Hello determined-ga, and thank you for this thought-provoking
question. Normally, Google does not allow us to give out personal
information, but since this information is all available publicly, I
believe it will be all right to answer your question. As a HUGE John
Denver fan, I will give you some personal knowledge, backed up with
books I have read.
1) John's romantic life was varied by his own admission. In his
autobiography, "Take Me Home," written with Arthur Tobier, he
discusses life on the road, and says there were always women and
groupies around, making it difficult when he was on the road for long
periods. In his own words, he was "no saint" during his marriage to
Annie, and they separated once before they were divorced at least
partly because of his infidelities. He also said of traveling to
Australia in the late 1970s that it was "brimming over with romantic
possibilities," and that he sensed "a great veering in relationships
on all fronts, my music, the band, Jerry [Weintraub, his then
manager], Annie. The changes began then and continued with increasing
complications through the next 4 or 5 years." [1977 through 1981 or
1982.]
Here is a link to Amazon for this book:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0517595370/johndenvequot-20/002-1223281-2035233
There is also a book out called "John Denver and Me,"
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/059514618X/johndenvequot-20/002-1223281-2035233
by Jeannie St. Marie, who alleges she had an affair with John in
Australia after his divorce from Annie.
2) As for the TV movie made about John's life, it was also based on
"Take me Home," but in my opinion very loosely. The TV movie glossed
over many events in his life, repeatedly misrepresented the songs he
was singing at certain times in his life, and of course, since it was
only 2 hours long, left out huge parts of his life, (including his
infidelities). They showed Annie asking for a divorce on their 15th
anniversary, but did not really show what led up to that action.
Personally, I collect JD memorabilia, and even have tapes made of
shows that were only shown on TV in the 70s, before VCRs were readily
available, but I did not, and will not purchase the TV movie, it was
too "far out" for me, and I would not recommend it as a source of real
information on John and his life. The many documentaries made by
VH-1, E!, and even Nature were much more realistic and honest, I
think.
His life certainly had his ups and downs. In one interview I saw on
VH-1 in the 80s, he said he had lost his father and his marriage, and
was admittedly going through "mid-life crisis." He received two DUIs
within a year of each other, and fought them repeatedly in court. He
says in his autobiography that when he "felt sorry for himself" he
would not communicate, and would often visit a "local tavern."
His first DUI was in August 1993,
His Second DUI in 1994
http://john_denver.myetang.com/john/page/excuse.htm
However, his family and friends agree that at the time of his death,
he was happy, content, and getting his life back on track. He had
played a game of golf just before he left to fly his new plane, and
reportedly was eager to try out the new plane, which he had bought
because it was extremely fast. He was going to use it to get to Los
Angeles more often to visit his daughter, Jessie Belle.
Information on the flight that killed him, and lack of valid medical
certificate to fly:
http://www.angelflight.org/articles/af00_010j.html
There was even speculation that the accident that killed him was no
"accident," but family members vehemently disagreed, and the NTSB
report on the crash showed it was a certain freakish set of events
that caused the crash. Here is the final report by the NTSB:
http://www.avweb.com/other/ntsb9905.html
All of that said, I did not know the man; I simply loved his words and
music. Is anyone really what they seem to others on the outside? That
is difficult to answer. As a fan, I admired him and his life.
Personally, I saw him in concert at least 10 times during his career,
and his on stage persona seemed to mirror what was happening in his
life. His early concerts were fun, bubbly, and very upbeat. After his
breakup with Annie, his concerts were much more subdued, and some even
sad. The last time I saw him, in June 1996, he was his "old self," at
least to me. He truly interacted with the audience, and seemed to be
enjoying himself for the first time in many years. It was a joy, and
so I believe that he was happy with himself and his life when he died.
Search Strategy Used:
"john denver" +dui
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"john denver" +faa
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I hope this is the information you were looking for. If I can add
anything else please let me know before you rate my answer. Thank you!
nvwriter-ga |
