Latest news with #ElizabethWeber
Los Angeles Times
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Los Angeles Times
LA Times Today: HBO documentary shares complicated story of Billy Joel's life and the women who helped shape his career
His fans call him the 'Piano Man,' after that 1973 hit a two-part HBO documentary is exploring the life, career and personal struggles of Billy Joel, providing an expansive look at the man behind the music. Billy Joel's former business manager and wife, Elizabeth Weber and director Jessica Levin joined Lisa McRee.
Fox News
18-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Fox News
Billy Joel admits affair made him feel 'like a homewrecker,' says he deserved being 'punched in the nose'
Billy Joel fell in love with the wife of his best friend and bandmate when he was just starting his career. In a new documentary, "Billy Joel: And So It Goes," the Piano Man revealed the anguish he went through when he told his friend he was in love with his wife. Joel had been living with bandmate Jon Small; Small's wife, Elizabeth Weber; and their son, while Joel and Small were in a duo called Attila in their early 20s. "I was just in love with a woman, and I got punched in the nose, which I deserved," Joel said in the documentary. "I felt very, very guilty about it. They had a child, you know? I felt like a homewrecker." Earlier this year, Joel was diagnosed with a brain condition that forced him to cancel all of his scheduled concerts. Longtime collaborator and the executive producer of the documentary, Steve Cohen, told Fox News Digital his fingers are crossed Joel will perform again. "I always look at it as a gift when he walks on stage," Cohen said. "I can't predict. I do know that the Billy Joel that I had dinner with last night, that's the Billy Joe that I know. So, look, it's up to him. If he feels like he wants to, you know, 'play' Billy Joel on stage again, we're all gonna be there for him." The five-time Grammy winner, 76, was diagnosed with normal pressure hydrocephalus (NPH), which occurs when cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) builds up inside or around the brain and has led to problems with hearing, vision and balance for the musician. "I can't predict whether he's gonna wanna do it. Look, he's got two beautiful kids. His daughter's now turning 10. He's got a great wife. He's got a great life. Like, he's 76. He doesn't have to do s---. And he's giving the fans something in this documentary that they can enjoy more of. So, I don't know, fingers crossed." WATCH: BILLY JOEL'S FRIEND AND COLLABORATOR HOPES TO SEE HIM PERFORM AGAIN AFTER BRAIN DIAGNOSIS Joel fell in love with his first wife, Weber, because she wasn't happy with her husband Small. Weber admitted in the documentary she and Small "were not a good fit. We were very young, and we didn't really know much of anything. And I got more and more dissatisfied with the life I was living, and then things got complicated." She and Joel began spending more and more time together. "When you just find someone you're comfortable with … and can finish your sentences and know what you're thinking without saying anything, sometimes it's a low build," she said. Small said Weber was important to him, "but I think I was not the guy she hoped I would be." "I kept seeing that Billy was not the same guy. Something was the matter, and Billy one day came up to me, became a little honest and said to me, 'I'm in love with your wife.' So, it was a very devastating thing for me because these were basically my two best friends. "He's crying, and he's telling me he feels so bad, and he didn't know what to do about it. How does he break his best friend's heart? But he said she was so powerful to him that it was worth it to him to lose our friendship for it." Joel said that was the end of Attila, and "that was the end of my relationship with Jon for a while." He said Weber left as well, and he began drinking a lot and attempted suicide twice. "I figured that's it. I don't want to live anymore," Joel said. "I was just in a lot of pain. It was like why hang out? Tomorrow's going to be just like today, and today sucks. So, I just thought I'd end it all." After his second attempt at suicide, Small was the one who took Joel to the hospital. "Even though our friendship had blown up, Jon saved my life," Joel said. Small said even though Joel never said anything to him about it, "The practical answer I could give why Billy took it so hard was because he loved me that much and that it killed him to hurt me that much." He said he eventually forgave Joel. "I finally got over it where it was like, 'OK.' He thought it was over for him, but, to me, he didn't even start living yet." Joel and Weber ended up getting together about a year later after she'd heard songs he'd written about her, when Joel gave her sister a cassette tape of his music. "It was all from Elizabeth leaving him, and he was so sad. And he put it into music," his sister, Judy Molinari, said in the documentary. "Hearing those songs was overwhelming," Weber admitted. "It was stunning that he could accomplish something like that." Joel and Weber eventually got married in 1973 before divorcing in 1982. He is now married to his fourth wife, Alexis Roderick, after his marriages to Christie Brinkley and Katie Lee. Part one of "Billy Joel: And So it Goes" premieres Friday, July 18, on HBO and will be available to stream on HBO Max. Part two of the documentary will be released Friday, July 25.
Fox News
09-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Fox News
Billy Joel's first wife walked out on him in hospital bed after motorcycle crash that nearly killed him
Billy Joel is reliving some of the most painful moments in his life. In the upcoming documentary, "Billy Joel: And So It Goes," the "Piano Man" crooner, 76, recalled the moment his first wife, Elizabeth Weber, walked away from their marriage shortly after his near-fatal motorcycle crash. "I always romanticized motorcycles. There's something about it. I feel like I can be completely disconnected from the world. There's a sense of freedom about that," Joel said in the doc, per People. Joel said his admiration for motorcycles left Weber "scared all the time." "I on many occasions said to him, you know, 'You can't do this, this is dangerous,'" she said. "Elizabeth had warned me, she said, 'Be careful, be careful, 'cause you're going to have an accident,'" the musician recalled. In 1982, Joel suffered multiple injuries after his bike crashed into a vehicle mid-intersection. "I was amazed I was still alive. I should have died in that accident," he said. "And I laid there in shock for a couple of minutes and I went to the hospital." The accident left him with a broken arm, leg and wrist. While he recovered in the hospital, Weber opted out of the marriage. "I would've stayed, I would've been able — like so many women before me — to make that accommodation for someone you love ,but there was no way that I could stand by and watch him kill himself," said Weber, who recalled placing the house key onto a tray in his hospital room. "I just didn't have that in me. And I felt very strongly that that's what was going." When Weber left the hospital, she recalled telling Joel, "You know, someday they may write about us and I hope that they say that we really did something." According to her, Joel responded with, "I hope they could say we went all the way." She added, "And that was it. That really was the final. That was it." The couple were married from 1973 until 1982. "After 'Glass Houses' came out I was always on the road, working, working, I look back on that guy and I don't even know who he was, he had to be so ambitious to work that hard and work that much," Joel said in the documentary. "So, it must have not been easy to be married to me at the time." "I wasn't asking him to change, but I just did not want to live like that. My response to it was to get a place in New York City where you can enjoy anonymity — so it wasn't so much as we separated, but we started to get a little bit isolated from one another and I also knew that he wasn't in a good place. We were all under a lot of stress," Weber said. "All of us dealt with our stresses in different ways. And so there was a lot, a lot of alcohol use and eventually a lot of drug use." Elsewhere in the documentary, Joel also opened up about what led him to attempt suicide twice and fall into a coma. When the musician was in his early 20s, Joel was part of a band called Attila with his best friend, Jon Small, who was married to Weber at the time. He ended up moving in with Small, Weber, and their son, according to People. "Bill and I spent a lot of time together," Weber confessed in the documentary, per People. She added that their friendship was gradual and a "slow build." Joel eventually told his best friend, "I'm in love with your wife." "I felt very, very guilty about it. They had a child. I felt like a homewrecker," Joel admitted in the documentary, which premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival on Wednesday. "I was just in love with a woman, and I got punched in the nose, which I deserved. Jon was very upset. I was very upset." The betrayal not only ended Joel and Small's friendship at the time but also dissolved their band, Attila. Consumed by guilt and depression, Joel's personal and professional life unraveled, as he began to spiral. "I had no place to live. I was sleeping in laundromats, and I was depressed, I think to the point of almost being psychotic," Joel said in the documentary. So, I figured, 'That's it. I don't want to live anymore.' I was just in a lot of pain and it was sort of like why hang out? Tomorrow is going to be just like today is, and today sucks. So, I just thought I'd end it all." Joel's sister shared in the film that she was working as a medical assistant and gave him sleeping pills to help with the restless nights. WATCH: BILLY JOEL'S WIFE ALEXIS JOEL SHARES HOW SINGER SUPPORTED HER DURING HER BATTLE WITH ENDOMETRIOSIS "But Billy decided that he was going to take all of them… he was in a coma for days and days and days," she emotionally said. "I went to go see him in the hospital, and he was laying there white as a sheet. I thought that I'd killed him." While Joel acknowledged that he had been "very selfish" during the tumultuous time, he recalled his first thought when he woke up from his coma was that he wanted to attempt suicide again. During Joel's second attempt at suicide, he ingested "lemon Pledge," a furniture polish. Miraculously, he survived both attempts, after Small rushed him to the hospital. "Even though our friendship was blowing up, Jon saved my life," Joel explained in the documentary. Fox News Digital's Stephanie Giang-Paunon contributed to this post.
CTV News
06-06-2025
- Entertainment
- CTV News
Billy Joel documentary reveals he attempted suicide twice and was in a coma after affair with friend's wife
Warning: This article contains mentions of suicidal ideation. Discretion advised. Billy Joel at one point wanted to 'end it all,' according to the documentary 'Billy Joel: And So It Goes.' The new film, which premiered at Tribeca Festival in New York City this week, revisits the some of the singer's struggles, including two suicide attempts following an affair with his bandmate's wife, according to People. The first part of the documentary told the story of the Joel being in the band Attila with his best friend Jon Small, whom Joel eventually went to live with in a home occupied by Small, his wife Elizabeth Weber and their son. Weber reportedly said in the film that there was a 'slow burn' between her and Joel. Joel said he 'felt very, very guilty' about their resulting affair, which ended in a fight and the band splitting after he confessed to Small that he was in love with Weber. 'They had a child. I felt like a homewrecker,' Joel told the filmmakers. 'I was just in love with a woman and I got punched in the nose, which I deserved. Jon was very upset. I was very upset.' Weber left and Joel said he spiraled into drinking, became homeless and was 'depressed I think to the point of almost being psychotic,' he recalled. 'I figured, 'That's it. I don't want to live anymore.' I was just in a lot of pain and it was sort of like why hang out, tomorrow is going to be just like today is and today sucks,' he said. 'So, I just thought I'd end it all.' His sister, Judy Molinari, was a medical assistant at the time and gave him sleeping pills, which Joel took all of and ended up in the hospital in a coma for days. 'I went to go see him in the hospital, and he was laying there white as a sheet,' she said in the film. 'I thought that I'd killed him.' He drank a bottle of cleaning fluid the second suicide attempt, Joel said, and ironically it was Small who took him to the hospital. 'Even though our friendship was blowing up, Jon saved my life,' Joel said. He sought help, which Joel said helped him channel his emotions into his music that has brought him success. Years later, Joel and Weber reconnected and married from 1973 to 1982. She still has admiration for him and has been supportive as the superstar musician recently cancelled tour dates to seek treatment for normal pressure hydrocephalus (NPH), a condition that affects the brain. 'He's worked so hard all of his life,' she told E! News at the premiere. 'I've never known anybody who worked harder than he did in all those years we were together and working together.' 'Billy Joel: And So It Goes' is set to air on HBO in July. By Lisa Respers France, CNN If you or someone you know is in crisis, here are some resources that are available: If you need immediate assistance call 911 or go to the nearest hospital.
Fox News
06-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Fox News
Billy Joel opens up about affair that led to two suicide attempts
This story discusses suicide. If you or someone you know is having thoughts of suicide, please contact the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988 or 1-800-273-TALK (8255). Billy Joel is sharing the most haunting chapter of his life – a chapter that nearly silenced his music forever. The "Piano Man" singer, who is currently battling a brain disorder, revealed in the first part of his documentary, "Billy Joel: And So It Goes," what led him to attempt suicide twice and fall into a coma. When the musician was in his early 20s, Joel was part of a small band called Attila with his best friend Jon Small. At the time, he moved in with Small, his wife, Elizabeth Weber and their son, according to People. "Bill and I spent a lot of time together," Weber confessed in the documentary, according to People. She added that their friendship was gradual and a "slow build." Joel eventually told his best friend, "I'm in love with your wife." "I felt very, very guilty about it. They had a child. I felt like a homewrecker," Joel admitted in the documentary, which premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival on Wednesday. "I was just in love with a woman, and I got punched in the nose, which I deserved. Jon was very upset. I was very upset." "I felt very, very guilty about it. They had a child. I felt like a homewrecker." The betrayal not only ended Joel and Small's friendship at the time but also dissolved their band, Attila. Consumed by guilt and depression, Joel's personal and professional life unraveled, as he began to spiral. "I had no place to live. I was sleeping in laundromats, and I was depressed, I think to the point of almost being psychotic," Joel said in the documentary. So, I figured, 'That's it. I don't want to live anymore.' I was just in a lot of pain and it was sort of like why hang out? Tomorrow is going to be just like today is, and today sucks. So, I just thought I'd end it all." Joel's sister shared in the film that she was working as a medical assistant and gave him sleeping pills to help with the restless nights. "But Billy decided that he was going to take all of them … he was in a coma for days and days and days," she emotionally said. "I went to go see him in the hospital, and he was laying there white as a sheet. I thought that I'd killed him." While Joel acknowledged that he had been "very selfish" during the tumultuous time, he recalled his first thought when he woke up from his coma was that he wanted to attempt suicide again. During Joel's second attempt at suicide, he ingested "lemon Pledge," a furniture polish. Miraculously, he survived both attempts, after his friend Small rushed him to the hospital. "Even though our friendship was blowing up, Jon saved my life," Joel explained in the documentary. His friend Small added, "He never really said anything to me. The only practical answer I can give as to why Billy took it so hard was because he loved me that much and that it killed him to hurt me that much. Eventually, I forgave him." Following the second suicide attempt, Joel shared that he had felt like a "lost soul" and admitted himself to an "observation ward." There, he confronted his inner demons and began the long road to recovery. The singer called the experience life-changing and was released several weeks later. "I got out of the observation ward, and I thought to myself, 'You can utilize all those emotions to channel that stuff into music,'" Joel said. Joel and Weber reconnected and eventually tied the knot years after the affair. The couple were together from 1973 until 1982.
