British musician, drummer, actor and superstar with “The Beatles.” Starr was the mop-top with the lovable sad eyes displaying his comedic abilities in the films “A Hard Day’s Night” in 1964 and “Help” in 1965.
Starr grew up in a dysfunctional family in Liverpool, England. As an only child, he grew up longing for brothers. His wish would be later fulfilled by his comrades when he joined the rock and roll band, “The Beatles.” His childhood memories are of drunken family parties with members passing out after excessive drinking, a natural part of his family life. As a kid, he had two hospitalizations, for a burst appendix and pleurisy. At the age of nine, Starr drank liquor at the Christmas family get-together and experienced his first black-out.
Growing up, he loved the new sound of rock and roll. Early music rock singer Johnnie Ray was a big hero to young Starr and at 15, he watched Ray throw photos down to his screaming fans from the roof of Liverpool’s Adelphi Hotel. At that point, Starr knew he wanted to lead that kind of rock and roll life.
In 1962, Starr officially joined the already formed band “The Beatles” as their drummer. He became part of the British Invasion phenomena on popular culture of the 1960s. The band was a monster mega-international music hit with teenagers. In England, he was known as the band’s drummer but in America, fans treated him as a star alongside George Harrison, John Lennon, and Paul McCartney.
After the band was dissolved in 1971, Starr slipped into a career crisis. Too big to join other rock bands, he sat home in London watched television and drinking. He tried to establish a solo career, but was unmotivated after his moderate hit album “Ringo” was released in 1973. In 1988, he suffered a career low as an 18-inch train conductor on a kiddy TV show, “Shining Time Station.” In 1989, he rebounded, back on tour with his own band, “Ringo’s All Starr Band.”
Starr marriage to his first wife, Maureen Cox in 1965, produced three children, son Zak born in 1966, son Jason in 1967 and daughter Lee in 1971. They divorced in 1975. Starr married his second wife, actress Barbara Bach in 1981, finally finding a comfortable partner. After many years of living in Hollywood, the couple moved to Monte Carlo with her son and daughter from a previous marriage. In 1985, Zak and his wife Sarah had a daughter, making Ringo the first Beatle grandfather.
After the break up of “The Beatles,” Starr slipped into a long session with alcoholism. His cognac drinking became legendary in show business circles and his black outs grew worse in the ’70s and ’80s. In October 1988, Starr and his wife were admitted together to the Sierra Tucson rehab clinic in Arizona for alcoholism.
Link to Wikipedia biography