Dokter van The Osbournes wolf in schaapskleren

Ozzy overmedicated
By Chuck Philips in Los Angeles
December 8, 2003

Week after week, people watching the hit reality TV series The Osbournes saw the star in a perpetual stupor. Ozzy Osbourne fell on his backside into the surf off Malibu, passed out at the Beverly Hills Hotel, and struggled to swat a fly in his dining room - only to slap himself in the face.

The sight of the ageing rocker staggering around his mansion, glassy-eyed and mumbling, became a staple of the series, but Osbourne's disorientation was never explained.

It turns out he was on Valium - and Dexedrine, Mysoline, Adderall and a host of other powerful medications. They were all prescribed by a Beverly Hills doctor who, unknown to Osbourne, was being investigated for overprescribing drugs to other celebrity patients.

Prescription records show that David Kipper had Osbourne on an array of potent drugs - opiates, tranquillisers, amphetamines, antidepressants, and an antipsychotic. The singer said he took as many as 42 pills a day.
"I was wiped out on pills," said Osbourne, who fired Dr Kipper in September, more than a year after becoming his patient. "I couldn't talk. I couldn't walk. I could barely stand up. I was lumbering about like the Hunchback of Notre Dame. It got to the point where I was scared to close my eyes at night - afraid I might not wake up."

The state medical board last week moved to revoke Dr Kipper's licence, accusing him of gross negligence in his treatment of other patients.

Osbourne has battled substance abuse for decades. He sought Dr Kipper's help last year in kicking a dependence on prescription drugs. Dr Kipper administered a 10-day detoxification. Osbourne was grateful. Then his wife, Sharon, was diagnosed with cancer, and the rocker's relationship with Dr Kipper took a new turn. Dr Kipper then began writing prescriptions for a broad range of medications he said would alleviate Osbourne's anxiety and depression over his wife's illness. The number and potency of the drugs grew steadily, records show. At one point, Osbourne was on 13 medications.

Medical experts who reviewed Osbourne's prescription records described the drug regimen as extreme - excessive for any patient. Dr Kipper, 55, declined to speak.

Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne revealed prescription records and the doctor's invoices, credit card receipts and photocopied cheques documenting payments.

The Osbournes said Dr Kipper had won their confidence and often visited their home. He accompanied Ozzy on tour and appeared in The Osbournes.

The turning point in the Osbournes' relationship with Dr Kipper came in August, when Osbourne was invited to sing Take Me Out to the Ball Game at a baseball game in Chicago. He slurred his way through the song, mangling the familiar lyrics. The scene was replayed repeatedly on national television in the US.

"Ozzy was overmedicated," Mrs Osbourne said. "He couldn't speak. He couldn't walk. He was falling over. Ozzy would call Kipper and tell him how bad he was feeling, and Kipper would say: 'Take five more of those and 10 more of these.' It was insane."

After the singing fiasco, she said, she had had enough.

Osbourne saw a Boston specialist. "He asked me, 'Where are you getting all these pills from?' Then he just threw everything in the trash."

At his mansion in October, Osbourne spoke and walked normally, showing no hesitation or confusion as he had on The Osbournes. "Looking back on it now, I see Dr Kipper as sort of a friendly villain," Osbourne said. "He comes off as a really nice guy - that is, until you get the bill."

Los Angeles Times

Hehe, dat ie onder invloed was was altijd wel te zien in de series

[FaZ]

oud.... en voorspelbaar

[MikeyMo]

ghehe..

Maar hij heeft ook uit vrije wil vet veel lachgas genomen in de serie en dat werd wel vertoond

[Ischenbaert]

Lompo de Clown schreef op 03-01-2004 @ 19:43:
Maar hij heeft ook uit vrije wil vet veel lachgas genomen in de serie en dat werd wel vertoond

Ja, dat heeft er iets mee te maken. Nee. Zie het verschil tussen bescheiden acties voor de kijkcijfers en het echte medische reilen en zeilen. Als je als 19 jarige dit soort grappen nog niet kan relativeren is er wel iets mis. The Osbournes is heus geen 'real life' soap, aangezien 'the real life' van de personen in kwestie aardig opgepoetst, zoniet voor de helft in scene gezet is voor de opnames. Dit is hier natuurlijk ook het geval.