Nathaniel Anthony Ayers is a musical prodigy who was on the verge of becoming one of the best in the US when his world was turned upside down in the early 1970s after he was diagnosed with schizophrenia (pictured above in Long Beach in 2016)
Nathaniel Anthony Ayers was on the verge of becoming one of the best musicians in the US when his world was turned upside down.
A music prodigy, he first started playing the double bass aged 13 before he was awarded a full-ride scholarship to the distinguished Juilliard School where he turned his hand to several instruments. But it was while living out his dream in New York City, he suffered a mental breakdown during his junior year and was institutionalized in the early 1970s.
Ayers was forced to return to his family home in Cleveland, where he underwent a number of treatments over the years, including controversial electric shock therapy.
After his mother died in 2000, he moved to Los Angeles in search of his father, but Ayers ended up living on the streets of Skid Row where he could often be found playing the violin or double bass because he loved the music.
It was that passion for music led to one of the biggest changes in his life since Julliard.
The classical violinist was befriended by a columnist whose writings about Ayers was turned into a book. It became a New York Times bestseller and was adapted into a movie with Jamie Foxx and Robert Downey Jr. nearly 10 years ago. Suddenly Ayers was a household name and was even invited to the White House where he met then-President Barack Obama during the 20-year celebration of the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Everything seemed to be on the up for Ayers, who had spent more years of his life struggling than not. Hollywood had promised to help the musical prodigy and even went as far as describing him as ‘family’. But now, nearly 10 years later, his sister, Jennifer Ayers-Moore, told DailyMail.com that help has faded.
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Ayers moved to Los Angeles following the death of his mother in 2000. He was homeless on the streets of Skid Row (pictured in 2013) where he played instruments. In 2005, he was befriended by a columnist whose writings about Ayers was turned into a book
It became a New York Times bestseller and was adapted into a movie, The Soloist, with Jamie Foxx and Robert Downey Jr. nearly 10 years ago. The classical violinist was a household name and was even invited to the White House where he met then-President Barack Obama during the 20-year celebration of the Americans with Disabilities Act (right in 2010)
Everything seemed to be on the up for Ayers, who had spent more years of his life struggling than not. Hollywood had promised to help the musical prodigy and even went as far as describing him as ‘family’. But now, nearly 10 years later, his sister, Jennifer Ayers-Moore (together above in 2016), told DailyMail.com that help has faded, but her brother is safe and off the streets
‘I had a lot of people trying to help me when this was all current in Hollywood, but unfortunately as that goes away so do the people,’ she says, her voice cracking. She pauses before adding: ‘The producers were like “oh, we’re family now” and I don’t even know where they are.
'I really expected it to fade, after all I do have real family that I don’t hear from. I don’t know if Hollywood gets what the movie really did for A LOT of people.
'I still hear from people reaching out to talk about mental health because of it, for themselves or for someone they know. I can only hope that Hollywood understands that it’s not going away and I thank them for that.'
He continues to struggle with mental health but is off the streets, is safe and cared for and continues to see his friend the columnist once a week.
Her brother – the only boy in a house of three sisters - was very ‘studious’ and first picked up an instrument in the seventh grade when his music instructor, Mr. Moon, introduced him to classical music, she says.
Ayers, who always sported top-notch clothing and loved to be fashionable, first tried playing the tuba, but the brass instrument didn’t interest him. Instead, he took an immediate liking to the double bass and fell in love with string instruments.
That is where his passion for classical music started and others saw the first signs that he was on the verge of something extraordinary.
He progressed so fast that his teacher referred him to the Cleveland Music Settlement, where he received the best music instruction in the city.
In recognizing his potential, Ayers was awarded a full scholarship for music to Ohio University. During his freshman year, he decided he really wanted to attend the best college to hone in on his craft - Juilliard. After an audition, he was not only accepted, but also offered a full scholarship for his extraordinary musical talent.
Ayers first started playing the double bass while in the 7th grade and progressed quickly to learning other instruments. He graduated high school and went on to attend Ohio University (above center in the early 1970s) on a full scholarship
But Ayers truly desired to attend The Juilliard School, so he auditioned and was accepted on a full scholarship. But during his third year at Julliard, he suffered a mental breakdown and moved back to Cleveland (above in 1995 with his nephews). He was diagnosed as schizophrenic and underwent several treatments, including electric shock therapy
But after the death of his mother in 2000, he moved to Los Angeles to find his father but ended up living homeless in Skid Row. He often could be found in Pershing Square near the Beethoven statue playing the violin (above in the 2000s)
One of the few black students attending The Juilliard School in the early 1970s, Ayers played the double bass, violin, piano, drums, trumpet and more.
From the outside, it seemed like everything was going perfectly as he entered his second year at Juilliard, but that quickly changed.
The talented performer suffered a mental break down and was institutionalized prompting his mother and sister to travel from Cleveland and pick him up in New York.
His sister recalls the moment she saw him for the first time after she and their mother traveled from Cleveland to New York to get him: ‘He came out of the apartment with an old sweater on, he didn’t match, his pants were baggy and you know he just had this glaze in his eye.
‘None of it matched the person who I saw leaving for New York.
‘One day he was the Nathaniel I grew up with and the next day he was someone I didn’t know at all. It wasn’t anything I could prepare myself for, totally unexpected.’
Ayers returned to Cleveland with his family, who immediately sought out several treatments in an effort to help him.
Treatments included several prescriptions, therapy, counselling and even the controversial electric shock therapy.
That's where Ayers (above in the 2000s) met LA Times columnist Steve Lopez, who wrote several articles about him that were turned into a book that was a New York Times best seller
The book was then adapted into the 2009 movie, The Soloist, starring Jamie Foxx (right) and Robert Downey Jr. (left)
‘I remember very, very distinctly how he looked when he came out after getting shocked. He came out like he was dazed and not himself at all. I will never forget that day.’
Despite seeing a number of doctors and being subjected to the wide-range of treatment options, nothing seemed to help Ayers, who was diagnosed with schizophrenia.
‘I just believed that every single day I would wake up and he would be the guy that I knew before he got sick. There was just hoping that it would work out that way, he would go back to the guy that I knew – was having fun, would teach me stuff, let me run around, play catch with him or whatever.
‘But that never happened of course. I saw the struggles that my mom went through, she didn’t have anyone to help or talk to.’
The talented musician was eventually accepted to The Ohio State University where he joined the orchestra. But his health hindered him from graduating.
After their mother passed away in 2000, Ayers went on the search to find his father in Los Angeles, but that did not turn out as he planned and he hit one of the lowest points of his life.
For the next five years, he was homeless on the streets of Skid Row and only seemingly found solace from playing music.
Ayers (center at the Los Angeles premiere in 2009) was thrust into the spotlight and accompanied on several trips by his sister (right) who was his conservator at the time. She also created the Nathaniel Anthony Ayers Foundation to raise public awareness about mental health
During a chance meeting in Pershing Square, Ayers met Los Angeles Times columnist Steve Lopez, who learned about the highs and lows in Ayers’ life while forming an unlikely friendship.
Lopez chronicled Ayers’ struggle in numerous columns he wrote for the Times that soon enough inspired his readers to send the musician instruments.
The journalist decided to publish a book about Ayers called The Soloist: A Lost Dream, and Unlikely Friendship, and the Redemptive Power of Music. The book, a New York Times best seller, was adapted into the 2009 movie The Soloist starring Jamie Foxx as Ayers and Robert Downey Jr as Lopez.
Ayers was thrust into the spotlight and accompanied on several trips by his sister who was his conservator at the time. She also created the Nathaniel Anthony Ayers Foundation (NAAF) to raise public awareness about mental health and help families who are seeking support for a loved one suffering from mental illness.
Ayers-Moore, who lives in Atlanta, Georgia and is working to re-vamp the foundation while writing on her blog, said that at the time of the film she didn’t realize how big a deal it was because neither she nor her brother had ever had any contact with the entertainment industry.
Of her brother, Ayers-Moore said: ‘Even though he has an illness, he is a very great guy. And that movie and the book and the articles, allowed him the opportunity to be treated nicely like a human. He loves being respected so much.’ Ayers is pictured above on set in 2009
‘In retrospect, I look at it like I was sort of put into a situation with them knowing that I didn’t know the jargon of Hollywood,’ Ayers-Moore said of the staff and producers working on the film.
She added that though it did help her brother, she would do things completely differently now.
‘I was nervous, but at the same time very happy that someone wanted to help my brother,’ Ayers-Moore, who is a mental health advocate, stated. ‘He got a lot of attention in a positive way which is all he ever wanted was to be respected for who he is as a person.
‘Even though he has an illness, he is a very great guy. And that movie and the book and the articles, allowed him the opportunity to be treated nicely like a human.’
Ayers no longer lives on the street and is currently living at a facility in LA where he is safe, has access to doctors, therapy and can often be found playing one of several instruments.
Despite having his world turned upside down so many times, Ayers-Moore says her brother still has ‘so much compassion for other people.’
‘He loves being respected so much,’ she shared. ‘I can’t believe that he’s the only person out in this world that wants that type of respect- he isn’t. The respect he received helped to change him and make him a better person.’
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