Eddie Van Halen Not In Rehab According To Ex-Wife Bertinelli
EDDIE VAN HALEN NOT IN REHAB ACCORDING TO EX-WIFE BERTINELLI:
March 13, 2008
Musician Eddie Van Halen, whose band had to cancel 17 concert dates, is not in rehab, confirms his ex-wife Valerie Bertinelli.
“The reports about him being in rehab are wrong. Eddie is sober,” Bertinelli said at a New York luncheon, according to celebrity magazine People’s website.
Bertinelli, however, refused to divulge any other details about Van Halen. Reports have presumed the guitarist is either back in rehab or dying.
Rock band Van Halen, co-founded by Eddie with his brother Alex, cancelled its tour dates through April 19, only saying that the 53-year-old musician is undergoing medical tests.
The guitarist was treated for oral cancer in the 1990s, and has battled alcohol abuse with stints in rehab.
At the Wednesday event, Bertinelli mentioned her former husband is “being proactive about his illness.”
Pressed further, the actress replied: “I don’t think it’s my place [to comment].”
A TV regular over the decades, including on One Day at a Time and Touched By An Angel, Bertinelli says she has been in contact with her ex, with whom she has a 16-year-old son, Wolfgang. “I talk to him [Eddie] about every other day. He wants to get back on tour.”
The tour reunited Eddie and Alex with the band’s original singer, David Lee Roth, for the first time in more than 20 years. Wolfgang plays bass, replacing Michael Anthony.
The hard-rock group rose to fame in the 1980s, with hits like Jump, Hot for Teacher and Panama.
Courtesy of www.cbc.ca