'David Drew Pinsky' (born
September 4,
1958[1]), popularly known as "'Dr. Drew'", is an American
board-certified physician and
Addiction Medicine specialist. He teaches at the
Keck School of Medicine at
USC, but is best known as host of the nationally syndicated
radio talk show ''
Loveline'', where he offers advice on a wide array of lifestyle issues affecting not only
teenagers and young adults, but people in general.
Biography
Personal life
Pinsky was born in
Pasadena, California and attended
Polytechnic School; his father was also a doctor while his mother, Helene Stanton, was a 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 at
Huntington Memorial Hospital in Pasadena, and eventually became chief resident there before moving into private practice. Pinsky married in 1991, and he and his wife Susan had triplets Douglas, Jordan, and Paulina in 1992. Pinsky has also stated many times on Loveline that he was a contestant on an episode of
Wheel of Fortune in 1984, where he won forty gallons of
Sunny Delight as a consolation prize.
''Loveline''
While still a medical student, Pinsky began co-hosting the advice show ''Loveline'' on local radio station
KROQ,with co-hosts
Poorman and
Scott Mason with no pay at first. ''Loveline'' went national in 1995, and the television version launched on
MTV the following year, hosted by Pinsky and Adam Carolla. The
MTV show ran for four years, while the radio show continues on today with
KROQ radio DJ,
Stryker. A companion volume, ''The Dr. Drew and Adam Book: A Survival Guide To Life and Love'', was published in 1998.
Although referred to by patients as Dr. Pinsky, the name "Dr. Drew" came to be as he started his radio career while attending med school. Not wanting to promote his own name or practice, Pinsky took the over-the-air title of Dr. Drew to separate his professional medical and radio careers.
Pinsky's reputation as being handsome but clinical and straight-laced has led to him being referred to jokingly by current co-host
Stryker as "Dr. McDreamy" and as a "man of exquisite passion" by former radio co-host Adam Carolla.
Other media
In addition to his radio show and medical career, Pinsky also has gained fame on
television talk shows, where his medical expertise and relationship counseling abilities are highly valued. He served as "health and human relations expert" on the first season of the U.S. TV series ''
Big Brother'' in 2000.
A frequent guest speaker on
CNN, Pinsky has also hosted his own television series, ''
Strictly Sex with Dr. Drew'', on the
Discovery Health Channel. His latest series on the same network is called ''
Strictly Dr. Drew,'' addressing everyday health issues, premeired on
July 25,
2006, and continues to air weekly on Tuesdays at 7:00 pm
PST.
In the midst of the
dot-com boom, Pinsky co-founded an Internet-based community and advice site for teenagers called 'DrDrew.com' with a friend named Curtis Giesen. Among their early backers was
Garage.com.
[2] DrDrew.com soon ran out of funding, and the company was sold to a corporate restructuring firm called
Sherwood Partners Inc., which sold the remnants to
DrKoop.com in November 2000.
[3] Pinsky no longer maintains any affiliation with the site, though they continue to run articles he wrote for the service in 2000-2001. In addition, Pinsky has recently become a self-proclaimed MySpace addict. He has publicly said he is in love with the amenities MySpace provides to Loveline.
In 2003, Pinsky authored '','' recounting his experiences as the
program medical director of
chemical dependency 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.
Has appeared on Tom Green Live several times in 2006 and 2007
Other work
Pinsky is a trained
opera singer and also plays the
piano and
bass guitar. He made his
acting debut in 2004, playing the father of
Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen's characters in ''
New York Minute''. He has also made acting appearances on ''
The Man Show'' and ''
Dawson's Creek'' and as a voice actor on ''
Family Guy'', ''
Robot Chicken'', ''
Crank Yankers'', and
Wild Hogs. He frequently makes appearances on ''
MSNBC'', ''
The Tyra Banks Show'' and
Tom Green Live.
Pinsky frequently speaks on
college and
university campuses throughout the
United States, on his own and, previously, with his former ''Loveline'' partner
Adam Carolla.
Asteroid 4536 Drewpinsky is named in his honor.
[4]
Credentials
★ BA
Amherst College
★ MD
University of Southern California,
★
Keck School of Medicine of USC
★
Residency Internal Medicine,
★
Huntington Memorial Hospital,
★ USC Affiliate
★ Chief Resident Internal Medicine,
★ Huntington Memorial Hospital
★ Board Certified Internal Medicine,
★
American Board of Internal Medicine
★ Board Certified
Addiction Medicine,
★
American Society of Addiction Medicine
★ Member of
American College of Physicians
Current Positions
★ Assistant Clinical Professor of
Psychiatry,
★ Keck School of Medicine of USC
★ Program Medical Director
Chemical Dependency,
★
Las Encinas Hospital
★ Active Staff Huntington Memorial Hospital
Works
Radio
★
Loveline
Television
★
Loveline
★
Strictly Sex with Dr. Drew
★
Strictly Dr. Drew
★
Tom Green Live
voice:
★
Family Guy
★
Robot Chicken
★
Crank Yankers
★
Minoriteam
Film
★ ''
New York Minute''
★ ''
Big Stan''
★ ''
Overexposed''
★ ''
Wild Hogs''
Books
★
When Painkillers Become Dangerous: What Everyone Needs to Know about OxyContin and Other Prescription Drugs, , Dr. Drew, Pinsky, Hazelden Publishing & Educational Services, , ISBN 1-59285-107-X
★
Cracked: Putting Broken Lives Together Again, , Dr. Drew, Pinsky, Regan Books, , ISBN 0-06-009655-1
★
The Dr. Drew and Adam Book: A Survival Guide To Life and Love, , Dr. Drew, Pinsky, Dell, , ISBN 0-440-50836-3
Footnotes
1. According to the State of California. ''California Birth Index, 1905-1995''. Center for Health Statistics, California Department of Health Services, Sacramento, California. At Ancestry.com
2. http://www.ecommercetimes.com/story/commerce/1612.html
3. http://www.internetnews.com/ec-news/article.php/4_501891
4. http://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/sbdb.cgi?sstr=4536 (See the full list of asteroids named after people)
External links
★
Profile of Dr. Drew from the Loveline Information Archive
★
★
Drdrew.com Launch Party at House of Blues, April 25, 2000
★
USC School of Medicine Study
★
CiteULike reference for
S. Mark Young and Dr. Drew's paper, "Narcissism and celebrity"
★
Dr. Drew on Tom Green Live
★
Dr. Drew and Frank Stallone on Tom Green Live
★