The Smiley Smile Message Board

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-3873392/The-Beach-Boys-Brian-Wilson-looks-frail-pushed-LAX-Airport-wheelchair.html

This is sad news. Does anyone know if this is at all common for him?

His back has been bad for a number of years now, and he moves very gingerly on stage these days. A wheelchair doesn't surprise me at all.

He seems relatively upbeat in the pics; it's not like he's trying to hide or shield his face or something.

I've known far younger folks with back problems. That he's 74 years old with back problems and doesn't want to trudge through an airport or whatever doesn't surprise me. I guess ideally they'd get a little golfcart thing or something to avoid "Brian Wilson in Wheelchair" headlines, but given everything we know, I'm not extra concerned.

Here is a video.  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_mqTBPa_jGY (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_mqTBPa_jGY)

I wonder if he is using it for convenience due to chronic pain in the legs or back.  It makes me deeply sad.

While looking at the photo gave me a jolt and made my heart a bit achy, I'm inclined not to read too much into it. Recalling my days as a guest services attendant at a major international hotel chain, we had wheelchairs on hand for guests who might need or request one at any given time. Traveling can be exhausting, especially for an elderly person or anyone with an injury or back problem. GSAs are trained to always be on the lookout for how they can help someone who looks like they need it, whether that person looks lost, wobbly, or simply has a question written on their face. Where I worked, if someone was looking wobbly, it wouldn't be out of line for any of us working to diplomatically inform them we had wheelchairs available if they wanted one. For their own safety as well as for preventing a fall on the premises for legal reasons. I'm sure this is just a case of the attendants trying to make him comfortable while on the premises and get him to his gate as speedily as possible, or whatever.

I completely agree. I think the use of the wheelchair has more to do with getting him through the airport fast . He certainly walks a little gingerly on stage, but I would say these photos really don't tell the whole story. By the way, he looks better in the video than in the photos--I'm sure it has everything to do with multiple paparazzi spraying him with flash.

Looks like the Tom Bradley Terminal at LAX. Some long lines for security at times there. Wheelchairs get priority.

I agree with most posters here.  When I saw him a month ago his gait looked really, really tired.  In situations like airports I am not surprised that he uses a wheelchair.

That paparazzi would incense me to no end and I would do something to get sued.  They were very patient.

When I came home from the Philippines last Summer I had an injured foot. Came right through LAX in a wheel chair with my family. No lines. It was great.

I have elderly friends around Brian's age who also use wheelchair service at the airport. I wouldn't read too much into it. For some people, it's tough to be on your feet and walking great distances when you get to be a certain age.

I'm more saddened that he's being harassed by the idiotic press, barking the most inane and insulting questions at him. "Dennis lived with the Manson girls!"..sure, bring up a serial killer. Classy move. "What song will you be remembered for?"..Yeah, death is always a good way to start a conversation.

Assholes.   

I've seen photos/videos of Brian in a wheelchair for the last couple of years at least. It's probably a lot easier on him. Like most said, don't read into it too much.

Would it be tedious to start a thread:" Brian out of a wheelchair"?

I seriously want to punch that paparazzi d-bag.

I doubt if there is anything seriously wrong with him, he looks fine in his expressions in the photos, does not appear to be ill.  Probably just prefers sitting to walking.

It is rather unfortunate though that he has not maintained the very high physical fitness level he once enjoyed at one time as a result of the Landy regimen.  No I'm not defending Landy in general, just noting that the physical fitness aspects that he was pushing at one time appeared to do Bri a world of good.  Seems once he was out of his clutches, it was back to steak and potatoes, cheeseburgers, etc.

Actually ran into a friend today who has a bad backache going, and she stated that she feels best on her feet, not sitting down, so perhaps the "wheelchair for a bad back" scenario may not be true.

Well, it's publicity and as Brian himself noted, "there's no such thing as bad publicity".  Career Uber Alles in Beach Boys Land, no?

This reminds me of a quote by Dennis. Not sure what year, but h basically said the Beach Boys will tour til their old in wheel chairs!

For Brian, though, it's not "merely" a bad back.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spinal_stenosis

Anyone recognize the gentleman leading the way for Brian through the door.  Grey hair pulling his luggage ?

Me too. Of course, the dickshit was on Brian's right side, so he didn't hear it!

Brian suffers from the same back ailments which had Carl performing onstage while sitting on/in a chair.  It's hereditary.  It's spinal stenosis.  The man wants to perform for the audience with THIS EXACT and current crew...  The true crew which allows him the UNIQUE opportunity to bring to the stage the sound he always envisioned in his head ... the one which the 'old Beach Boys' were never capable of bringing to LIVE ears...as good as they were on stage from the early up until the mid-70s.  By the late 70s?  Holy crap!!!  Thanks Mike.  You dick!!!  You  S T U P I D  dick.

I don't feel badly for a man who WANTS to do what he's doing...and who keeps adding on more dates in order to lengthen out the process ... not nip it in the bud like that Love fool did 4 years ago.

If the wheel chair makes it all easier to accomplish...roll on Brian.  You're on a roll.  :hat

Wow what an asshole that paparazzi guy is. Leave him in peace and of all questions a stupid manson question, f*** that guy.
It's emotional seeing those photos of him in the wheel chair but from watching the video it doesn't seem so bad. You can see Brian hoping in the wheelchair.

Yes, spinal stenosis is serious. It's why Cooper Manning, a star football wide receiver and brother to Peyton and Eli Manning, had to give up playing football when in college. If hit wrong, he could have been paralyzed..

Yeah, and also Brian's like 'tell him not to come in here'.


I just want to slap the fuckstuffing out that guy. Just a little bit.

Your too kind to him. I think he deserves more.

Or maybe he can get a visit from this guy and his "vampire bat"

(http://screenrant.com/wp-content/uploads/Jeffrey-Dean-Morgan-as-Negan-in-The-Walking-Dead-Season-6-Episode-16.jpg)

Oh my god! :lol

Hahahah.
By the way that was a great episode.

Yes I do.

Yeah it was. I have my serious doubts about episode 2, though...

From the preview it didn't look as interesting. Probably the best thing to do is wait a month or so then binge watch it.

Wholly 'phuque'.  It's like being made to, once again, watch the gawd-dammed 'good wife'...with my wife... all over again. 

C  E  A  S  E  !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It's Jerry Weiss.

It pisses me off that people are so obsessed with this, even though Brian is not the person they should be asking at all. I remember during his reddit AMA, someone asked him about Manson, and when he (of course) didn't answer, some people were disappointed because they didn't actually care about Brian, they just cared about his ''association'' with Manson.

Yeah, it's incredibly stupid.

Some choice quotes:
https://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/2zmbsv/i_am_brian_wilson_cofounder_of_the_beach_boys_amaa/cpkgw67/

Wow...I think the gene pool could use some chlorine

Or something less extreme...like shoving a copy of "I Am Brian Wilson" into their arms and forcing them to educate themselves about him before they ask stupid questions.

Can't believe thats what people wanted to ask on reddit. If the first thing you think of asking is about the Mansons then your not much of a fan and obviously more interested in the whole Manson story. I find it strange how so many people are obsessed with that story, I think its the most boring thing out of the whole BB career.

That, and "Going South" off LA Light.

And the mundane "Sumahaminah, Hamina"  :-D :-D

That's weird because I am in the Philippines right now with an injured foot.  Thanks for the idea!

It must have been a slow news day if a 74-year-old musician being pushed in a wheelchair through an airport made the news.

As everyone has said, loads of people use wheelchairs to get through airports. I saw the band several times this summer and was right next to the stage for several shows so I saw Brian very clearly when he walked onto and off stage. He is quite wobbly (as opposed to when I saw him in summer 2015). It's not surprising - what with back issues, and the simple fact that balance gets worse with age. People with balance problems often say that airports are one of the most difficult environments to get through because of the crowds, movement and visual distraction.  

Anyway, the guy's been touring solidly for six months, so to call him "frail" is pretty ridiculous. It also betrays a bias on the reporter's part - that being in a wheelchair equals "weak". There are hundreds of reasons that a person might need to use a wheelchair but it does not make them "frail" or weak.

Well said!

I just read most of that Reddit AMA mentioned above and this was so odd to me:

Q: Hey Brian! What is your favorite song from the Love You album?
A: "Ding Dang" because I like my brother Carl's vocal

I hope that will put in perspective all that "autopen" rubbish. And this time I am talking to myself too.

I think Brian has randomly cited "Ding Dang" in the past; he even played some of it off the cuff back in 2000 when he went on QVC and performed live in studio with his band to promote the "Live at the Roxy" album.

I think Brian just has "Love You" embedded into his soul a little more than a lot of other albums (certainly most post-60s albums).

Haha! Make make sure they know in Manila that you need a wheel chair. Every connection has a nice person with a chair waiting for you. Heaven.

Am I missing something with one of my favorite albums?  What is odd to me is that either Brian got this answer totally wrong, or his favorite part of this super multifaceted album that he created mostly on his own is a very enthusiastic background vocal from his brother on a 60 second-long song.  I think my take is that Brian has given so few ****'s about doing press for such a long time, that after so many decades he just says whatever, doesn't think twice about it, and leaves it at that.  The best interviewers get a smaller percentage of whatever, things like Reddit get a large percentage of whatever.

In some cases, maybe some of that would be applicable. I'm just saying Brian has in the past shown an affinity for "Ding Dang." So it's not like he gives zero f**ks about the song and is yanking someone's chain. Maybe he doesn't care about the interview at hand, I don't know. But the songs he *really* doesn't care about might be more likely to be songs he doesn't even mention or may not even immediately recognize the title of.

Remember, this is the guy that has spent most of his life knocking around the "Shortenin' Bread" motif in a myriad of ways.

It's not as if Brian is holding "Ding Dang" up as pure genius. He just seems to fondly remember it, especially based on his enthusiastic off-the-cuff performance of it back in 2000. Frankly, I'd rather hear Brian talk about "Ding Dang" than "God Only Knows" for the millionth time.

Page 197 of the book: Brian also talks about "Ding Dang". "It's one of my favorite songs ever"..."The keyboard riff has been stuck in my head for years. I love it so much."

Maybe some fans would be disappointed or shocked that Brian would name "Ding Dang" off the "Love You" album before something like "The Night Was So Young." But I think it's interesting and hilarious that *that's* the song Brian would single out.

Oh trust me... _I_ think Ding Dang and his Shortenin Bread musical trope are pretty much genius.  I am certain that he loves that song and riff.  I just think it's funny that out of everything he could have said about Love You, he picked Ding Dang and specifically Carl's background vocal.  "Hey Brian, what's your favorite thing about Pet Sounds?"  "Oh, definitely 'You Still Believe In Me', using the bike bell and horn was a trip!"  :)

Sorry bad post.....Does Jerry Weiss now room with Brain on the road ???  And maybe have the same responsibilities that JF had for many years ?

I think so, yeah.

Sensitive Music For Sensitive People should have a picture of Brian in a rocking chair on the front cover, and Brian in a wheelchair on the back.  (Subtitle: "The rock & roll album".)

I, like nobody, disagree that "Shortenin' Bread", "Ding Dang" is genius. It's 2 extremely dull tunes. 76-79 is bad vocals time in regards Carl. By 1980 he catches up.

I don't know what this means but I actually think "Ding Dang" and "Shortenin' Bread" (especially the L.A. (Light Album) version) are freakin' awesome! Genius? Perhaps that's a stretch, but I personally love 'em. I also love "Brian's Tune" (aka "Rollin' Up to Heaven"). I wouldn't mind hearing 1972's "Brian's Jam" and "Clangin'" and "Clang" as well. I think all that stuff is fascinating.

Just saw the youtube vid on this.
Is that "reporter" crazy or what? Going on and on about "the Manson house."
That's right, just traumatize the old guy.

I'm not certain what you're trying to say here.  As I understand it, Brian always gets a large suite with various rooms and has an assistant with him to handle his schedule demands (interviews, prepping for shows etc.).  Jerry's a wonderful man and a godsend for Brian, and he does his job very well.  As far as the wheelchair is concerned, I did joke with a friend that Brian is probably pi**ed at himself for not thinking of this option years ago.  He enjoys his comforts.  He deserves them.  Can't we just smile about it and be glad he's still touring his music?

I must say when I was dragging my bag through Heathrow a few months ago all the way from the Virgin Atlantic gate to customs, I was thinking a wheelchair seemed pretty good.

Probably is! :D

I don't think any negative connotation was intended in the original/previous post from barsone regarding Jerry Weiss.

Ray Lawlor has posted in the past describing the functions Foskett served out on the road (apart from on-stage), and I think barsone was just curious if Jerry Weiss was filling that role now.

I think Ray did a great job awhile back of describing the team Brian has out on the road. I think what Foskett has done in past years for Brian are things an artist out on the road would have someone helping them with. I think some of those roles aren't often filled by a touring musician/singer, so that's where Ray's clarifications really helped.

I think mainly fans are glad to see Brian have a good road crew and support system.

Thanks Hey Jude...That's all I was asking regarding Jerry Weiss and how it might have been related to the Foskett era.  I did not see (or remember) Ray's post on the traveling situation.  And obviously agree 100% on having good support systems for BW.  My post initially in the thread started back with the video posted from the airport.

Here's a good post from Ray on the subject from a little while back:

http://smileysmile.net/board/index.php/topic,18293.msg476797.html#msg476797