Drew Pinsky facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Dr. Drew Pinsky
Pinsky in 2008
Born	David Drew Pinsky (1958-09-04) September 4, 1958 (age 65) Pasadena, California, U.S.
Alma mater	Amherst College (BS) University of Southern California (MD)
Spouse(s)	Susan Sailer ​ (m. 1991)​
Children	3
Parent(s)	Helene Stanton Morton Pinsky
Career
Show	Loveline
Station(s)	KROQ-FM Various (syndicated)
Network	Westwood One
Show	Dr. Drew On Call
Network	VH1 MTV HLN

David Drew Pinsky (born September 4, 1958), commonly known as Dr. Drew, is an American media personality and internist.

Pinsky is a former staff member at the Department of Chemical Dependency Services at Las Encinas Hospital in Pasadena, California, and Huntington Memorial Hospital. He currently maintains a private internal medicine practice in South Pasadena.

Early life

Pinsky was born in 1958 in Pasadena, California, to a Jewish family. His father, Morton Pinsky (1926–2009), was a physician whose parents immigrated to the United States from Ukraine. His mother, Helene Stanton (née Eleanor Mae Stansbury; 1925–2017), was a singer and actress who came from a "highly Victorian upper-middle-class family in Philadelphia".

After graduating from Polytechnic School in 1976, Pinsky studied biology at Amherst College, graduating in 1980 with a Bachelor of Science. He then attended the University of Southern California's Keck School of Medicine, graduating in 1984 with a Doctor of Medicine degree. He served his residency in internal medicine at USC County Hospital and became chief resident at Huntington Memorial Hospital in Pasadena, and later moved into private practice.

Career

My goal was always to be part of pop culture and relevant to young people, to interact with the people they hold in high esteem.

As The New York Times described it in February 2008, Pinsky's dual career in medicine and the mass media has required him to "navigat[e] a precarious balance of professionalism and salaciousness."

Radio work

In 1984, while still a medical student, Pinsky started appearing in "Ask a Surgeon", a segment of a Sunday night KROQ-FM show hosted by Jim "Poorman" Trenton and "Swedish" Egil Aalvik. "Ask the Surgeon" soon combined with "Loveline", another Sunday night segment, into a show of its own, co-hosted by Trenton and Pinsky. Loveline went national in 1995, and the television version launched on MTV the following year, hosted by Pinsky and Adam Carolla.

On November 27, 2007, Pinsky began Dr. Drew Live, another nationally syndicated talk radio show where he focused on a wider range of health issues. It originated from KGIL in Los Angeles, originally airing weekdays from 11:00 am to 1:00 pm PT The show was canceled in December 2008.

On January 5, 2015, Pinsky launched a new weekday program, "Dr. Drew Midday Live with Mike Catherwood," on KABC in Los Angeles. Leeann Tweeden became the co-host of the show starting on January 7, 2019.

On April 21, 2016, Pinsky announced Loveline would wrap up on April 28, 2016. Adam Carolla re-joined him as co-host for the final show.

Television

Pinsky in 2009

Pinsky's first television appearance was as a contestant on Wheel of Fortune in 1984, though he did not win. He also served as "health and human relations expert" on the first season of the U.S. TV series Big Brother in 2000.

He has also hosted several shorter educational television series, such as Strictly Dr. Drew which addressed everyday health concerns.

Pinsky has acted in several TV appearances (either portraying himself or a fictional character), Space Ghost Coast to Coast, Dawson's Creek, Family Guy. The Adam Carolla Project, Minoriteam, Robot Chicken, My Gym Partner's a Monkey, Code Monkeys, and The Midnight Gospel. Pinsky also appeared in the films New York Minute and Wild Hogs.

In early 2011, Pinsky began hosting his own show, Dr. Drew On Call on HLN that focuses on news involving health topics. On August 26, 2016, HLN and Pinsky announced that the show's last episode would be September 22 of that year.

On October 9, 2019, Pinsky competed in season two of The Masked Singer as "Eagle".

In 2023, Pinsky appeared on the reality TV series Special Forces: World's Toughest Test. He was eliminated in the first episode due to a medical problem.

Other work

In 1999, Pinsky co-founded an Internet-based community and advice site for teenagers called DrDrew.com with Curtis Giesen. Among their early backers was Garage.com. DrDrew.com soon ran out of funding, and the company was sold to Sherwood Partners Inc., a corporate restructuring firm, which sold the remnants to DrKoop.com in November 2000. Pinsky re-acquired the site circa 2013 and began using it for general information about his books, radio and TV shows, as well as hosting his independent podcast, The Dr. Drew Podcast. In September 2012, Pinsky announced on The Adam Carolla Show that he will be doing a podcast on the Carolla Digital network.

In addition to his media appearances, Pinsky speaks at college campuses and other public venues. When Adam Carolla and Pinsky were teamed as hosts of Loveline, Carolla and Pinsky spoke at colleges.

Pinsky was the voice of 1-800-GET-THIN, advocating lap band surgery on radio ads and in a recording played for those who called 1-800-GET-THIN.

He also appeared with his dogs in a PETA ad campaign promoting the spaying and neutering of pets.

Pinsky also narrated for the 2014 documentary "Divorce Corp" and "Teen Species".

In early 2019, Pinsky started an online podcast "Dr Drew after Dark". The podcast is hosted at Tom Segura's studio "Studio Jeans".

Pinsky was featured in the first episode Netflix series "The Midnight Gospel".

On September 10, 2020, it was announced that Dr. Drew Pinsky joined Aditx Therapeutics as Senior Advisor to AditxtScore for Scoring the Immune System. In October, he first appeared on the Frenemies podcast, and appeared on the podcast again in December.

Honors

Asteroid 4536 Drewpinsky is named in his honor.

Pinsky was honored with the Larry Stewart Leadership and Inspiration Award at the 12th Annual PRISM Awards in 2008.

Personal life

Pinsky married on July 21, 1991. He and his wife, Susan Sailer, had triplets Douglas, Jordan, and Paulina in November 1992.

Pinsky lives in Pasadena, California. Interested in fitness since his early teens, he goes running and does weight training regularly. In addition to his hobby of traveling, he also enjoys singing opera, as his mother was a professional singer. Pinsky stated on the June 24, 2009, episode of Loveline that at one point, he was torn between practicing medicine and becoming a professional opera singer. Pinsky stated that he auditioned for a celebrity singing show, but that the show passed on his appearance when he made it clear to producers that he could not sing pop songs but did perform an aria on Turn Ben Stein On.

Pinsky's father, Morton, died suddenly of a cerebral hemorrhage on October 27, 2009. Pinsky's mother, Helene, died on June 7, 2017, at age 91.

Pinsky is a nonobservant Jew; he admits to abandoning most Jewish practices but claims to retain a continued desire to learn about the religion. He explains that religious as well as philosophical studies affect his medical practice and his speeches, and that his background places "an indirect coloring on every answer."

In September 2013, Pinsky stated that he had recovered from prostate cancer surgery performed earlier that June and July, after which Pinsky did not require chemotherapy or radiation. During episode 119 of his podcast Dr. Drew After Dark, aired on June 10, 2021, Pinsky said that his prostate cancer has recurred after it was discovered during routine bloodwork that his PSA (Prostate-specific antigen) level is elevated. He will go through Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy (SBRT) in July 2021.

In a 2011 interview on Kevin and Bean, Pinsky stated he would speak to any media outlet including TMZ and The National Enquirer but would not speak to the Los Angeles Times, explaining "They distort, and they mislead, and they take things out of context. I really am stunned at how shoddy their journalism is, so I stopped talking to them."

Politically, Pinsky considers himself libertarian, and has espoused more traditionally conservative views in recent years, such as the 'tyranny' of governmental overreach and the need for a "Liberty Party."

Pinsky told Ryan Holiday he was studying philosopher Epictetus and recommended it to him. Holiday says this sparked his interest in stoic philosophy, later becoming a New York Times best-selling author on the subject.

Selected filmography

Film

Television