Behrens, who contributed to television soundtracks such as “My Name Is Earl” and films including “The Rum Diary,” was hit by a driver who failed to yield.
By Carlos Reyes
Stanley Behrens, a longtime Venice Beach resident and veteran session musician known as “The Baron,” remains in recovery after being struck by a car while riding his bicycle in Santa Monica on June 20.
Behrens, who has lived in Venice for more than 40 years and is a familiar sight pedaling his classic 1973 green Schwinn Varsity, was hit by a driver who failed to yield and turned left into the bike lane less than a mile from his home. He had just finished performing at the Summer Solstice street festival on Main Street in Santa Monica.
The accident left Behrens with multiple broken bones, including his orbital bone, nose, clavicle, scapula, C7 vertebra, ribs and ankle, and a serious brain injury that required emergency surgery on Father’s Day to address a significant bleed. He spent a week intubated in the UCLA Neurotrauma ICU before being moved to the neuro ward.
According to a GoFundMe campaign launched by his daughter, Chloe Behrens, he has shown gradual improvement. “He is more cognizant, recognizes his family and friends, retains strength and coordination, and his sense of humor hasn’t changed a bit,” she wrote. Recovery from the traumatic brain injury has included challenges such as fever, delirium and confusion, but family members say his “New York tough” resilience is aiding his progress.
Doctors have told the family his full recovery could take six months to a year, according to the GoFundMe. Once discharged, he will need around-the-clock care and assistance with daily tasks.
A GoFundMe set up to support his medical bills, rent on his Venice apartment and caregiving costs had raised more than $21,000 of a $50,000 goal as of Tuesday.
The accident has halted Behrens’ active, music-filled life and independent routine. As a career musician with a wide-ranging résumé, he has contributed harmonica, saxophone and flute work to television soundtracks (“The Rockford Files,” “Quantum Leap,” “My Name Is Earl”), films including “The Rum Diary,” and albums by artists such as Willie Dixon, Jimmy Smith, Alice Cooper and Canned Heat, with whom he toured worldwide in the early 2000s.
Behrens, who began playing harmonica at age 5 in the Bronx and served in the U.S. Army during the Vietnam era, has long been regarded as a Venice icon. Former Venice Neighborhood Council President Brian Averill called him “an incredible musician … great guy, and Venice legend.”
Chloe Behrens said the family has been at his side daily. “This accident has not only interrupted my dad’s hyper social, independent, and active lifestyle, but also his ability to work,” she wrote. “Stan will need the company of family and friends to stimulate his mind and keep his spirits high.”
