Eugene Landy

Eugene Ellsworth Landy (November 26, 1934 – March 22, 2006) was an American psychologist known for his controversial 24-hour therapy program and treatment of celebrity clients.

Landy's regimen involved supervising and micromanaging his client's life with a team of counselors and doctors.

Eugene Ellsworth Landy was born on November 26, 1934, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the only child of Jules C. Landy, a medical doctor and psychology professor, and Frieda Mae Gordon Landy, also a psychology professor.

At the age of five, Eugene was revealed to have an IQ of 150 after being tested at the University of Pittsburgh.

Landy dropped out of school in the sixth grade, later claiming to be dyslexic.

At age 16, he pursued a career in show business, producing a nationally syndicated radio show, and discovering 10-year-old George Benson.

Landy briefly served as Benson's manager and worked odd jobs as a radio producer, promoting records and producing a single for Frankie Avalon.

Benson later stated, "My people developed a distrust for [Landy] when he made them sign a power of attorney that they didn't understand, and he got all my mail and all my checks."

Honoring his parents' wishes, Landy resumed his formal education at Los Angeles City College, where he earned an Associate of Arts degree in chemistry.

After falling ill with dysentery while attending medical school at the National Autonomous University of Mexico, he switched to psychology.

During the 1960s, Landy studied 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 earned a bachelor's degree in psychology from California State University, Los Angeles in 1964 and a master's degree in the discipline from the University of Oklahoma in 1967, completing his training with a PhD from the latter institution in 1968.

After completing his studies, Landy worked for the Peace Corps, eventually moving to Los Angeles to work as a drug counselor at Harbor Hospital and as a popular part-time instructor at San Fernando Valley State College.

Landy began developing ideas for his 24-hour treatment program while engaging in postdoctoral work at Rancho Santa Fe.

It was there that he practiced "marathon therapy", in which a therapist takes control of a group of people for a day or more.

In 1968, he worked briefly as an intern at Gateways Hospital in Echo Park, Los Angeles, where he developed his methods further, experimenting with treatment on teenage drug abusers with varying degrees of success.

He attributed his failures to having too little control over their nighttime activities; he tried evening rap groups and made himself available at all hours for talking therapies for their nocturnal anxiety attacks.

Landy went on to call his new system milieu therapy.

While serving the hospital, Landy became cultured in the language used by its teenagers.

In the early 1970s, he also started penetrating Hollywood social circles, becoming a consultant on various television shows, including The Bob Newhart Show.

He soon began treating many celebrity clients, earning $200 an hour (~$1,425 in 2022 terms).

In 1971, he authored a book on hippie jargon called The Underground Dictionary, published by Simon & Schuster.

Around 1972, Landy founded a Beverly Hills clinic, the Foundation for the Rechanneling of Emotions and Education (FREE).

Interns employed at the clinic used Landy's approach on a partial basis.

Brian Wilson became a patient of Landy's program in 1975.

Landy was discharged within a year due to his burdensome fees.

In a 1976 interview with Rolling Stone, Landy claimed that he had treated others, but that he was in no position to explain his background.

He added, "I've treated a tremendous number of people in show business; for some reason I seem to be able to relate to them. I think I have a nice reputation that says I'm unorthodox by orthodox standards but basically unique by unorthodox standards."

Unusually, he had his own press kit.

Some of Landy's patients included Alice Cooper; Richard Harris; Rod Steiger; and Gig Young, who died in an apparent murder-suicide along with his wife in 1978.

His most notable patient was the Beach Boys' Brian Wilson, with whom he formed a business and creative partnership in the 1980s.

Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Landy aspired to show business as a teenager, working odd jobs as a radio producer, and was an early manager to guitarist George Benson.

In 1982, Landy was re-employed as Wilson's therapist, subsequently becoming his executive producer, business manager, co-songwriter, and business adviser.

Landy co-wrote and co-produced Wilson's first two solo albums, Brian Wilson (1988) and Sweet Insanity (1990), and allegedly ghostwrote portions of Wilson's first memoir Wouldn't It Be Nice: My Own Story (1991).

In 1988, psychiatrist and Landy colleague Sol Samuels described Landy as "a maverick in the field of psychology. He's done things that no other psychologist has done in treating the psychotic and the drug addict. ... What he was doing really was translating the hospital environment to the home environment. I think he got some remarkable results – with people who can afford it."

In 1989, the state of California revoked Landy's professional license amidst accusations of ethical violations and patient misconduct.

Although Landy ceased to be Wilson's psychologist on legal record, Landy continued to act as Wilson's business partner until a 1992 restraining order barred Landy from contacting the musician ever again.

Landy then continued his practice with licensure in New Mexico and Hawaii until his death from lung cancer at the age of 71.

His treatment of Wilson was dramatized in the 2014 biopic Love & Mercy, in which Landy is portrayed by Paul Giamatti.