WOULDN’T IT BE NICE

Beach Boys’ Niece Would Get Butterflies Around ‘Sexy’ Uncle

The Wilson Phillips singer made the startling confession about her Beach Boys uncle on a podcast.

Carnie Wilson, 57, is reminiscing on what life was like before her famous Beach Boys uncles died. Wilson, the daughter of Beach Boys co-founder Brian Wilson, 82, and niece of the late Dennis and Carl Wilson, was only 15 when Dennis died but remembers his powerful aura. “He was always like this mysterious, sexy man, and he was my uncle, but like, I’d get butterflies around him,” said the Wilson Phillips singer during a Wednesday episode of Billy Corgan’s podcast The Magnificent Others. “He [was] very handsome. He was very sensitive. They all three had big, big talent.” Dennis, who struggled for years with alcohol and drug abuse, had checked into detox facilities in the days leading up to his death. On the fateful day, he was allegedly under the influence when he jumped in the water in Marina Del Rey, California, to dive for treasures. He never resurfaced. He was honored by President Ronald Reagan and buried at sea. Wilson, who formed a music group of her own with her sisters, also recognized Carl, who died of lung cancer at 51 in 1998. “He was protective,” she said. “Carl was like, ‘You guys just have to keep going.’”