Four years before his death, Keith Moon met his girlfriend, Annette Walter-Lax, a Swedish model, as per Rock Cellar Magazine. Walter-Lax recognized Moon’s self-destructive tendencies and tried hard to help him end substance use (via “Keith Moon: The Final 24”): “He could be … the nicest man you could ever find. But it didn’t take much alcohol … to turn him into something completely different.”
Before his death, Walter-Lax tried to convince a doctor to take Moon as a patient (via “Dear Boy,” by Tony Fletcher). But when the doctor visited their home, Moon’s case was thus deemed hopeless, and the doctor refused to treat him. Of course it didn’t help that Moon once told a doctor his
breakfast recipe often cosisted of a bottle of champagne, Courvoisier, and amphetamines. Walter-Lax described Moon at the time: “His body was so toxic that when he was going to swallow alcohol it came straight back up again. So he had to force it down. It was just awful to watch.”
Walter-Lax now works as a psychotherapist and has published a book about her years with Moon (via Goldmine). She believes Moon struggled with borderline and multiple personality disorder, always “putting on an act” to escape from his real self. She regrets pinning his issues on drugs and booze and not trying harder to seek treatment for his mental issues.
If you or someone you know is struggling with mental health, please contact the Crisis Text Line by texting HOME to 741741, call the National Alliance on Mental Illness helpline at 1-800-950-NAMI (6264), or visit the National Institute of Mental Health website.
