Famous follower of Dr. Landy
Posted on 03/30/2006 10:53:42 AM PST by weegee
HONOLULU, March 29 (UPI) -- Psychologist Eugene Landy, whose controversial relationship with Beach Boys legend Brian Wilson thrust him into the national limelight, has died at age 71.
Landy died of lung cancer last Wednesday in Honolulu, The Los Angeles Times reported Wednesday.
Landy treated a long line of stars with his "24-hour therapy" -- including rocker Alice Cooper and actors Rod Steiger and Richard Harris -- the Times said.
He was best known for his treatment of Wilson, whose life hit bottom in the 1970s from years of drug abuse and mental illness.
Landy literally took over the songwriter's life and monitored him 24 hours a day, the Times said. He eventually became Wilson's manager and collaborator as well, which created a breach of ethics firestorm and ended up costing him his license to practice in California.
Wilson's family believed Landy's hold over the singer to be so strong they filed suit in 1991 to appoint an independent conservator to stop Landy from taking advantage of Wilson. The suit was dropped after Landy agreed to stay away from Wilson for 90 days.
The pair decided to make the split permanent and Landy moved to Hawaii.
Famous follower of Dr. Landy
The article whitewashes the Wilson/Landy story a bit. Landy took credit for 50 % of the songwriting and had himself written into Wilson's will as either primary or sole heir. He forbade contact with his daughters or other family members.
Granted, there was a time when Brian Wilson weighed 350 pounds and was doing cocaine like water, but sometimes the cure might be worse than the disease...
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