Tuesday 11 March 2014

Dr. FeelGood By Richard A Lertzman And William J Birnes.



An exposé of the mysterious doctor who changed the course of history Doctor Max Jacobson, whom the Secret Service under President John F. Kennedy code named “Dr. Feelgood,” developed a unique “energy formula” that altered the paths of some of the twentieth century’s most iconic figures, including the President and Jackie Kennedy, Marilyn Monroe, Frank Sinatra, and Elvis. JFK received his first injection (a special mix of “vitamins and hormones,” according to Jacobson) just before his first debate with Vice President Richard Nixon. The shot into JFK’s throat not only cured his laryngitis, but diminished the pain in his back, allowed him to stand up straighter, and invigorated the tired candidate. Kennedy demolished Nixon in that first debate and turned a tide of skepticism about Kennedy into an audience that appreciated his energy and crispness. What JFK didn’t know then was that the injections were actually powerful doses of a combination of highly addictive liquid methamphetamine and steroids. Author and researcher Rick Lertzman and New York Times bestselling author Bill Birnes reveal heretofore unpublished material about the mysterious Dr. Feelgood. Through well-researched prose and interviews with celebrities including George Clooney, Jerry Lewis, Yogi Berra, and Sid Caesar, the authors reveal Jacobson’s vast influence on events such as the assassination of JFK, the Cuban Missile Crisis, the Kennedy-Krushchev Vienna Summit, the murder of Marilyn Monroe, the filming of the C. B. Demille classic The Ten Commandments, and the work of many of the great artists of that era. Jacobson destroyed the lives of several famous patients in the entertainment industry and accidentally killed his own wife, Nina, with an overdose of his formula.



It's both an honor and a privilege to have as my guest today New York Times best selling author William J. Birnes.



I thought the book was amazing. It put to bed for me personally a lot of unanswered questions surrounding the assassination of President Kennedy and the murder "suicide" of Marilyn Monroe.




I believe the book took several years to write. What was the reason behind you both getting together and writing the book in the first place?.



"The book started with Rick's investigation into the decline of actor Bob Cummings' career.  He contacted me because actor Dwayne Hickman, whom I represented for his memoir of Dobie Gillis, suggested Rick talk to me because both he and Cummings had worked for my godfather,  George Burns. The book took a long time to publish because publishers were afraid the JFK story and that it might offend the Kennedy Family. Also once we interviewed Dr Lawrence Hatterer about JFK at the Carlyle story, Dr. Hatterer made us not to publish until after his death so he wouldn't break his National Security Oath." 

Max Jacobson "Dr. FeelGood"




What are your most memorable interviews you conducted for research purposes for the book and how did you feel as the truth about the extent of Max Jacobs hold on such influential and high society figures emerged?.

"Dr Lawrence Hatterer who told us about JFK ran naked through the halls of the Carlyle Hotel in Manhattan. The stories told to us by Samek about Jacobson, and Tony Bradlee, who talked about the mysterious appearance of CIA Counter-Espinage chief James Angleton in Mary Myer's house after her murder and his search for her diary containing stories about her liaisons with JFK."




Max Jacobson's "Dr FeelGood" actions could be seen as changing the course of American history. I suppose the question left now is what could have happened if all of these wonderful people, with everything to live for hadn't become embroiled with such a man?.



"Would C.B. Demille have completed "The Ten Commandments" without his Methamphetaimine  shots? Would JFK been rolled over by Krushchev at the Vienna summit and then would there have been a Cuban Missile Crisis? Would Mickey Mantle have won the home run Derby against Roger Maris? And would Eddie Fisher still be alive today?"



Dr FeelGood is taking the U.S by storm and is up for yet another award you both must be delighted, whats next on the agenda for both of you?.




"We are looking at a memoir about the founding of Disneyland and how Walt Disney was brought
into the world off television by one of his good friends, who was an actor in television
sitcoms in the 1950s 
Thinking about writing the Bob Cummings story as a complete biography, and talking to one
of the secret service agents who guarded the JFK first family about his years guarding Jackie."





Former First lady and Style Icon Jackie Kennedy Onassis


Best selling author William J. Birnes















  • William J. Birnes
    Author














  • Wikipedia William J. "Bill" Birnes (born November 7, 1944) is an American author, editor, publisher and literary rights agent. A graduate of New York University, he holds a Ph.D in medieval literature (with a dissertation on Piers Plowman) from the same institution (1974) and later earned a J.D.degree from Concord Law School.[1]
    As a writer of popular nonfiction, he co-authored The Riverman with detective/academic Robert D. Keppel (1995), an account of serial killer Ted Bundy's involvement in the apprehension of Green River Killer Gary Ridgway. The book was adapted into a made-for-TV film (2004) on A&E. Following the publication of The Day After Roswell (1998), a collaboration with Philip J. Corso, Birnes has emerged as a prominent UFOlogist.
    In his previous career as a literary scholar, Birnes served as a Lily Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the University of Pennsylvania and taught literature and linguistics at Trenton State College.
    He has appeared on the History Channel's television documentary series: UFO Files (2004-2007), Ancient Aliens (2009-2013), and I Know What I Saw. He starred in UFO Hunters (2008-2009) as leader of an investigative team of fellow ufologists.[2]













  • Bibliography[edit]

    • The Day After Roswell (1998) with Philip J. Corso ISBN 0-671-00461-1
    • Star Trek Cookbook (1999) with Ethan Phillips
    • Unsolved UFO Mysteries (2000) with Harold Burt
    • The UFO Magazine UFO Encyclopedia (2004)
    • Space Wars: The First Six Hours of World War III (2007) with William B. Scott, Michael J. Coumatos ISBN 0-7653-1087-2
    • Worker in the Light: Unlock Your Five Senses And Liberate Your Limitless Potential (2008) with George Noory
    • Serial Violence: Analysis of Modus Operandi and Signature Characteristics of Killers (2008) with Robert D. Keppel
    • The Haunting of America: From the Salem Witch Trials to Harry Houdini (2009) with Joel Martin & George Noory
    • Journey to the Light: Find Your Spiritual Self and Enter Into a World of Infinite Opportunity (2009) with George Noory
    • Counterspace: The Next Hours of World War III (2009) with William B. Scott & Michael J. Coumatos
    • UFO Hunters (2009)
    • George Noory's Late-Night Snacks: Winning Recipes for Late-Night Radio Listening, with George Noory (2013)
    • The Haunting of Twenty-First-Century America with Joel Martin (2013)



  • Author Richard A. Lertzman

    Richard A. Lertzman

    Richard A. Lertzman studied as a film student as an undergraduate at Case Western Reserve University and sought his masters degree in film at the University of Southern California. As a film historian, Mr. Lertzman was the publisher and editor of Screen Scene Magazine and Film World. Mr. Lertzman has studied and has contributed to several tomes on film comedy teams.
    He is also the Chairman of the Quest Media Group that has worked to legalize casinos in Ohio. The Quest Gaming Group are partners (with Quicken Loans and Caesars) in the casino resorts in Cleveland and Cincinnati, Ohio.

    Rick is the co-author (with William J. Birnes) of a new book, Dr. Feelgood that was published in May 2013 by W W Norton/Skyhorse Publishing.

    He is also creating the Classic Television Network with his partner William J. Birnes in conjunction with NBC/Universal. This will be the first 24/7 streaming internet television network featuring many programs from the “Golden Age” of television. Rick has also contributed a chapter to the Stooges book, Stooges Among Us, by Lon Davis (Bear Manor). Rick's upcoming book is a biography of the amazing a sad life of actor Bob Cummings.

    Rick and his late wife Sandy have two sons and founded the AnimalRightsFoundation.com that rescues distressed animals. Mr. Lertzman resides in Moreland Hills, Ohio and Marina Del Rev, CA.

    The Dr. Feelgood book is selling in hardback worldwide by W.W. Norton/Skyhorse books, is on Kindle, Amazon Audible Audio books, Brilliance audio books (CD's) and will soon be released in paperback by Norton/Skyhorse. It is being sold worldwide. The book was featured in front page stories in the New York Post, Daily News, London Mail, Star Magazine, National Enquirer, etc. We have done interviews for the book with Geraldo Rivera (on Fox and ABC Radio), Lou Dobbs (on Fox Business on Lou Dobbs Live), The Doctors TV program, with Dick Morris on CBS Radio, Coast to Coast Radio and countless others. We are still doing book tours nationwide.
    The book has been nominated for several awards including for the Los Angeles Times Book Award for Biography. 




    For more of Dr. FeelGood Follow Richard Lertzman on Twitter @ricklertzman