wilson has trouble following instructions for more than short periods of time, except when he’s taking voice lessons or during physical therapy. “This is based on long-standing muscle memory. This is more a sign of reflex than cognition,” the doctor writes.
Wilson’s family shared a statement on his website Thursday confirming the musician is in good hands following the death of his “beloved” wife. It says the conservatorship petition is “consistent” with the couple’s prior planning and that Wilson’s seven children, his caretaker Gloria Ramos, and his doctors all support the move.
“We are confirming that longtime Wilson family representatives LeeAnn Hard and Jean Sievers will serve as Brian’s co-conservators of the person. This decision was made to ensure that there will be no extreme changes to the household, and Brian and the children living at home will be taken care of and remain in the home where they are cared for by Gloria Ramos and the wonderful team at the house who have been in place for many years helping take care of the family,” the statement says. “Brian will be able to enjoy all of his family and friends and continue to work on current projects as well as participate in any activities he chooses.” A hearing in the conservatorhip case is set for April 26.
Sievers said in a statement to Rolling Stone, “We appreciate the overwhelming outpouring of love and support for Brian. While Brian is diagnosed with dementia and he mourns the loss of his beloved wife Melinda, he is physically healthy and leads a full life and is currently working on projects. As is co-conservators, we will ensure that all of Brian’s daily living needs are satisfied and he continues to lead an active life.”
While the new filing does not mention Wilson’s decadeslong history of mental health struggles, he’s been open about his issues the past. During an interview with Larry King in 2004, Wilson and Melinda said he had a form of schizoaffective disorder. He described having a “slight nervous breakdown” in the 1960s, hearing voices in his head, and dealing with bouts of depression.
Amid a tenuous time in Wilson’s mental health, the singer came under the controversial care of psychologist Eugene Landy, who at first helped return Wilson to productivity by curbing his addictions in the mid-Seventies. However, Landy’s high fees for around-the-clock care led to his dismissal in 1976.
After Wilson overdosed in 1982, Landy was reinstalled as his psychologist, but in addition to providing him care, became his de facto manager, taking over Wilson’s business decisions — and securing himself a 25 percent stake in Wilson’s songwriting — and isolating him from the Beach Boys, friends, family, and Melinda, who Brian started dating in the mid-Eighties.
In 1991, Wilson’s family filed for a conservatorship over the singer in order to finally terminate his partnership with the Svengali-like Landy, which ultimately occurred later that year. Four years later, he married Melinda.
Through it all, he maintained his ability to write songs. Singing and writing offered him a respite from the voices, he said. After stepping back from touring with the Beach Boys early in his career, Wilson kept writing. He later returned to live shows as a solo artist, and while he toured steadily over the past few decades — including a reunion with the Beach Boys in 2012 — he hasn’t performed in concert since July 2022.
His inventive music continues to draw in dedicated fans and fellow musicians. As Rolling Stone reported this week, a country album Wilson started in 1970 will be the subject of an upcoming docuseries partially dedicated to its completion.
“I got to visit and spend time with Brian a few days after his wife passed,” Jason Fine, Wilson’s longtime friend who collaborated with Wilson on the documentary Long Promised Road, says. “He was sad, but typically stoic. We spent time watching clips for the Beatles rooftop concert. He told me he’d love to get his mind off things and go to a Lakers game.”
Additional reporting by Daniel Kreps