Beach Boys Co-Founder Brian Wilson Put Under Conservatorship Amid Dementia Battle
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Beach Boys co-founder Brian Wilson is suffering from dementia and has been placed under a conservatorship, his family announced Thursday night.
The decision was made after Wilson’s wife of nearly 30 years, Melinda Ledbetter passed away last month at age 77. According to court documents reviewed by The Blast, Wilson is suffering from a “major neurocognitive disorder” and is “unable to properly provide for his own personal needs for physical health, food, clothing, or shelter.”
“We are confirming that longtime Wilson family representatives LeeAnn Hard and Jean Sievers will serve as Brian’s co-conservators,” the Wilson family said in their statement. “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.”
They continued: “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.”
Wilson’s health has reportedly declined rapidly in the weeks since Ledbetter’s passing. The couple met in 1986 while Ledbetter, a former model, was working at a car dealership. They married in 1995 and went on to have five children together.
Wilson often credited his wife with both inspiring his music and helping him break out from the abusive hold of controversial celebrity psychiatrist Eugene Landy. Bill Pohlad’s successful biopic of Wilson, Love and Mercy (2014), was sourced largely from her accounts of the troubled singer. Ledbetter is played by Elizabeth Banks in that film, while Paul Dano and John Cusack portray Wilson.
When Ledbetter passed on January 30, Wilson said in a statement that he and their children were bereft. “Melinda was more than my wife. She was my savior. She gave me the emotional security I needed to have a career. She encouraged me to make the music that was closest to my heart. She was my anchor. She was everything for us.”
