William S. Burroughs Jr.

William Seward Burroughs III, or "Billy" Burroughs, was the son of Beat writer William S. Burroughs and Joan Vollmer. He wrote three novels: "Speed," "Kentucky Ham," and the unfinished "Prakriti Junction." Billy was a methamphetamine/methedrine addict for much of his life, and was arrested several times for forging prescriptions.

In 1976, Burroughs Jr. underwent a liver-transplant, due to cirrhosis of the liver caused by chronic alcoholism, and remained the rest of his life as an invalid as a result. His health greatly deteriorated after the operation, as he refused to give up drinking. He died in Florida in 1981, after being found in a shallow ditch. His life is chronicled in his biography "Cursed from Birth," edited by David Ohle, which includes material from the unfinished "Prakriti Junction."