Loveline Wiki
Register
Advertisement
Drdrew1
Adam: "I'm gonna need you to send me a picture of your hymen with a current newspaper, with the date on the newspaper visible, once a month."
Dr. Drew: "And a dime for scale"
―Adam and Drew

David Drew Pinsky, M.D. (born September 4, 1958[1]), better known as Dr. Drew, is an American radio and television personality, board-certified internist and addiction medicine specialist. He was the host of the nationally syndicated radio talk show, Loveline, which he hosted from 1984 until it's conclusion in 2016.

As a medical doctor, Pinsky is Assistant Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at the Keck School of Medicine at the University of Southern California, former Medical Director for the Department of Chemical Dependency Services at Las Encinas Hospital in Pasadena, California,[2] a former staff member at Huntington Memorial Hospital, and a private medical practitioner.[3]

Early life[]

Pinsky was born in Pasadena, California and attended Polytechnic School. His father, Morton Pinsky (1925–2009), was a physician; his mother, Helene Stanton (1925-), is a retired singer and actress. He majored in biology at Amherst College, graduating in 1980,[4] and earned his M.D. at the University of Southern California School of Medicine in 1984.[5] He served his residency in internal medicine at USC County Hospital and became chief resident at Huntington Memorial Hospital in Pasadena, and eventually moved into private practice.[6]

Pinsky is of Russian-Jewish heritage, but religiously is a nonobservant Jew. He admits to abandoning most Jewish religious practices but claims to retain a continued desire to learn about the religion. He explains that religious as well as philosophical studies affect his medical practice and his speeches. He says that his background places “an indirect coloring on every answer.”[7] He will occasionally let the odd Yiddish expression slip out, or use a reference to "God" as a metaphor for evolutionary adaptations or natural processes. For example, he frequently refers to the the massive surge in libido women often experience during the third trimester of pregnancy as "one of God's great practical jokes on humanity."

Career[]

"My goal was always to be part of pop culture and relevant to young people, to interact with the people they hold in high esteem." -Dr. Drew Pinsky, The New York Times, February 2008.[8]

As The New York Times described it in February 2008, Pinsky's dual career in medicine and the mass media has required him to "navigat[e] a precarious balance of professionalism and salaciousness."[8]

Loveline[]

In 1984, while still a medical student, Pinsky started appearing in "Ask a Surgeon", a new segment of a Sunday night KROQ show hosted by Jim "Poorman" Trenton and "Swedish" Egil Aalvik.[9] "Ask the Surgeon" soon combined with "Loveline", another Sunday night segment, into a show of its own, co-hosted by Trenton and Pinsky.

Loveline went national in 1995, and the television version launched on MTV the following year, hosted by Pinsky and Adam Carolla. The exposure on both radio and television made Pinsky the "Gen-X answer to Dr. Ruth Westheimer, with an AIDS-era, pro-safe-sex message."[8] The MTV show ran for four years, while the radio continued on until 2016

Other radio and podcast work[]

Drew currently also hosts Dr. Drew Midday Live with former Loveline co-host Psycho Mike on KABC. He also appears on several podcasts, including The Dr. Drew Show, This Life with drug counselor Bob Forrest, and The Adam and Drew Show with former Loveline co-host Adam Carolla.

On November 27, 2007, Pinsky began Dr. Drew Live, another nationally syndicated talk radio show where he focused on a wider genre of health issues. It originated from KGIL in Los Angeles, originally airing weekdays from 11:00 am to 1:00 pm PT [10]

Other work[]

See also: Dr. Drew's Filmography

Pinsky has appeared extensively in television and film, both as host for educational programming and as an guest actor in comedy films and TV.

In addition to his media appearances, Pinsky speaks at college campuses and other public venues.[11][12][13] When Adam Carolla and Pinsky were teamed as hosts of Loveline, Carolla and Pinsky spoke at colleges.[14][15]

Honors[]

Asteroid 4536 Drewpinsky is named in his honor.[16]

Pinsky was honored with the Larry Stewart Leadership and Inspiration Award at the 12th Annual PRISM Awards in 2008.[17]

Credentials[]

  • BA Amherst College[4]
  • MD University of Southern California, Keck School of Medicine of USC
  • Residency Internal Medicine, Huntington Memorial Hospital
  • Board Certified, American Board of Internal Medicine[18]
  • Board Certified, American Board of Addiction Medicine[19]
  • Certified member of American Society of Addiction Medicine since 1990[20]
  • Member of American College of Physicians
  • Licensed Physician and Surgeon in the State of California since 1985[5]

Personal life[]

Pinsky married on July 21, 1991, and he and his wife Susan had triplets Douglas, Jordan, and Paulina in November 1992.[21][22]

Pinsky lives in Pasadena, California. An avid fitness person since his early teens, he goes running[23] and does weight training regularly.[24] In addition to his hobby of traveling,[9] he also enjoys singing opera, as his mother was a professional singer. Pinsky stated on the June 24, 2009 episode of Loveline that at one point, he was torn between practicing medicine and becoming a professional opera singer.[25] Pinsky stated that he auditioned for a celebrity singing show, but that the show passed on his appearance when he made it clear to producers that he could not sing pop songs. However, he did perform an aria on Turn Ben Stein On.[26][27][28][29], sang a duet with Seth MacFarlane at a benefit concert, and performed several songs on The Tom Green Show.

Pinsky's father, Morton, died suddenly of a cerebral hemorrhage on October 27, 2009.[30] A title card at the end of the season 3 finale of Celebrity Rehab dedicated the episode to him.

In late 2013, Drew spoke publically for the first time about his battle with prostate cancer. He had mentioned having surgery in June that year, which left him very fatigued and debilitated for a time, but declined to say what it had been for.  He had actually been diagnosed several years prior, but was following a protocol with his oncologist called "active surveillance," wherein low-risk disease is simply monitored closely but not intervened on until there are signs it is growing or causing other problems. This required Drew to undergo painful prostate biopsies every few months to reassess the tumor. Drew kept the matter private the entire time, though would sometimes be very fatigued and in pain after a biopsy when he was hosting the show. In early 2013, his doctor felt the disease was going to become a problem and so recommended surgery. Drew underwent a radical prostatectomy via a robot-assisted procedure (called the da Vinci Surgical System). The surgery was a success and the removed tissue had "clear margins" which means that the tumor had not grown outside of the prostate itself, though it had come dangerously close. While very taxing on Drew, the removal was complete enough he did not require chemotherapy or radiation, and did not significantly impact urination or erectile function.

In June 2015 on his HLN program, Drew admitted when he was 22-23 years old, he had tried cocaine, marijuana, and alcohol. He explained that his reason for not talking about it previously was for the benefit of his children. Drew pointed out that children should not be told of a parent's youthful indiscretions as it almost always leads to them imitating it, but the parent must also not lie to them about it, strategies that are both well-support by research. At the time of this revelation, Drew's three children had all graduated college and so he no longer needed to keep this matter to himself. Drew also expressed that these experiences also gave him insight in his addiction practice: As a non-addict, these substances were actually quite unpleasant for him and he never had any interest in doing them again. Therefore, it illustrated the sharp difference in his addict patients who clearly have a different experience and cannot stop.

Dr. Drew in the news[]

Main article: If It Bleeds, It Leads

Pinsky has stated he is very grateful to use his media presence to help others and bring health issues into the public discourse. Numerous professionals in psychology, psychiatry, and addiction treatment have praised him for trying to remove stigma of substance abuse and mental illness, and for stating the medical facts plainly and accurately, without resorting to dishonest scare tactics.  However, his experiences have made wary of print news media, as he has been wrongfully targeted my smear pieces several times over the years.

Published work[]

Journal publications[]

  • Pinsky, Drew; S. Mark Young (October 2006). "Narcissism and celebrity". Journal of Research in Personality 40 (5): 463–471. doi:10.1016/j.jrp.2006.05.005.
  • Noll AM, Pinsky D (June 1991). "Withdrawal effects of metoclopramide". West. J. Med. 154 (6): 726–8. PMID 1877215.

Books[]

  • Pinsky, Dr. Drew; with Robert Meyers and William White (July 2004). When Painkillers Become Dangerous: What Everyone Needs to Know about OxyContin and Other Prescription Drugs. New York: Hazelden Publishing & Educational Services. ISBN 1-59285-107-X.
  • Pinsky, Dr. Drew (September 2003). Cracked: Putting Broken Lives Together Again. New York: Regan Books. ISBN 0-06-009655-1.
  • Pinsky, Dr. Drew; with Adam Carolla and Marshall Fine (1998-10-13). The Dr. Drew and Adam Book: A Survival Guide To Life and Love. New York: Dell. ISBN 0-440-50836-3.
  • Neinstein, Lawrence S.; chapters by Pinsky, Drew & Heischober, Bruce S. (2002). "Approaches to Management of Drug Abuse". Adolescent health care: a practical guide (4th ed.). Hagerstwon, MD: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. ISBN 0-7817-2897-5.
  • Pinsky, Dr. Drew; with S. Mark Young (March 2009). The Mirror Effect: How Celebrity Narcissism Is Seducing America. London: HarperCollins. ISBN 0-06-158233-6.

References[]

  1. California Birth Index, 1905-1995. Center for Health Statistics, California Department of Health Services, Sacramento, California. At Ancestry.com
  2. Lin, Rong-Gong II."Dr. Drew Pinsky leaves Las Encinas Hospital, which faces renewed scrutiny" Los Angeles Times; March 6, 2010
  3. USC Study: Celebrities Really Are More Narcissistic than the General Public
  4. 4.0 4.1 Amherst Magazine > Archives > Fall/Winter 2006 > College Row from the Amherst College website
  5. 5.0 5.1 Medical Board of California, License Holder
  6. [[http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=53888 Relationships and Health with Drew Pinsky, M.D.
  7. Jewish love expert helps curious students
  8. 8.0 8.1 8.2 Jesella, Kara. "Detox for the Camera. Doctor’s Order!", The New York Times; February 3, 2008
  9. 9.0 9.1 About the Show from the Loveline website
  10. "On the radio: Dr. Drew Pinsky adds KGIL to his practice", Orange County Register, November 22, 2007
  11. Dr. Drew Pinsky at Keppler Speakers; Accessed October 7, 2010
  12. Hoehn, Melanie. "'Loveline' host Dr. Drew Pinsky to speak at Southeast" Southeast Missourian; February 10, 2010
  13. Zerofsky, Elisabeth. "The Loveline Conservative" Campus Progress; July 23, 2007
  14. Loveline 1999-02-14
  15. Loveline 2003-03-06: Joshua Jackson
  16. JPL Small-Body Database Browser from the NASA website
  17. 12th Annual PRISM awards from the Entertainment Industries Council, Inc. website
  18. ABIM - Verification of Physicians certification
  19. American Board of Addiction Medicine | Diplomate Verification
  20. [Ahttp://www.asam.org/CertificationVerificationDirectory.cfm?fname=David&lname=Pinsky&city=&state=&specialty=&submit=Search ASAM Certification Verification]
  21. Loveline, 1997-11-10, Pinsky mentions the triplets will turn five at midnight
  22. [The Doctor's in the House Radio: On `Loveline,' scholarly Dr. Drew dispenses advice on sex, drugs and heartache to teenagers, and tolerates his crass disc jockey pal.
  23. I'm a Runner: Dr. Drew Pinsky - Runner's World, Rodale Inc.}}
  24. Template:Cite journal
  25. Loveline broadcast, June 24, 2009. As heard on KROQ radio, Los Angeles.
  26. [1]Template:Dead link
  27. Drew Pinsky Credits at TV Guide.com; Accessed July 14, 2010
  28. Drew Pinksy at Yahoo! TV; Accessed July 14, 2010
  29. Drew Pinsky filmography at The New York Times; Accessed July 14, 2010
  30. Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named Norris5

External links[]

Advertisement