Lendon Smith
Encyclopedia
Lendon Howard Smith was an American OB/GYN, pediatrician, author, and television personality. He was notable for his advice on parenting and advocating children's health and eating issues. He was known to fans as "The Childrens' Doctor" for his expertise on the issues and a outspoken proponent of the use of vitamins for children.
, Smith was a second generation doctor (his father was also a pediatrician), having received his M.D. in 1946 from the University of Oregon
Medical School. He served as Captain in the United States Army Medical Corps from 1947–1949, went on to a pediatric residency at St. Louis Children's Hospital
in Missouri, and completed it at Portland's Doernbecker Memorial Hospital
in 1951. In 1955, Smith became Clinical Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Oregon Medical Hospital
. He would practice pediatrics for 35 years before retiring in 1987 to lecture, to write, and to continue to help make "megavitamin
" a household word, even though it would be 10 years later that he would begin to use megavitamin therapy, in which he advocated the uses of Vitamin A
and Vitamin C
in massive amounts
.
Smith was also among the first to caution against sugar, white flour, and junk food known to contribute to sickness, hyperactivity, obesity, allergies, and many illnesses in children and adults. He was also vocal about his feelings towards the use of vaccines and modern drugs: "Modern drugs and vaccines have proven to be a hoax in attaining health. They have brought false hopes......The vaccinations are not working, and they are dangerous.. We should be working with nature." He also argued against the use of experimental treatment in children with ADHD.
Smith was also a fixture on television, which is where he would received the nickname "The Children's Doctor
," which was also the title name of his 5 minute ABC
daytime show that ran from 1966 to 1969. He also appeared on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
a record 62 times and on The Phil Donahue Show
20 times. But he would become more famous for appearing in a 1977 ABC Afterschool Special
called My Mom's Having a Baby
, about a 10-year-old boy's curiosity about how babies are born. The special proved to be popluar with viewers and was awarded a Daytime Emmy
. Smith would return in 1980 for the sequel Where Do Teenagers Come From?
, which dealt with a 12-year-old girls' puberty. He also authored or co-authored more than 15 books, ranging from parenting and chidrens' issuses to nutrition.
Despite surrendering his license to practice medicine, Smith remained involved in the business through writing and lecturing, this time promoting alternative medicine. In 1993 he did a video that promoted him as a physician, even though he was not licensed to practice as one, and later help promoted the Life Balances International Program. In 2001 he was involved with the Church of Scientology
as he appointed himself as the commissioner of the Citizens Commission on Human Rights.
Smith died on November 17, 2001, after having open heart surgery. He was 80.
Background
Born in Portland, OregonPortland, Oregon
Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...
, Smith was a second generation doctor (his father was also a pediatrician), having received his M.D. in 1946 from the University of Oregon
University of Oregon
-Colleges and schools:The University of Oregon is organized into eight schools and colleges—six professional schools and colleges, an Arts and Sciences College and an Honors College.- School of Architecture and Allied Arts :...
Medical School. He served as Captain in the United States Army Medical Corps from 1947–1949, went on to a pediatric residency at St. Louis Children's Hospital
St. Louis Children's Hospital
St. Louis Children's Hospital is an academic pediatric hospital providing tertiary level care in St. Louis, Missouri. SLCH is the pediatric teaching hospital for Washington University School of Medicine. It is the seventh oldest children's hospital in the United States and the first children's...
in Missouri, and completed it at Portland's Doernbecker Memorial Hospital
Doernbecher Children's Hospital
Doernbecher Children's Hospital is a children's hospital located in Portland, Oregon, and associated with Oregon Health & Science University.The first full-service children's hospital in the Pacific Northwest, Doernbecher provides full-spectrum pediatric care. The hospital opened in 1926 on...
in 1951. In 1955, Smith became Clinical Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Oregon Medical Hospital
Oregon Health & Science University
Oregon Health & Science University is a public university in Oregon with a main campus, including two hospitals, in Portland and a smaller campus in Hillsboro...
. He would practice pediatrics for 35 years before retiring in 1987 to lecture, to write, and to continue to help make "megavitamin
Megavitamin therapy
Megavitamin therapy is the use of large doses of vitamins, often many times greater than the recommended dietary allowance in the attempt to prevent or treat diseases...
" a household word, even though it would be 10 years later that he would begin to use megavitamin therapy, in which he advocated the uses of Vitamin A
Vitamin A
Vitamin A is a vitamin that is needed by the retina of the eye in the form of a specific metabolite, the light-absorbing molecule retinal, that is necessary for both low-light and color vision...
and Vitamin C
Vitamin C
Vitamin C or L-ascorbic acid or L-ascorbate is an essential nutrient for humans and certain other animal species. In living organisms ascorbate acts as an antioxidant by protecting the body against oxidative stress...
in massive amounts
Vitamin C megadosage
Vitamin C megadosage is the consumption of vitamin C in doses comparable to the amounts produced by the livers of most other mammals and well beyond the current Dietary Reference Intake...
.
Smith was also among the first to caution against sugar, white flour, and junk food known to contribute to sickness, hyperactivity, obesity, allergies, and many illnesses in children and adults. He was also vocal about his feelings towards the use of vaccines and modern drugs: "Modern drugs and vaccines have proven to be a hoax in attaining health. They have brought false hopes......The vaccinations are not working, and they are dangerous.. We should be working with nature." He also argued against the use of experimental treatment in children with ADHD.
Smith was also a fixture on television, which is where he would received the nickname "The Children's Doctor
The Children's Doctor
The Children's Doctor is a American daytime medical and parental advice program that ran on ABC for 3 years, from April 1967 to August 1969.-Series background:...
," which was also the title name of his 5 minute ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
daytime show that ran from 1966 to 1969. He also appeared on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson is a talk show hosted by Johnny Carson under the Tonight Show franchise from 1962 to 1992. It originally aired during late-night....
a record 62 times and on The Phil Donahue Show
The Phil Donahue Show
The Phil Donahue Show, also known as Donahue, is an American television talk show that ran for 26 years on national television. Its run was preceded by three years of local broadcast in Dayton, Ohio, and it was broadcast nationwide between 1967 and 1996.In 2002, Donahue was ranked #29 on TV Guide's...
20 times. But he would become more famous for appearing in a 1977 ABC Afterschool Special
ABC Afterschool Special
The ABC Afterschool Special is an American television anthology series that aired on ABC from 1972 to 1996, usually in the late afternoon on week days. Most of the episodes were dramatic presentations of situations, often controversial, of interest to children and teenagers. Several episodes were...
called My Mom's Having a Baby
My Mom's Having a Baby
My Mom's Having a Baby is an American television teen comedy/documentary that aired as a ABC Afterschool Special on February 16, 1977. The program would be historic as it was the first television program of its kind in the United States to showcase the pregnancy process and conception to young...
, about a 10-year-old boy's curiosity about how babies are born. The special proved to be popluar with viewers and was awarded a Daytime Emmy
Daytime Emmy Award
The Daytime Emmy Awards are awards presented by the New York-based National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences and the Los Angeles-based Academy of Television Arts & Sciences in recognition of excellence in American daytime television programming...
. Smith would return in 1980 for the sequel Where Do Teenagers Come From?
Where Do Teenagers Come From?
Where Do Teenagers Come From? was an American television teen comedy/documentary that aired as a ABC Afterschool Special on March 5, 1980. The live action/animation program was produced by DePatie-Freleng Enterprises and was a sequel to the 1977 program My Mom's Having a Baby. The special was...
, which dealt with a 12-year-old girls' puberty. He also authored or co-authored more than 15 books, ranging from parenting and chidrens' issuses to nutrition.
Controversies
Smith was placed under probation by the Oregon Board of Medical Examiners in 1973 for prescribing medication that was "not necessary or medically indicated" for six adult patients, one diagnosed as hyperactive and the other five as heroin addicts. He was restricted to practicing pediatrics by the board that same year but was allowed to authorize prescriptions again in 1974. He was placed on probation again in 1975 after the board determined that he was prescribing Ritalin to "too many children," only to be reinstated in 1981. This would be one of the many issues that would result in him surrendering his license in 1987, as he was under pressure from insurance companies and the Board of Medical Examiners over his ethical practices, in which he had signed documents authorizing insurance payments for patients he had not seen. The patients had actually been seen by chiropractors, homeopaths, and others whose treatment was not covered at "nutrition-oriented" clinics in which Smith had worked.Despite surrendering his license to practice medicine, Smith remained involved in the business through writing and lecturing, this time promoting alternative medicine. In 1993 he did a video that promoted him as a physician, even though he was not licensed to practice as one, and later help promoted the Life Balances International Program. In 2001 he was involved with the Church of Scientology
Church of Scientology
The Church of Scientology is an organization devoted to the practice and the promotion of the Scientology belief system. The Church of Scientology International is the Church of Scientology's parent organization, and is responsible for the overall ecclesiastical management, dissemination and...
as he appointed himself as the commissioner of the Citizens Commission on Human Rights.
Smith died on November 17, 2001, after having open heart surgery. He was 80.
External links
- "Pediatrics: TV Doctor" from TimeTime (magazine)Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...
(June 16, 1967)