Eugene Landy, the psychologist who was denounced as a Svengali for his controversial relationship with Beach Boys legend Brian Wilson, has died. He was 71.
Landy died March 22 in Honolulu from respiratory complications of lung cancer, said William Flaxman, a longtime colleague.
A pioneer of what he called “24-hour therapy,” Landy was known for a show-business clientele that at one time included rocker Alice Cooper and actors Richard Harris and Rod Steiger.
He earned notoriety in the late 1970s after he began treating Wilson, the songwriting genius behind the iconic California band, whose career had disintegrated in a haze of drugs and phobias after a decade at the top of the musical charts.
Hired in 1975 by Wilson’s wife, Landy took control of the rock star’s life, monitoring him 24 hours a day with a team of assistants to keep him off drugs and junk food; Wilson’s weight by then had ballooned to more than 300 pounds.
Landy grew so close to Wilson that he participated in Wilson’s comeback as his manager and artistic collaborator – an ethical breach that eventually caused the psychologist to give up his license to practice in California.
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