What genetic disease did Woody Guthrie have?

Woodrow Wilson Guthrie (July 14, 1912 – October 3, 1967) — known as Woody Guthrie — was an American singer-songwriter and musician whose musical legacy includes hundreds of political, traditional and children's songs, ballads and improvised works. He frequently performed with the slogan, "This machine kills fascists," displayed on his guitar. His best-known song is "This Land Is Your Land". Many of his recorded songs are archived in the Library of Congress. Songwriters such as Bob Dylan, Phil Ochs, Johnny Cash, Bruce Springsteen, Robert Hunter, Harry Chapin, John Mellencamp, Pete Seeger, Jerry Garcia, Jay Farrar, Bob Weir, Jeff Tweedy, Bob Childers, Sammy Walker and Tom Paxton have acknowledged Guthrie as a major influence.

Huntington' disease, formerly called Huntington's chorea (kor-EE-a), is a rare disease that causes part of the brain to deteriorate. A person with the disease has involuntary and strange movements. It is a genetic disorder that is passed from parent to child.

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19 Comments

Lorna Lake

Woody Guthie was judged harshly because of his illness - even now there is much ignorance sadly. He didn't get a proper diagnosis until 1952 - the two daughters who died from the disease were born 20 years earlier. A son died in an RTA as did a daughter. He hadn't known he had an inheritable disease until it was too late. Thankfully 3 children are free of the disease including Arlo who is a fine musician.

Claudia Heilke

Rosemary Grove, it is passed from whichever parent has the gene to a child of either sex. You're thinking of hemophilia.

Albeck1994

If you weren't going to write correctly about Huntingdons you should not have mentioned it at all, glossing over what it is and what it does to the human body, it is fatal and it is a terrible way to die as my father did.