Darby Crash

Jan Paul Beahm (better known by his stage name Darby Crash, formerly Bobby Pyn; September 26, 1958 – December 7, 1980) was an American singer who, along with longtime friend Pat Smear (born Georg Albert Ruthenberg), co-founded the punk rock band the Germs and was best known as their lead vocalist. In 1980, he died by suicide by deliberately overdosing on heroin.

Early life

Jan Paul had a troubled childhood. While still a baby, he and his family lived in Venice, Los Angeles. He grew up in Culver City, California, and later, West Los Angeles.

Jan Paul grew up believing that his biological father was a man named Harold "Hal" Beahm, who had left the family early on in his life.

Jan Paul lived with his mother Faith Reynolds-Baker for much of his life, but their relationship was tumultuous. The accounts given of her in Brendan Mullen and Don Bolles' 2002 book Lexicon Devil: The Fast Times and Short Life of Darby Crash and the Germs portray her as having a mental illness, which caused her to behave erratically and be verbally abusive toward her son.

Faith's third husband, Bob Baker, was a Korean War veteran. He died suddenly of a heart attack in 1972, aged 39; they had married in 1964 when a very young Jan Paul introduced the idea of them marrying after they began dating. She never married Jan Paul's biological father, and not long after Bob Baker's death, Jan Paul learned that his biological father, whom he never met, was also deceased.