Last Wednesday, a representative of Rick Springfield appeared in court to enter a plea of not guilty for a charge filed against the singer. The 80’s hit singer is facing a misdemeanor charge of driving under the influence in an incident that happened after his appearance at the Festival of Books in Los Angeles.
According to a feature on LA Times, the singer-actor appeared during the L.A. Times Festival of Books event last May 1 and answered all the audiences’ questions as he spoke about his book, “Late, Late at Night,” sharing the stage with KPCC’s Alex Cohen.
Springfield had already acted sourly during the event. When an audience member tried to leave while he was speaking, he shouted “You! You, where are you going? Am I boring you? I’ll take my pants off if you stay.”
Ironically, the “Jessie’s Girl” singer opened up about his demons especially his depression which he particularly calls Mr. D. “Mr. D has a pretty good sense of humor. He’s sitting there in that vacant chair,” pointing to the back row, “telling me what a jerk I am.”
It was no surprise when at around 8 pm that night, police had to stop the “Don’t Talk to Strangers” singer at Malibu as he was clearly not driving well. In his 1963 Corvette, Springfield registered a 0.10% blood-alcohol level which was beyond the limit in Los Angeles. Police and other authorities did not expect Rick to become violent, but he was. He even threatened to kill a deputy officer and his family if his $200,000 vehicle should be towed.
Springfield’s next court date has been set on August 15. The singer was last seen on television via “Hawaii Five-O” and “Californication” after he reprised his role as Dr. Noah Drake in the drama “General Hospital” last 2008.
Tags: Rick Springfield alcohol abuse, Rick Springfield driving under the influence, Rick Springfield drunk driving, Rick Springfield DUI
