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Psycho Mike

Michael Dwight Catherwood, known by his radio name Psycho Mike, is an American radio personality. He was the co-host of Loveline from March 21, 2010 to March 31, 2016 and is also known for his work at KROQ-FM on Kevin and Bean.[1]

Early life[]

Catherwood was born in March 15, 1979 in the San Marino area of Los Angeles to an Irish-American father (Dwight) and Mexican-American mother (Rachel). He has only one sibling, a sister (Tracy) who has three children (Raquel, Samantha, and Mark). His teenage years were the start of his problems with substance abuse, as he began drinking at an early age. He has mentioned on Loveline that his first sexual experience was when he was only 13 years old, with a unattractive 19 year old woman (whom he calls a "mustachioed succubus") and it was not until his 30s that he came to recognize this was, in fact, a form of sexual abuse. After graduating high school in San Marino, travelled across the US to New Jersey were he attended Rutgers University but was unable to complete his first year due to his problems with substance abuse, including crack cocaine, LSD, ecstasy, meth and alcohol, as well as abuse of anabolic steroids. He initially sought treatment in Minnesota at the Hazelden Foundation, but was unable to complete the program. He later moved back to LA to start a career in music with a heavy metal band, but his drug use continued to be a problem. Eventually he went for treatment at Las Encinas Hospital in Pasadena where he met with greater success. During this time in his recovery, he started a career in radio and personal training. He has been sober since 2002.

Host of Loveline[]

On March 21, 2010, he was permanently hired as the co-host of the national call-in radio show Loveline, with physician host Drew Pinsky. Catherwood frequently drew on his own past experience as a drug addict[2] to educate and confront callers on the subject of substance abuse.[3] On March 17, 2016, Catherwood announced on Loveline that he would be resigning as host in two weeks, citing the need for more time to spend with his daughter in light of all the time he was spending with several current and future projects in television and other media. His final broadcast was on March 31, 2016. He stated he will continue to co-host with Dr. Drew on their daytime show, Dr. Drew Midday Live with Mike Catherwood on KABC-AM.[4] In January 2018, Catherwood was suddenly replaced as Dr. Drew's KABC co-host by Lauren Sivan.

Comedic Style[]

Impressions[]

  • Gene Simmons, who is portrayed as extremely well-spoken, but constantly brags about his sexual prowess and expresses a savagely capitalistic outlook about the music industry. He often tells absurd tall tales about his sexual exploits with various music stars from the 70s and 80s (and Thai prostitutes). He also encourages guests of the show to market themselves aggressively, including selling merchandise.
  • Manny Ramirez, who refers to himself in the third-person and speaks in strange non-sequiturs, often not following along with what Drew asked him about. He likes to say "Hoo-ray" for no reason.
  • Spencer Pratt, who's approach is signaled by a helicopter sound effect. Spencer is portrayed as a white supremacist with a strange idea of feminine beauty, often expressing that he only likes women with freakish proportions resulting in a BMI of 12 or less, but with artificially augmented breasts. He often asks callers for their weight and height, only to "vomit" if it falls outside his ideal. He is also obsessed with gaudy overpriced product brands such as Affliction, Ed Hardy, and Cristal Champagne, and likes to brag about his clothing and helicopter allegedly being covered with diamonds. The character has since been retired, as many people don't even remember who Spencer Pratt is.

Some less frequent bits include Glenn Danzig, who "sings" all his remarks, the former Loveline host Adam Carolla, who whines in a nasally voice about random subjects, Lamar Odom, who mumbles unintelligibly, and Nicholas Cage who quotes parodies of lines from his movie appearances.

Characters[]

Besides impressions, Mike has also created several characters of his own, each with a distinctive voice and theme.

  • Rudy, a heavy-accented cholo ex-con from Boyle Heights. One of Catherwood's most popular characters, Rudy commonly talks about Mexican-American culture, intimate hair grooming, anal sex, and absurd home remedies.
  • Sven, a shallow, middle-aged German club-goer that doesn’t so much speak as “recite” over heavy techno beats (most often the instrumentals of The Time (Dirty Bit) by the Black-eyed Peas[5]). His “lyrics” are composed of anecdotes about going to discos in Munich, dancing, using ecstasy and taking random women home for sexual encounters. Often these stories go in unexpected directions with strange “warts and all” portrayals of problems associated with this behavior (such as the awkwardness after the drug wears off and he realizes his partners are very unattractive). In at least one case he admits to having killed one of them. Though German, his nickname “Sven” comes from his failed recording career in Stockholm. By day he is a dental hygienist.
  • Pepe the Perv or Pervy Pedro, a creepy, heavy-breathing fellow who starts each appearance with a distinctive "Sometimes..." and talks about his fascination with female genitalia. Common remarks are about "pulling on the clit" and that it's "whey" (the word "wet" when pronounced with his Latin accent). This character was based on a caller named Pablo, though over time Mike has done the impression with increasing exaggeration, to the point it barely resemblance to the original anymore.
  • Javier, a middle aged rancher from Juárez that has a soft, calm, Mexican accent. He has many children and a wife who all contribute to the success of his ranch. He has many principles and standards that he applies to his family. He shares stories from his experiences and from made up Mexican folklore.
  • Razmik Hartounian, a very aggressive porn star presumably from Glendale, California. He often reinacts the scenes from his movies, which include throwing hummus in a woman's face, screaming presumably incoherent phrases in Armenian, and having his chest hairs stroked.

Running gags[]

Mike has a few other bits he does on a semi-regular basis:

  • Talking about his traumatic experiences fighting in the Vietnam War (which occurred before he was born)
  • Various jokes about he and Drew being a homosexual couple.
  • Whenever the subject of strippers or strip clubs comes up in conversation, Anderson will sometimes play the refrain of Girls Girls Girls by Mötley Crüe. The sound of this song causes Mike to go into a manic "announcer persona" where he blunts out a rapid-fire stream of typical strip club fare, usually with references to having a fanny-pack full of cocaine and being fat with greasy hair thrown in for good measure. This was a continuation of a bit done by Adam Carolla previously, though Mike does it a lot faster.
  • Showing guests various "shock photos" of disgusting human specimens such as Blue Waffle, Special Fried Rice, etc. This has evolved into a popular bit whenever actor Nick Swardson is visiting, where the cast of the show video-recorded him reacting to the pictures (which includes screaming, cursing, hiding under his shirt and occasionally vomiting).
  • Talking unapologetically about how much he masturbates and what kind of material he uses.
  • Telling several stories from back when he was still using drugs. The most popular is the Paris story, where he woke up in the hallway of an unfamiliar hotel face down wearing only his boxers, which he'd crapped in at some point.
  • Farting into his microphone, especially when he's disdainful of the caller he's talking to.

Other Work[]

Kevin & Bean Show[]

Catherwood was assistant producer for the Kevin and Bean morning show, and frequently starred in man-on-the-street segments as well as parodies of most commercial songs which generally involve crude themes. He also has done several segments educating listeners about exercise and nutrition.

Dancing With The Stars[]

A surprise came on February 28, 2011, when during a segment of The Bachelor, Dancing With The Stars announced its upcoming contestants, and Mike Catherwood was introduced to join the cast debuting on March 21, 2011.[6] He was partnered with professional dancer Lacey Schwimmer. Catherwood admitted while he is an athlete, he had no dance experience and no “grace.” His Loveline cohost, Dr. Drew, was highly supportive of his competition, appearing each night in the audience with his wife and children, [7][8] and making appeals for fans of the show to vote. At one point, Pinsky facetiously said he would run across the stage and forearm-tackle Len Goodman (in a manner similar to Shawne “Lights Out” Merriman) if he gave Catherwood a bad score.[9] On March 29, 2011 he became the first contestant of the 12th season to be eliminated. In late 2014, he admitted that he had sexual relationships with 6 different unmarried women on the show (some production staff) but refuses to identify any of them.[10]

Personal Life[]

Mike was married to a woman named Jenni, but they divorced in 2009. He often mentions that the divorce was relatively amicable and that he remains friends with her. On September 22, 2010 actress Bianca Kajlich was a guest on the show, and the two hit it off. Mike has never stated specifically when they began dating and they kept it very private, though he would occasionally mention small snippets about seeing someone. He finally confirmed the relationship publically on June 19, 2012, when he and Bianca were interviewed by Life & Style magazine. They were married on December 16, 2012, with Mike still coming to the studio that night to host Loveline, though Bianca and her mother came with him.

On September 30th, 2013, Catherwood announced on Loveline that they are expecting their first child. His daughter, Magnolia Moon Catherwood, was born April 10, 2014 at home.

Mike is also a devoted Catholic and attends mass semi-regularly in Santa Monica. However, he is very open about the fact that he does not necessarily agree with all the church's doctrines, especially with regards to their stance on homosexuality, birth control, abortion, and masturbation.

Mental Health[]

Mike is very candid about his history with drug abuse and his current psychological and interpersonal issues. He has been sober since 2002, and as Drew often points out, his history and status in recovery make him invaluable in confronting addict callers about their drug use. It takes an addict to get through to another one, which is part of the basis for 12-step programs.

Mike also talks openly about his problems with body image and self-esteem. Despite being a competitive body body-builder and fitness enthusiast for many years, and sleeping with literally hundreds of women, he states he still feels unattractive, to the extent that until recently, he often had intercourse clothed or wearing a shirt. Before he joined Loveline, Drew once administered the Narcissistic Personality Inventory during the course of his study on celebrity and narcissism. Mike scored a 2, the lowest Drew had ever seen (Drew initially accused him of fudging the test). Such a low score showed that Mike was the opposite of a narcissist, with a disproportionally negative self-image. While often praised for his good looks and physique, he still tends to think of himself poorly. On-air he often cracks jokes or complains about having a small penis, which many people believe is just him projecting his self-worth onto his organ rather than a real measurement, and various hints seem to support this. The one person who claims to have seen it, Andy Dick (who saw it as part of a bit), said that it looked perfectly normal. In January 2011, he finally admitted it was probably 5-6", which Drew and a female caller who was a retired prostitute pointed out was well within average.

References[]

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