Freddie Prinze

I have dedicated this website to Freddie Prinze's talent, life, and contribution for I have always felt that those are precious and to be celebrated.

After Freddie left us at such a young age the focus was put on his tragic death and anything negative that could be said about him and those who were close to him. Freddie's brilliant comedic talent, showmanship, kind and compassionate spirit were relegated to a back corner instead of out in front of the circumstances of his last tragic days. That was then...or so I thought.

With the recent resurgence of airings of "Chico and the Man" on a retro-TV network the focus on Freddie has returned. I was thrilled to be able to view Freddie's talent on screen again and FINALLY have found others through the use of the internet who felt the same. It has been a mixed blessing.

Most of the participants on the message boards that have sprung up since the re-airing of "Chico" are focused on the celebration of Freddie's life and are simply thankful to connect with others who still miss Freddie and will never forget him or his contributions.

Sadly, in my opinion, the focus on the negativity that surrounded his last days has also been brought back to the surface. I do not believe that the person Freddie was at the core of his being would have wanted it that way. Out of that belief came this website.

There will be a focus on his life and the awesome gift of laughter and joy he gave to us while he was here. There are many websites where you will find details of the "complete picture" and I encourage you to visit them as I know a lot of hard work and love was put into creating them in honor of Freddie.

I have posted rules for the message board on this site to discourage any negativity directed towards those who were in Freddie's life. My view is that although emotion tends to run high on those topics, I, as a fan and admirer have very limited knowledge as to ALL the factors that influenced the events surrounding Freddie and choose to not allow negative speculation on this site's board.

My view comes from my own frame of reference as a mother and wife. I have also, sadly, experienced loving/and or caring for someone who had been overcome with addiction. As a mother, my first priority became to insure the safety and well-being of the innocent, completely vulnerable child I had been blessed with...at all costs. Adults make choices...children depend on others to protect them even from their own family if the need be.

Had I, had an agreement with my spouse that the addiction would end when my child was born and it had not; I would have removed my innocent child from any possible danger. If you approach a doctor who is carelessly prescribing medication in excess to someone you love and ask them to stop because it has become a dangerous problem and they do not care to acknowledge the severity of the situation ...what then?

In a time when drug use was prevalent, accepted and ignored by those around you and your loved one as hopefully an abuse they could control there were not the resources there are today. Interventions were not done. If a celebrity admitted an abuse problem they would have been ostracized. Their career, livelihood, and entire world would have been subject to harsh repercussions. Life as they knew it would have been over.

Think about it. You fall in love, addiction enters your relationship and the person you love is still inside the stranger that now controls their heart, mind and body. Once in awhile you are able to catch a glimpse of your love and you hold on...until they are so absorbed by the addicted persona that they rarely surface anymore. If EVERYONE around that person co-operates, TOGETHER to facilitate the recovery of your loved ones core being there is a fighting chance. If not, and a child is involved, they, the innocent must be put first.

We all, as adults, make our own choices. They come from everything we've known, experienced, thought, think, or are experiencing. It is a collective process when we make a choice. If we choose to incorporate an addictive substance into that mix then we alter our cognitive decision process.

Had Freddie had a doctor who cared about his mental, emotional and physical well-being, and not been motivated by money or the power of a personality... would he still be with us? Had he lived in a time, like today, where Rehab is encouraged, applauded, even seen as a bit trendy and definitely not construed as a negative to one's career...would he still be here? Would Freddie be with us still, had he had time to mature from the very young man he was, who tried to rise up and carry all of the demands, responsibilities, and expectations put upon him through ALL of the circumstances of his meteoric rise to fame to a man of many more years, capable of handling it all with the ease that comes with time and experience? I believe so.

I, as a mother and a wife would have found it completely confusing and heartbreaking to have gone through what Freddie's wife went through. To have loved, tried to get a doctor to help my husband instead of continue to hurt him, have to remove my child from the situation out of concern and fear, have and receive no visible support system to help myself, my child, or my addicted loved one through to recovery, tragically LOSE my loved one, my child lose their father and THEN to have negative, hate-filled, out-of-ignorance comments directed towards myself would have devastated me. I am sure I would have been filled with bitterness, anger and great sorrow. I would have had to continually been put in a place to forgive those who simply were ignorant to ALL of the contributing factors.

Decades have passed, everyone who was a part of Freddie's life have dealt or are still dealing with the life long rippling effect of what the drugs made Freddie do that night. I put out a plea to not add your own measure of suffering onto another person who already carries their own.

Freddie, at his truest core, was kind, compassionate and lived to make people smile....THINK about it. I don't believe he would have ever wanted those that he loved to suffer at the lack of knowledge of those who profess to love and choose to honor his memory. For all Freddie gave to us that lives on in those who love him still and the work he left behind...please...let us honor him. Let us honor him with kindness, empathy, and compassion for those he loved yet left behind.