John Mason knew that Brian Wilson needed help \u2013 but it came at a high price.<\/p>\n
\u201cBrian was in a weak mental state,\u201d the entertainment lawyer, who once represented the fragile leader of the Beach Boys, told Fox News Digital.<\/p>\n
\u201cBrian often said to me, as sad as it sounds \u2026 \u2018I fried my brain. I took too many drugs.\u2019 Brian couldn\u2019t get up in the morning without somebody getting him up. He couldn\u2019t eat healthily without somebody giving him something healthy to eat.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo, the good and bad of Dr. Eugene Landy in Brian\u2019s life was that he motivated Brian to become a participant in his own life,\u201d Mason shared. \u201cBut the bad part was that, as time went by and years went by, Dr. Landy expected more and more to replace Brian in the Beach Boys\u2026 Brian wasn\u2019t allowed to do anything without a Landy handler being with him.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mason, who has worked with Roy Orbison, Reba McEntire, Shakira and Quincy Jones, among others, has written a new memoir,\u00a0\u201cCrazy Lucky.\u201d<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n It explores what it takes to defend the famous during career-defining moments.<\/p>\n John Mason, an entertainment lawyer who once represented Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys, discussed one if Wilson\u2019s regrets and mental state. FOX NEWS<\/p>\n Mason has written a new memoir,\u00a0\u201cCrazy Lucky,\u201d exploring what it takes to defend the famous during career-defining moments. The Unnamed Press<\/p>\n The book delves into Wilson\u2019s relationship with Landy, a psychotherapist accused of holding a Svengali-like power over him. Mason said it led to one of the singer\/songwriter\u2019s biggest regrets.<\/p>\n \u201cMike [Love] and Carl [Wilson] came into my office and said to Brian, \u2018Hey, we have the opportunity to write a song\u00a0for this movie, [1988\u2019s] \u2018Cocktail<\/a>,\u2019\u201d\u00a0said Mason.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201c\u2019It\u2019s going to be starring Tom Cruise. It\u2019s really great. We\u2019d love you to join us. And Brian was really excited. He said, \u2018Oh, I\u2019d love to do that.\u2019 But later in the evening, Brian called and said, \u2018I shouldn\u2019t do that. Dr. Landy said I shouldn\u2019t do that. Well, that turned out to be \u2018Kokomo,\u2019 the biggest hit the Beach Boys had had probably forever. And Brian felt really badly about not working on \u2018Kokomo.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cMike [Love] and Carl [Wilson] came into my office and said to Brian, \u2018Hey, we have the opportunity to write a song\u00a0for this movie, [1988\u2019s] \u2018Cocktail\u2019\u201d\u00a0with Tom Cruise, said Mason, which Wilson turned down.\u00a0 \u00a9Buena Vista Pictures\/courtesy E<\/p>\n The project \u201cturned out to be \u2018Kokomo,\u2019 the biggest hit the Beach Boys had had probably forever. And Brian felt really badly about not working on \u2018Kokomo,\u2019\u201d Mason said. Getty Images<\/p>\n \u201cWhen he heard it, and when I heard it, we went, \u2018Oh my gosh, was that a missed opportunity?\u2019\u201d Mason recalled.<\/p>\n Mason wrote that Landy refused to let Wilson participate unless he, too, were listed as a writer on the song. However, Carl and Bruce Johnson, along with Love, refused.\u00a0They went on to write \u201cKokomo\u201d\u00a0without Wilson\u2019s input. It was a decision that Wilson deeply regretted over the years.<\/p>\n \u201cBrian is truly a giant teddy bear and genius who regrets bad decisions and lives for better ones,\u201d wrote Mason.<\/p>\n According to Mason\u2019s book, Wilson\u2019s struggles began in 1968, when he quit performing and devoted himself to songwriting instead. While Wilson was determined \u201cto make the greatest music,\u201d his mental health began to deteriorate.\u00a0<\/p>\n The Beach Boys in 1964. From left to right: Dennis Wilson, Brian Wilson, Mike Love, Al Jardine and Carl Wilson. Getty Images<\/p>\n Mason wrote that Wilson\u2019s experiments with drugs, specifically LSD and cocaine, had \u201cdiminished his mental capacity.\u201d He rarely left his bed and, according to reports, would go without brushing his teeth or showering for weeks.<\/p>\n \u201cHe eventually became so bizarre that he would sit at the piano in his living room surrounded by actual sand that had been dumped in big piles in a sort of playpen,\u201d Mason wrote.<\/p>\n \u201cHe was forsaking his young family \u2014 wife Marilyn Rovell, a\u00a0singer with the group the Honeys, and young kids Carnie and Wendy \u2014 for his strange kind of creative peace. Four years passed, and he never left the house. His weight ballooned to 350 pounds from eating entire birthday cakes as a late-night snack.\u201d<\/p>\n Brian Wilson and Mike Love of The Beach Boys perform onstage at the 54th Annual GRAMMY Awards held at Staples Center on February 12, 2012 in Los Angeles, California. Getty Images<\/p>\n In 1975, a \u201cdevastated\u201d Marilyn brought in Landy, a psychologist known for his unconventional 24-hour treatment of celebrities. Wilson, who reportedly feared being committed to a psychiatric hospital, completely surrendered. Their first session took place in Wilson\u2019s bedroom closet, where the artist felt safe, the Los Angeles Times reported.<\/p>\n Landy was successful. He padlocked Wilson\u2019s fridge, put the star on a diet and shooed away drug-enabling pals,\u00a0The Telegraph<\/a>\u00a0reported.<\/p>\n \u201cDr. Eugene Landy [helped] Brian overcome his fears of everything,\u201d Mason told Fox News Digital. \u201cI would call it an agoraphobia. . . . He feared going outside. . . . And he needed outside help.\u201d<\/p>\n Mason\u2019s book explores the nature of the relationship between Wilson and Dr. Eugene Landy, accused of holding a Svengali-like power over the singer. Mark Sullivan<\/p>\n Landy\u2019s strict methods worked. But in 1976, Landy was fired over a dispute involving fees, the\u00a0Los Angeles Times<\/a>\u00a0reported. When Wilson was regressing into drugs and obesity, Landy was rehired six years later, the outlet shared. The 24-hour therapy resumed from 1983 to 1986. Landy said he was paid $35,000 a month.<\/p>\n And as Wilson began recording and playing live again, Landy was a constant shadow looming over him. Manager Tom Hulett, who knew that Mason was friendly with the Beach Boys, suggested that he could be \u201ca strong, independent balance.\u201d In 1984, Mason was hired.<\/p>\n \u201cI was asked . . . if I would be Brian\u2019s lawyer, and I agreed,\u201d said Mason. \u201cAt that time, Brian was, I think, doing better, but he had a lot of issues. . . . Brian came to my office at least once a week. We started having Beach Boys meetings at my office once a month, and we all insisted that Brian come to those meetings without Landy.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cBrian was my client. . . . [But] Brian did check in with Landy after our meetings, after our phone calls. Too often I would get a call back from Brian saying, \u2018I know I said that, but I have to change my mind.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\tStart your day with all you need to know\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tMorning Report delivers the latest news, videos, photos and more.\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\tThanks for signing up!\n\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n Mason wrote that Landy was eager to insert himself into every part of Wilson\u2019s life. Wilson was controlled by both prescription drugs and the \u201cLandy handlers\u201d who \u201csecretly or openly recorded everything Brian and anyone else said\u201d for the doctor.<\/p>\n No decision was made without Landy\u2019s approval, leaving Mason bewildered and frustrated.<\/p>\n \u201cUltimately, it led me to say to Brian, \u2018I can\u2019t work with you if Dr. Landy is in a position to change your mind or to second-guess me,\u2019\u201d said Mason. \u201cAnd he said, \u2018I understand that.\u2019 But then, Dr. Landy called me and said, \u2018You told Brian that he can\u2019t work with me \u2026 so you are fired.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s a shame, but that is the kind of control Dr. Landy had over Brian Wilson,\u201d said Mason.<\/p>\n After Mason was fired in 1990, Landy continued to tighten his grip. At one point, he was co-credited as a songwriter on several tracks. Wilson was \u201can obsession\u201d to Landy, Mason wrote.<\/p>\n Wilson died in June of this year at the age of 82. Getty Images<\/p>\n