Medium Star's Rolling Stone Childhood Options

[lisalisa]

Medium Star Jake Weber's Rock 'N' Roll Childhood

He spent three nights in a Nigerian prison, countless hours on the back of Mick Jagger's motorbike and a few tense moments with a half-kilo of cocaine strapped to his body while a customs officer eyed him at an Irish airport.

Even for the free-wheeling 1960s, that's enough adventure to last at least a few lifetimes. Jake Weber accomplished all of it before he was 12.

Weber, 46, who for the past five seasons has played the very picture of familial stability as down-to-earth dad Joe Dubois on Medium (premiering Sept. 25 on CBS), had a rock 'n' roll childhood that was anything but stable. As children of Tommy and Susan "Puss" Weber, parents who were at the epicenter of London's counter-cultural revolution, Weber and his younger brother Charley lead nomadic lives filled with rock music, fast cars, and very little schooling – at least of a traditional sort.

"Some people can juggle soccer balls. Me? I can roll a killer joint in about 3 seconds flat," Weber jokes. "When I was [4], basically the reason for my existence was to roll the joints."

Mother's Death
It was a life that was by turns thrilling, chaotic and ultimately tragic. When Weber was 8 and living at the Villa Nellcôte, Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richard's sprawling hippie hideout in the South of France, he got the devastating news that his mother, whom he had seen grow increasingly paranoid and disconnected with reality during a multi-continent spiritual quest, had died of a drug overdose.

"That was a seminal moment, and it changed my brother and me forever," says Weber, who years later learned that his mother, diagnosed with depression and LSD-induced schizophrenia, had in fact committed suicide. "It was one of those things you dread, and when it happened finally, your worst fear is realized. Now on our own with our father, an extremely dangerous man, and without her we were screwed."




Tommy Weber was a race car driver with whom Anita had an affair. She met his wife during a stint in rehab. His wife asked Anita to watch her children, Jake and Charley, which she did. Sadly, their mother died that same year. (Photo courtesy of Dominique Tarlé)

This post has been edited by lisalisa: Sep 27 2009, 07:55 PM

[lisalisa]

Weber and his younger brother Charley lead nomadic lives filled with rock music, fast cars, and very little schooling – at least of a traditional sort.

That is an interested quote since looking further into his life he attended Middlebury College in Vermont, where he majored in English Literature and Political Science, graduating cum laude with a BA. He also attended Juilliard, from which he graduated in 1991.

This post has been edited by lisalisa: Sep 27 2009, 08:47 PM

[Dr. Moose]

That is an interested quote since looking further into his life he attended Middlebury College in Vermont, where he majored in English Literature and Political Science, graduating cum laude with a BA. He also attended Juilliard, from which he graduated in 1991.

It's not that interesting. An English Lit and Poli-Sci degree is pretty in step with his life experiences. It would be more interesting if he had become a doctor, lawyer, engineer, or scientist, rather than an actor... but if that happened, we wouldn't be reading the article about him.

[FrankD]

interesting.

That last paragraph under the pix shows Anita Pallinberg?

so who was teaching him joint rolling, Keith or his mother?

i know, i know, I'll look it up in wikipedia

[lisalisa]

It's not that interesting. An English Lit and Poli-Sci degree is pretty in step with his life experiences. It would be more interesting if he had become a doctor, lawyer, engineer, or scientist, rather than an actor... but if that happened, we wouldn't be reading the article about him.

Its an interested quote to me. The fact that he chose to go to college and be successful after the lifestyle he had was interesting, again to me! Thanks for playing, doctor.

[JuJuagogo]

Its an interested quote to me. The fact that he chose to go to college and be successful after the lifestyle he had was interesting, again to me! Thanks for playing, doctor.

I agree with you on this. Most people with crappy childhoods don't become a success story. And by Crappy, I mean, no stability. Although he had a lot of exposure to things most kids don't, there was never any structure in his life, he was surrounded by drugs, so rather than become another statistic or drug addict - he went on to graduate from two reputable schools and become a successful actor. Its not a story you hear too often Even if he did become a doctor instead of an actor. Somewhere down the road there probably would have been a story about him, somewhere.


This post has been edited by JuJuagogo: Sep 28 2009, 07:06 AM

[krispybmc]

When Weber was 8 and living at the Villa Nellcôte, Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richard's sprawling hippie hideout in the South of France,

holy shit- that place was like heroin central, apparently

also where they recorded 'Exile on Main St' (in the basement, using a mobile studio)

i can't imagine being 8 years old and living there- must have been pretty weird for a kid...

[lisalisa]

I wonder if he has any contact with Keith or Mick or at least their kids? Boy does he have material for a book about his childhood, though I am thinking he is not the type to really write in detail about it.

[ImIdaho]

I wonder if he has any contact with Keith or Mick or at least their kids? Boy does he have material for a book about his childhood, though I am thinking he is not the type to really write in detail about it.

That would be refreshing, but it would make him all the more interesting as a person too.

[Charlemagne]

holy shit- that place was like heroin central, apparently

also where they recorded 'Exile on Main St' (in the basement, using a mobile studio)

i can't imagine being 8 years old and living there- must have been pretty weird for a kid...

Also, during World War II, the German Gestapo in that region were headquarterd out of Nellcote.

[TEX]

I liked him in the remake of Dawn of the Dead!

[ImIdaho]

I liked him in the remake of Dawn of the Dead!

Also very good in a little film called Wendigo with Patricia Clarkson. Good Flick.

[FrankD]

if Anita Pallenberg was his step mother...ouch......she brings the crazy

[DanPM]

Medium sucks. I prefer Large.

[The Undude]

Also, during World War II, the German Gestapo in that region were headquarterd out of Nellcote.

interesting. this i did not know. the s of f was a wierd place in ww2
when i was a kid i found this abandoned field to the west of cannes with pillboxes. you could dig in the groung and find loose rifle bullets reputedly from training range during ww2. the buttles would detach and i'd drill a hole through them so they could be strung with a thin leather strip. i had a few buyers at the american school. i wish i still had one for the tactile memories it would bring back.

i like medium. it's been fun to watch the family grow up. the characters have a warm and personable vibe. they're not all perfect, nor all messed up. their just medium, i guess.