A Downward Spiral
As a ‘bachelor girl,’ which was the very phrase used by interviewers, Dusty was falling, and she had no one to fall back on. No partner nor family. She was fired from ‘The Talk of the Town.’ She was then asked to record a theme song for a James Bond movie, but she couldn’t “get it together,” and Carly Simon was brought in instead.
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By 1985, Dusty had to resort to earning $500 per night lip-syncing to her old hits in West Hollywood gay bars. At some points, she was battered and bruised, with her front teeth knocked out in a girl fight. Again, she found herself admitted to a hospital. People close to her said that Dusty would scream a lot, and threaten to harm herself (which is actually typical of those with bipolar disorder). Dusty would sometimes run down the street, smashing car windows, and Billie Jean King would “arrive to calm things down.”