How did Landy get away with drugging Brian for so long?

[Myk Luhv]

Landy wasn't even a psychiatrist -- it wasn't even legal for him to be doing that! And yet it seems it was known publicly, in media if not also music-industry reports, as well as amongst Beach Boys inner circles, that this was going on. Not even taking into consideration the innumerable other unethical and grotesque things Landy did to/with Brian, -- like songwriting -- why was this so easily overlooked? Plus, wasn't he giving him excessive doses of thorazine too? You'd think purely on the basis of the fact that Landy was not legally allowed to prescribe medication it would've been easy to get rid of him...

[ontor pertawst]

He had someone on staff who could tho, right?

[Myk Luhv]

Oh, he did? Well, that certainly makes it easier then...

[EgoHanger1966]

Oh, he did? Well, that certainly makes it easier then...

Think about it this way - if you go to a psychiatrist, who prescibes you something, it's not like he gives you the pills there and then.

[juggler]

IIRC, the guy prescribing Brian's meds at the time was Dr Sol Samuels, an elderly M.D. who practiced psychiatry in L.A.

They thanked Samuels in the liner notes of the 1988 album.

[Amanda Hart]

Oh, he did? Well, that certainly makes it easier then...

The details of Landy's staff are outlined in Brian's auto-bio. There are actually a lot of details of Brian's treatment in Hawaii when Landy was brought back in. It's pretty uncomfortable to read what is basically Landy bragging about destroying Brian through Brian's POV.

[Sheriff John Stone]

I'm in no way - NO WAY - defending Landy, but...

I guess when you looked at Brian, he lost 150 lbs, was running five miles per day, was eating, dressing & living well, released a critically acclaimed solo album, in addition to recording some stuff with the Beach Boys (semi-hits including "Getcha Back", "Wipe Out", "California Dreamin" had a nice video), well, it just took some time until they figured Landy out. 

While of course they (Carl Wilson, Mike Love, Stan Love, Carnie & Wendy) were looking out for Brian's mental, physical, and financial well being, I think getting Brian back with The Beach Boys and his Wilson family was also a motivating factor in looking more closely into Landy's tactics. And then Melinda came along...

[Justin]

Hmm...no "this topic has been discussed at length" comment?  Weird.

[ontor pertawst]

Give it a few more minutes.

[rn57]

I blame Zeppo.

[Catbirdman]

I blame Zeppo.

Sigh. Zeppo has been discussed ad nauseum on other threads. Come on people, can't anyone do a simple search?

http://smileysmile.net/board/index.php/topic,14108.0.html
http://smileysmile.net/board/index.php/topic,14106.0.html
http://www.cutecats.com/

[Ron]

I'm in no way - NO WAY - defending Landy, but...

I guess when you looked at Brian, he lost 150 lbs, was running five miles per day, was eating, dressing & living well, released a critically acclaimed solo album, in addition to recording some stuff with the Beach Boys (semi-hits including "Getcha Back", "Wipe Out", "California Dreamin" had a nice video), well, it just took some time until they figured Landy out. 

While of course they (Carl Wilson, Mike Love, Stan Love, Carnie & Wendy) were looking out for Brian's mental, physical, and financial well being, I think getting Brian back with The Beach Boys and his Wilson family was also a motivating factor in looking more closely into Landy's tactics. And then Melinda came along...

I agree with this.  I also think that they were all amateurs... so they had tried, and had no clue what to do with Brian.  All of the family's attempts to help Brian either came down to

1. Murray and Carl trying to go tough love on him

and

2. Everybody trying to heal him through music.  So they'd record songs with him and sh*t like that, because the healthy Brian they remembered made good music.  Maybe if they can get him to make more good music, he'll be healed.

When they saw Landy getting results, they thought he was a professional who knew what he was doing. 

What it ultimately comes down to is: with any drug addiction, or mental illness, the family is often alternately clueless or in a lot of pain.  There weren't any right answers, it's amazing that Brian lived through it all. 

[Sav-Man]

I'm in no way - NO WAY - defending Landy, but...

I guess when you looked at Brian, he lost 150 lbs, was running five miles per day, was eating, dressing & living well, released a critically acclaimed solo album, in addition to recording some stuff with the Beach Boys (semi-hits including "Getcha Back", "Wipe Out", "California Dreamin" had a nice video), well, it just took some time until they figured Landy out. 

While of course they (Carl Wilson, Mike Love, Stan Love, Carnie & Wendy) were looking out for Brian's mental, physical, and financial well being, I think getting Brian back with The Beach Boys and his Wilson family was also a motivating factor in looking more closely into Landy's tactics. And then Melinda came along...

I agree with this.  I also think that they were all amateurs... so they had tried, and had no clue what to do with Brian.  All of the family's attempts to help Brian either came down to

1. Murray and Carl trying to go tough love on him

and

2. Everybody trying to heal him through music.  So they'd record songs with him and sh*t like that, because the healthy Brian they remembered made good music.  Maybe if they can get him to make more good music, he'll be healed.

When they saw Landy getting results, they thought he was a professional who knew what he was doing. 

What it ultimately comes down to is: with any drug addiction, or mental illness, the family is often alternately clueless or in a lot of pain.  There weren't any right answers, it's amazing that Brian lived through it all. 

Yeah, and another thing is that Brian had gone to a number of other doctors, none of whom were able to get any results. Landy was the only doctor who Brian had actually listened to in terms of exercising, abstaining from drugs, junk food, etc. So the BBs and their families probably figured that they'd go w/ Landy again in 1983, since he had started to get results in 1976 before he was fired. Because Landy had only been w/ Brian a very short time in 1976, the BBs more than likely didn't realize that Landy would do what he did in terms of meddling in other aspects of Brian's life and engaging in a nonprofessional capacity w/ him. By the time the BBs realized that Landy wasn't going away, there wasn't much they could do--if they tried to call Brian, they'd presumably either get the machine or the call screener wouldn't let them through. And I'm betting that Brian couldn't call anyone without Landy's or his staff's approval. Furthermore, Brian was living in a security-gated neighborhood, so the BBs and their family most likely couldn't just drive to his house either, b/c I imagine that Landy told the security "don't allow so-and-so to enter," etc. And Brian was kept doped up on medication to the point where he couldn't resist what Landy ordered him to do--if he disagreed, they'd dope him up again to the point where he couldn't communicate (according to John Mason, who served as an attorney for Brian at one point). So the only way the BBs could intervene was through the court system, which they eventually did (and I think Gary Usher's diaries helped a lot as well).