Drew Pinsky

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), better known as Dr. Drew, is an American radio and television personality, board-certified internist and addiction medicine specialist. He is the host of the nationally syndicated radio talk show, Loveline, which he has hosted since 1984.

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, staff member at Huntington Memorial Hospital, and a private medical practitioner.

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, and earned his M.D. at the University of Southern California School of Medicine in 1984. 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.

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.” 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.

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."

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. "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."

The MTV show ran for four years, while the radio show continues on today without Carolla, who left the show in 2005.

Other radio work

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 Although the show was canceled in December, 2008, as of February 28, 2009 the show's website is still up and old shows can still be downloaded and listened to via the website.

Other media appearances

Dr. Drew Pinsky made his acting debut in "Terminal, a 1998 episode of the TV show Space Ghost Coast to Coast, and later appeared on Dawson's Creek and Family Guy.

In addition to his radio show and medical career, Pinsky also has gained fame on television talk shows. He served as "health and human relations expert" on the first season of the U.S. TV series Big Brother in 2000. He has also hosted his own television series, Strictly Sex with Dr. Drew, on the Discovery Health Channel, which was followed by Strictly Dr. Drew. The newer program addressed everyday health issues, premiered on July 25, 2006, and continues to air weekly on Tuesdays at 7:00 pm PT.

In 2008, Pinsky starred in Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew, a reality television show which involves celebrities in a drug rehabilitation facility. The show was filmed at Pasadena Recovery Center, with Pinsky serving as the resident medical expert. The series premiered January 10, 2008 on VH1, and has been renewed for multiple seasons. A followup show to Celebrity Rehab with many of the same celebrities was Sober House, which began its first season in January 2009, and included celebrities from the first two seasons of Celebrity Rehab continuing their recovery in a sober living facility.

Pinsky also appears on the MTV series Sex...with Mom and Dad.

Pinsky makes frequent guest appearances on a variety of news programs where he usually gives his observations on the relationship between controlled substances and high-profile individuals. He has frequently given his views on the deaths of people such as Anna Nicole Smith, Heath Ledger and Michael Jackson, arguing that their fates should set examples of the seriousness of misusing drugs.

In November 2009, Pinsky starred a spinoff of Celebrity Rehab, Sex Rehab with Dr.Drew. Patients included members celebrities being treated with sexual addiction, described as serious and potentially as fatal as drug or alcohol addiction. The rehab program took place over three weeks at the Pasadena Recovery Center.

TV appearances in which Pinsky did not appear as himself include The Adam Carolla Project, Minoriteam, Robot Chicken, My Gym Partner's a Monkey, and Code Monkeys. Pinsky has also been in the films New York Minute and Wild Hogs.

Other work

In 2003, Pinsky authored Cracked: Putting Broken Lives Together Again, recounting his experiences as the Medical Director of the Department of Chemical Dependency Services at the Las Encinas Hospital drug rehabilitation clinic in Pasadena, California]. He also contributed to the book When Painkillers Become Dangerous: What Everyone Needs to Know About OxyContin and Other Prescription Drugs, published in 2004.

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

In 1999, Pinsky co-founded an Internet-based community and advice site for teenagers called DrDrew.com with Curtis Giesen. Among their early backers was Garage.com. DrDrew.com soon ran out of funding, and the company was sold to Sherwood Partners Inc., a corporate restructuring firm, which sold the remnants to DrKoop.com in November 2000.

Honors

Asteroid 4536 Drewpinsky is named in his honor.

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

Credentials

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

Personal life

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

Pinsky lives in Pasadena, California. An avid fitness person since his early teens, he goes running and does weight training regularly. In addition to his hobby of traveling, 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. 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., 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. 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 while 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.

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.

On occasion Pinsky has drawn criticism from media and other non-professionals for publicly offering professional opinions of celebrities he has never met or personally examined, based on media accounts. The reality is that a highly experienced mental health expert does not necessarily need to examine a person directly to draw accurate conclusions about their highly visible acting out. Furthermore, Pinsky only gives these opinions when pressured to by journalists, and it is always with the understanding that his remarks are merely a casual observation, not formal diagnosis.

In his 2009 book, The Mirror Effect, Pinsky admitted that he scored a 16 on the Narcissistic Personality Inventory (average is 18 for celebrities), and shares several traits with the "closet narcissist." He asserts that he was never motivated by fame to become a media figure, but from a desire to educate the public on the medical facts distorted by the media. Indeed his personality type actually makes him overly sensitive to offending or upsetting other people, rather than unemphatic as narcissistic people are.  Former patient Andy Dick remarked "He really is just this unbelievably caring guy. He really is. He’s almost too caring."

Filmography

Radio Loveline Dr. Drew Live Film New York Minute Big Stan Overexposed Wild Hogs

Television Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew Sex Rehab with Dr. Drew Strictly Sex with Dr. Drew Strictly Dr. Drew Sex...With Mom and Dad Sober House Loveline Steve-O Demise and Rise 16 and Pregnant Big Brother Beauty and the Geek Crank Yankers Robot Chicken Minoriteam Family Guy Dawson's Creek Space Ghost Coast to Coast The Man Show om Green Live The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson Larry King Live (Host) Teen Mom Warren the Ape

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.

External links

• Official Website
• Template:Imdb name
• 2003 radio interview by Barbara Bogaev on Fresh Air
• "Dr. Drew's Celebrity Addiction Special" at the VH1 website
• Interview with Drew Pinksy's wife at LAist
• Dr. Drew Pinsky Biography
• Official Message-Board
• The now canceled,"Dr. Drew Live" Radio Show
• Dr. Drew behind-the-scenes video on QIK.COM