Max Jacobson

Max Jacobson
Born July 3, 1900
Germany
Died December 1, 1979
Other names Dr. Feelgood
Occupation Physician
Known for Treating celebrity clients

Max Jacobson (July 3, 1900 – December 1, 1979) was a German-born[1] New York physician, nicknamed "Dr. Feelgood"[2] who administered dangerous levels of amphetamines and other medications to several high profile clients including American President John F. Kennedy.

Biography

After fleeing Berlin in 1936,[3][4] Jacobson set up an office on the Upper East Side of Manhattan where he treated a number of famous names including Marlene Dietrich, Anthony Quinn, Tennessee Williams, Truman Capote, Maya Deren, Eddie Fisher, Mickey Mantle, Cecil B. DeMille, Alan Jay Lerner, Yul Brynner, Nelson Rockefeller, and Zero Mostel.[5][6] Dubbed "Dr. Feelgood", Jacobson was known for his "miracle tissue regenerator" shots which consisted of amphetamines, vitamins, painkillers, and human placenta.[7]

John F. Kennedy first visited Jacobson in September 1960, shortly before the 1960 presidential election debates.[8] Jacobson was part of the Presidential entourage at the Vienna summit in 1961 where he administered injections to combat severe back pain. Some of the potential side effects included hyperactivity, impaired judgment, nervousness, and wild mood swings. Kennedy, however, was untroubled by FDA reports on the contents of Jacobson’s injections, proclaiming "I don’t care if it’s horse piss. It works."[9] Jacobson was used for the most severe bouts of back pain.[10] By May 1962, Jacobson had visited the White House to treat the President thirty-four times.[11][12]

By the late 1960s, Jacobson's behavior became increasingly erratic as his own amphetamine usage increased. He began working 24-hour days and was seeing up to thirty patients a day. In 1969, one of Jacobson's clients, former Presidential photographer Mark Shaw, died at the age of 47. An autopsy showed that Shaw had died of "acute and chronic intravenous amphetamine poisoning."[11] Under questioning Jacobson's staff admitted to buying large quantities of amphetamines to give many high level doses. The Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs seized Jacobson's supply and his medical license was revoked in 1975 by the New York State Board of Regents.[13]

Jacobson attempted to regain his license in 1979 but was denied. A state spokesmen stated that the then 79-year-old Jacobson didn't seem ready to enter into the "mainstream of practice" again. He died in December 1979.[11]

References

  1. ^ Hastedt, Glenn P. (Nova Publishers). White House Studies Compendium. 2007. pp. 289. ISBN 1-600-21680-3. 
  2. ^ New York Sun September 20, 2005: "Dr. Feelgood" Retrieved 2011-07-11
  3. ^ Bly, Nellie (1996). The Kennedy Men: Three Generations of Sex, Scandal and Secrets. Kensington Books. pp. 103. ISBN 1-575-66106-3. 
  4. ^ Leamer, Laurence (2002). The Kennedy Men: The Laws of the Father, 1901-1963. HarperCollins. p. 527. ISBN 0-060-50288-6. "Dr. Jacobson was a German Jew who had fled Berlin before the war..." 
  5. ^ Pendergrast, Mark (2000). For God, Country and Coca-Cola: The Definitive History of the Great American Soft Drink and The Company That Makes It. Basic Books. pp. 255. ISBN 0-465-05468-4. 
  6. ^ Rabinovitz, Lauren (2003). Points of Resistance: Women, Power &Politics In the New York Avant-garde Cinema, 1943-71 (2 ed.). University of Illinois Press. pp. 87. ISBN 0-252-07124-7. 
  7. ^ Bly, Nellie (1996). The Kennedy Men: Three Generations of Sex, Scandal and Secrets. Kensington Books. pp. 103–104. ISBN 1-575-66106-3. 
  8. ^ Leamer, Laurence (2002). The Kennedy Men: The Laws of the Father, 1901-1963. HarperCollins. pp. 450. ISBN 0-060-50288-6. 
  9. ^ Kempe, Frederick (2011). Berlin 1961. Penguin Group (USA). pp. 213–214. ISBN 0399157298. 
  10. ^ Reeves, Richard (1993), President Kennedy: Profile of Power, pp. 42, 152.
  11. ^ a b c Bryk, William (2005-09-20). "Dr. Feelgood". The New York Sun. http://www.nysun.com/out-and-about/dr-feelgood/20251/. Retrieved 2009-03-05. 
  12. ^ Giglio, James M. (2006-02-20). The Presidency of John F. Kennedy (Second Edition, Revised ed.). University Press of Kansas. pp. 80. ISBN 978-0-7006-1436-3. 
  13. ^ Post, Jerrold M.; Robins, Robert S. (1995). When Illness Strikes the Leader: The Dilemma of the Captive King. Yale University Press. pp. 69. ISBN 0-300-06314-8.