page_title: Eugene Landy
section_title: Second treatment (1982–1992)
hierarchical_section_title: Eugene Landy / Treatment of Brian Wilson / Second treatment (1982–1992)
caption_attribution_description: English: Brian Wilson performing with the Beach Boys in 1983
context_page_description: Eugene Ellsworth Landy was an American psychotherapist known for his unconventional 24-hour therapy and especially for his treatment of the Beach Boys co-founder Brian Wilson in the 1970s and 1980s. His treatment of Wilson was deemed unethical by Californian courts and was later dramatized in the 2014 biographical film Love & Mercy, in which Landy is portrayed by Paul Giamatti.
  As a teenager, Landy aspired to show business, briefly serving as an early manager for George Benson. During the 1960s, he began studying psychology, earning his doctorate at the University of Oklahoma. After moving to Los Angeles, he treated many celebrity clients, including musician Alice Cooper and actors Richard Harris, Rod Steiger, Maureen McCormick, and Gig Young. He also developed an unorthodox 24-hour regimen intended to stabilize his patients by micromanaging their lives with a team of counselors and doctors.
  Brian Wilson initially became a patient under Landy's program in 1975. Landy was soon discharged due to his burdensome fees. In 1982, Landy was re-employed as Wilson's therapist, subsequently becoming his executive producer, business manager, co-songwriter, and business adviser.
context_section_description: In 1982, Wilson was brought back to Landy's care after overdosing on a combination of alcohol, cocaine, and other psychoactive drugs. Landy monitored Wilson's drug intake and used the psychiatrist Sol Samuels to prescribe Wilson medication. Landy's assistant Kevin Leslie stood with Wilson at every moment, earning Leslie the nickname "Surf Nazi". Leslie also gave Wilson medication at Landy's direction. Initially, Leslie was paid salary by Landy, but was eventually paid directly by Wilson. In 1988, Samuels took credit with performing the "actual supervision of the therapy ... giving the medication and the occasional psychotherapy as he needs it. What Gene has been doing is hiring the people to be with him, and so forth, much as a parent would do if asked to get some help in the house."
  In the mid 1980s, Landy stated of Wilson, "I influence all of his thinking. I'm practically a member of the band ... [We're] partners in life." Wilson later responded to popular allegations, "People say that Dr. Landy runs my life, but the truth is, I'm in charge." Landy echoed: "He's got a car phone in his car. If he wants to call somebody, he calls somebody. ... He can go anywhere, on his own, anytime he wants." An August 1988 issue of Rolling Stone states the following:
  During the course of eight days spent with Landy and Wilson, it became clear just how much control Landy exerts over Brian's life. With the exception of taking a brief drive by himself to the market to pick up groceries, Brian appeared to be incapable of making a move without Landy's okay. During one interview session, the Landy line seemed to ring every thirty minutes. Yet Brian appears to be a willing participant in the program.
  Even though the Beach Boys had hired Landy, part of the regimen involved cutting Wilson's contact from the group, as Landy reasoned: "You can't deal with people who only want to use you." Wilson said that "Dr. Landy doesn't like me to be in touch with my family too much. He thinks it's unhealthy." For example, Brian remembered participating in an interview with his brother Carl Wilson, "and the interviewer asked Carl what it was between him and me. He goes, 'Well, Brian and I don't have to talk to each other. We're just Beach Boys, but we don't need to be friends.' And that's true. Although, whenever I think about him, I feel rotten."
  In 1986, Wilson met his future wife and manager Melinda Ledbetter, a Cadillac saleswoman and former model, while browsing through a car dealership. Six months after meeting Wilson, she had reported Landy to the state's attorney general, who informed her that nothing could be done without the cooperation of Wilson's family. Ledbetter felt that the family had been at their "rope's end" with Wilson, and that they did not know what to do to help him. She said that three years into their relationship, Landy ordered Wilson to sever ties with her.
caption: Wilson performing with the Beach Boys in 1983
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