Michelle Baer Ghaffari
Story Co-Writer/Co-Producer
While attending University High School in West Los Angeles, Michelle was introduced to Jan Paul Beahm. The two became fast friends. Shortly after, Paul was given his high school diploma early—being allowed to graduate only after he’d promised never to step foot on campus again. But this didn’t stop the future Darby Crash from calling in a bomb scare so Michelle could join him on a trip to Hollywood. Although Michelle turned down Paul’s offer to join the Germs at their inception, their friendship grew. Michelle found her niche among the original L.A. punk rockers as one of Darby’s best friends, an ardent Germs fan, and co-publisher of the fanzine Panic in L.A.
Whether it was an interview for Panic or a trip to the hospital for some gig-induced stitches, the two remained close throughout Darby’s vital foray into notoriety. In 1979, when Penelope Spheeris featured the Germs in DECLINE OF WESTERN CIVILIZATION, she requested that Darby and Michelle be interviewed together. Among the stories their scene revealed were tales of one of their antics—the night they discovered a dead housepainter in Michelle’s backyard. The two later shared an apartment in Hollywood.
Michelle was deeply affected when Darby killed himself with a heroin overdose on December 7, 1980—so much so, in fact, that she swore off drugs and made a vow to truthfully document Darby’s life and death. When Rodger Grossman sought out Michelle to discuss Darby, Michelle was impressed by Rodger’s passion for the subject, his good looks, and his winning smile. She was smitten. How could she join this wacky lunatic and his wreckless yet passionate journey to tell a story nobody cared about? Yet join she did. Michelle joined Rodger to write and co-produce WHAT WE DO IS SECRET.
Michelle is now a writer and editor living in Westwood with her husband and two daughters.
