1 00:00:00,240 --> 00:00:03,320 Speaker 1: In a brand new podcast from Wondering in Bloomberg, The 2 00:00:03,400 --> 00:00:07,080 Speaker 1: Shrink next Door, host Jonah Sarah takes you deep into 3 00:00:07,120 --> 00:00:11,040 Speaker 1: what it looks like when a psychiatrist becomes something much more. 4 00:00:11,400 --> 00:00:14,960 Speaker 1: You'll hear of extravagant parties attended by movie stars, a 5 00:00:15,080 --> 00:00:17,640 Speaker 1: lavish home in the Hampton's, and the man at the 6 00:00:17,680 --> 00:00:20,400 Speaker 1: center of it all. You're about to hear a preview 7 00:00:20,400 --> 00:00:23,000 Speaker 1: of The Shrink next Door in which you'll meet host 8 00:00:23,040 --> 00:00:26,040 Speaker 1: Jonah Sarah and hear about a relationship that would go 9 00:00:26,120 --> 00:00:29,720 Speaker 1: on to affect two people's lives for twenty nine years. 10 00:00:30,120 --> 00:00:33,360 Speaker 1: While you're listening, subscribe to The Shrink next Door on 11 00:00:33,440 --> 00:00:37,000 Speaker 1: Apple Podcasts or wherever you're listening now. There's also a 12 00:00:37,040 --> 00:00:39,880 Speaker 1: link in the episode notes that will take you there. 13 00:00:41,880 --> 00:00:49,400 Speaker 1: Won by any measure, Marty Markowitz was a success. He 14 00:00:49,479 --> 00:00:53,800 Speaker 1: had an IVY lead diploma, a law degree, his own business, 15 00:00:53,840 --> 00:00:57,560 Speaker 1: and plenty of money. But when he hit thirty eight, 16 00:00:57,880 --> 00:01:03,200 Speaker 1: he found himself feeling seriously overwhelmed. His Rabbi recommended a 17 00:01:03,240 --> 00:01:07,640 Speaker 1: therapist he knew who had an office on Manhattan's Side. Well, 18 00:01:07,640 --> 00:01:10,240 Speaker 1: I go into his office, which was, you know, a 19 00:01:10,360 --> 00:01:14,440 Speaker 1: modestly furnished office with a desk and a chair and 20 00:01:14,480 --> 00:01:19,000 Speaker 1: a couch. The therapist name was Dr Isaac Hirshkoff, but 21 00:01:19,080 --> 00:01:22,199 Speaker 1: he told Marty to call him Ike. He was a young, 22 00:01:22,440 --> 00:01:26,000 Speaker 1: handsome man with a round face, a close crop beard, 23 00:01:26,319 --> 00:01:30,080 Speaker 1: and curly black hair. He was dressed casually in an 24 00:01:30,120 --> 00:01:34,280 Speaker 1: open collar shirt and shorts. I sat down right across 25 00:01:34,319 --> 00:01:37,840 Speaker 1: from him, and we looked at each other, and he said, okay, 26 00:01:37,920 --> 00:01:40,559 Speaker 1: why are you here. Marty had seen a therapist before, 27 00:01:41,000 --> 00:01:42,880 Speaker 1: the kind you would listen while you lay down on 28 00:01:42,920 --> 00:01:47,440 Speaker 1: the couch and talk about your dreams. This therapist was different. 29 00:01:48,040 --> 00:01:52,640 Speaker 1: His modus operandi was basically, I'm your pal, tell me 30 00:01:52,640 --> 00:01:55,600 Speaker 1: what's following it, and let's take it from there. Marty 31 00:01:55,680 --> 00:01:59,280 Speaker 1: spent the whole session laying out his problems. He told Ike, 32 00:01:59,320 --> 00:02:02,480 Speaker 1: how is father there and mother had recently died, how 33 00:02:02,520 --> 00:02:05,400 Speaker 1: he had inherited the family business, how he was having 34 00:02:05,440 --> 00:02:10,280 Speaker 1: a hard time dealing with his new responsibilities. When he finished, 35 00:02:10,800 --> 00:02:14,720 Speaker 1: Marty says, Ike looked at him and said, I'm going 36 00:02:14,760 --> 00:02:18,919 Speaker 1: to take him on as a patient, And I said, okay. Nice. 37 00:02:19,840 --> 00:02:22,040 Speaker 1: Not only was I taking him on as a patient, 38 00:02:22,480 --> 00:02:25,560 Speaker 1: but he made Marty a promise. He said, don't worry 39 00:02:25,680 --> 00:02:29,680 Speaker 1: I'll take care of everything. I was overwhelmed and to 40 00:02:29,720 --> 00:02:34,359 Speaker 1: have someone say to me, don't worry, calm down, this 41 00:02:34,560 --> 00:02:37,160 Speaker 1: is nothing to get upset about. We're gonna straighten everything out, 42 00:02:37,840 --> 00:02:41,320 Speaker 1: and we're gonna do it fast. Very comforting to me. 43 00:02:41,600 --> 00:02:43,480 Speaker 1: Marty wrote him a check. I think it was for 44 00:02:43,600 --> 00:02:46,320 Speaker 1: a hundred and sixty dollars something like that. Back back 45 00:02:46,360 --> 00:02:50,600 Speaker 1: in the day. It was June. Marty had come to 46 00:02:50,720 --> 00:02:54,600 Speaker 1: Ike because he needed help. But if he had known 47 00:02:54,840 --> 00:02:57,880 Speaker 1: what his new therapist had in store for him, he 48 00:02:58,040 --> 00:03:01,720 Speaker 1: probably would have walked out the door and never come back. 49 00:03:14,480 --> 00:03:18,280 Speaker 1: From Wonderree and Bloomberg, I'm Joe No Sarah, a columnist 50 00:03:18,360 --> 00:03:22,280 Speaker 1: with Bloomberg Opinion, And this is the shrink next door. 51 00:03:33,200 --> 00:03:39,240 Speaker 1: This is episode one. Welcome to the neighborhood. Every neighborhood 52 00:03:39,280 --> 00:03:42,520 Speaker 1: has its share of mysteries. We can live our entire 53 00:03:42,600 --> 00:03:45,520 Speaker 1: lives and barely know the people just one door down. 54 00:03:46,760 --> 00:03:49,720 Speaker 1: I have a summer house in Southampton, a couple of 55 00:03:49,720 --> 00:03:53,440 Speaker 1: hours outside of New York. This part of the Hamptons 56 00:03:53,480 --> 00:03:58,480 Speaker 1: is called the Bay Side. It's quiet, peaceful, a place 57 00:03:58,520 --> 00:04:03,040 Speaker 1: to escape from the city and hot summer months. Sampson 58 00:04:03,080 --> 00:04:05,640 Speaker 1: and Jackie Gillatt have a house on the same street 59 00:04:05,680 --> 00:04:10,120 Speaker 1: as me. My name is Jacqueline Guillott and we're married 60 00:04:11,280 --> 00:04:16,200 Speaker 1: thirty five years. We're married fifty two years. They've been 61 00:04:16,200 --> 00:04:19,599 Speaker 1: coming here since the eighties. Most of the houses on 62 00:04:19,600 --> 00:04:24,000 Speaker 1: our street are single story with wooden clappered fronts. Sampson 63 00:04:24,080 --> 00:04:27,520 Speaker 1: and Jackie's house is no different. So lovely home really, 64 00:04:27,920 --> 00:04:30,599 Speaker 1: But there's one house on the street that stands out 65 00:04:31,000 --> 00:04:34,040 Speaker 1: for starters. It's just bigger than most of the other houses. 66 00:04:34,680 --> 00:04:37,480 Speaker 1: It's two stories instead of one, and it's the only 67 00:04:37,520 --> 00:04:40,119 Speaker 1: one on the street with a separate guesthouse out back. 68 00:04:41,279 --> 00:04:44,400 Speaker 1: And then there's the way it looks. The house is 69 00:04:44,480 --> 00:04:49,640 Speaker 1: spectacular with windows and windows and windows. Everything about it 70 00:04:49,720 --> 00:04:53,479 Speaker 1: is over the top. There's a pond with goldfish, lots 71 00:04:53,600 --> 00:04:58,359 Speaker 1: of fish, and a waterfall to the pond too. It's bigger, 72 00:04:58,920 --> 00:05:03,880 Speaker 1: boulder rasher than anything else on the street. In two 73 00:05:03,920 --> 00:05:06,359 Speaker 1: thousand and ten, my wife Dawn and I bought the 74 00:05:06,360 --> 00:05:10,920 Speaker 1: house next door. It wasn't long before a man popped 75 00:05:10,920 --> 00:05:14,040 Speaker 1: over to our house to introduce himself. He was dressed 76 00:05:14,040 --> 00:05:17,719 Speaker 1: like a maintenance man, green khaki pants, a long sleep 77 00:05:17,760 --> 00:05:21,719 Speaker 1: workshire and a faded baseball cap. He welcomed us to 78 00:05:21,760 --> 00:05:24,240 Speaker 1: the neighborhood, and then he handed us a folder of 79 00:05:24,320 --> 00:05:27,920 Speaker 1: press clippings. I literally just took them and said thank you. 80 00:05:27,960 --> 00:05:30,560 Speaker 1: And but he wanted us to have them, you know, 81 00:05:30,640 --> 00:05:33,360 Speaker 1: he really wanted Joe to have him. There were articles 82 00:05:33,400 --> 00:05:37,839 Speaker 1: that a psychiatrist, Dr Isaac Hirshkoff, had written and articles 83 00:05:37,839 --> 00:05:41,440 Speaker 1: that had been written about him. In mid August, an 84 00:05:41,480 --> 00:05:45,480 Speaker 1: invitation arrived to a summer barbecue next door, hosted by 85 00:05:45,560 --> 00:05:49,040 Speaker 1: Dr Hirshkoff Ike. This would be the last of three 86 00:05:49,080 --> 00:05:52,520 Speaker 1: big summer parties he threw every year. I went alone. 87 00:05:53,480 --> 00:05:55,599 Speaker 1: To reach the front door, I had to cross a 88 00:05:55,680 --> 00:05:59,200 Speaker 1: bridge over a fish pond. There were maybe forty or 89 00:05:59,240 --> 00:06:02,839 Speaker 1: so guests hanging out in the backyard. I roamed about, 90 00:06:03,240 --> 00:06:06,520 Speaker 1: stopping here and there to chat. I spotted the actor 91 00:06:06,640 --> 00:06:09,200 Speaker 1: Richard Kind, just in time to see him do a 92 00:06:09,240 --> 00:06:13,159 Speaker 1: belly flop into the pool. There were a handful of 93 00:06:13,160 --> 00:06:17,040 Speaker 1: other people too, people I recognized as prominent New Yorkers, 94 00:06:17,080 --> 00:06:20,880 Speaker 1: like Dr Ruth, the TV personality and sex expert. It 95 00:06:20,920 --> 00:06:24,200 Speaker 1: was a warm afternoon. I chatted with a few people, 96 00:06:24,640 --> 00:06:27,880 Speaker 1: sipped on my glass of wine, and began to wander around. 97 00:06:28,880 --> 00:06:32,600 Speaker 1: At some point I found myself in the living room. 98 00:06:32,640 --> 00:06:37,280 Speaker 1: There was a fake draft bust, Phoenician masks, plastic parrots 99 00:06:37,360 --> 00:06:41,560 Speaker 1: hanging from the ceiling, even a giant gong. But what 100 00:06:41,720 --> 00:06:46,080 Speaker 1: struck me most with the photographs, lots and lots of photographs, 101 00:06:46,560 --> 00:06:49,159 Speaker 1: and in nearly every one of them there was Ike 102 00:06:49,240 --> 00:06:53,480 Speaker 1: Hirshkoff with a different celebrity, Ike with Henry Kissinger, Ike 103 00:06:53,520 --> 00:06:57,640 Speaker 1: with Ellie Wizzell, Ike with Brooke Shields, Ike with Gwyneth Paltrow, 104 00:06:58,080 --> 00:07:01,120 Speaker 1: even ike with O. J. Simpson. It was like one 105 00:07:01,160 --> 00:07:04,120 Speaker 1: of those diners where the walls are covered with pictures 106 00:07:04,160 --> 00:07:09,040 Speaker 1: of celebrity patrons. At that moment, the man himself appeared. 107 00:07:09,640 --> 00:07:12,559 Speaker 1: He greeted me like a long lost friend and said 108 00:07:12,680 --> 00:07:14,680 Speaker 1: that my wife and I should come over soon for 109 00:07:14,720 --> 00:07:20,160 Speaker 1: a drink, and then he was gone. Sure enough, a 110 00:07:20,160 --> 00:07:23,040 Speaker 1: few days after the summer party, the same maintenance man 111 00:07:23,120 --> 00:07:26,440 Speaker 1: we've met before showed up at our door again. This 112 00:07:26,560 --> 00:07:31,280 Speaker 1: time he brought an invitation for drinks. It was very formal, 113 00:07:31,680 --> 00:07:34,000 Speaker 1: as if he was reading from a script. I mean, 114 00:07:34,040 --> 00:07:37,280 Speaker 1: like Dr Hirshkoff would wants you to come over at 115 00:07:37,320 --> 00:07:39,280 Speaker 1: such a such a time, on such and such a day, 116 00:07:39,400 --> 00:07:42,280 Speaker 1: and the formality of it blew me away, and he 117 00:07:42,440 --> 00:07:46,680 Speaker 1: was very, very exacting about how it had to go. 118 00:07:47,320 --> 00:07:50,440 Speaker 1: So we went one of the strangest evenings I've ever 119 00:07:50,520 --> 00:07:53,480 Speaker 1: had in the Hampton's, or anywhere else for that matter, 120 00:07:53,800 --> 00:08:00,800 Speaker 1: but definitely the Hamptons. It was pouring rain. We headed over, 121 00:08:01,000 --> 00:08:03,880 Speaker 1: umbrellas in hand to get to the front door. We 122 00:08:04,000 --> 00:08:07,120 Speaker 1: crossed a bridge. We could see COI circling in the 123 00:08:07,160 --> 00:08:10,880 Speaker 1: water below. Ike and his wife, Becky welcomed us in 124 00:08:11,320 --> 00:08:14,240 Speaker 1: and ushered us to a round kitchen table. There were 125 00:08:14,280 --> 00:08:19,000 Speaker 1: snacks laid out, carrots and salary. I served white wine. 126 00:08:19,560 --> 00:08:24,240 Speaker 1: So what I remember is him talking incessantly about being 127 00:08:24,280 --> 00:08:27,880 Speaker 1: a sex therapist and a celebrity therapist. And I can't 128 00:08:27,920 --> 00:08:30,440 Speaker 1: remember the details, but that that it just really sticks 129 00:08:30,440 --> 00:08:32,360 Speaker 1: in my mind that he kept going on and on 130 00:08:32,440 --> 00:08:36,200 Speaker 1: about that. It was more like a monologue than a dialogue. 131 00:08:36,240 --> 00:08:39,120 Speaker 1: That's what I remember. What do you remember? I just 132 00:08:39,200 --> 00:08:46,760 Speaker 1: remember thinking, these people are I felt suffocated. I talked 133 00:08:46,760 --> 00:08:48,960 Speaker 1: about his work. I've never say thing like it, but 134 00:08:49,000 --> 00:08:53,240 Speaker 1: I remember thinking it was very brazen about the details 135 00:08:53,320 --> 00:08:56,160 Speaker 1: of his life, considering we were strangers and also considering 136 00:08:56,200 --> 00:08:59,720 Speaker 1: what he does. He did talk about an NBA sports 137 00:08:59,760 --> 00:09:04,840 Speaker 1: god Eyes and somebody a Yankees player. I just thought 138 00:09:04,960 --> 00:09:08,280 Speaker 1: he lacked a lot of discretion given his field. We 139 00:09:08,400 --> 00:09:11,600 Speaker 1: listened politely as he went on and on. I just 140 00:09:11,640 --> 00:09:15,839 Speaker 1: remember looking towards the door. Finally, after about an hour, 141 00:09:16,520 --> 00:09:19,319 Speaker 1: I said we needed to get home, and we got 142 00:09:19,400 --> 00:09:24,120 Speaker 1: up to leave, and it was very clear that I 143 00:09:24,360 --> 00:09:29,800 Speaker 1: wanted a photograph, a photograph of me. I think he 144 00:09:29,880 --> 00:09:32,240 Speaker 1: came out and said, well, we'd like to get a 145 00:09:32,240 --> 00:09:35,560 Speaker 1: picture of you, and it was just Joe. It wasn't 146 00:09:36,559 --> 00:09:39,080 Speaker 1: Joe and I. So I let I take my picture, 147 00:09:40,320 --> 00:09:43,160 Speaker 1: hint it to his wall, and then we left as 148 00:09:43,240 --> 00:09:47,240 Speaker 1: fast as we could. I remember getting to her home, 149 00:09:47,320 --> 00:09:51,520 Speaker 1: collapsing on a couch or something. Dawn told me she 150 00:09:51,640 --> 00:09:54,840 Speaker 1: never wanted to go back. There was no sign of 151 00:09:54,880 --> 00:09:57,160 Speaker 1: the maintenance man the night Dawn and I went over, 152 00:09:57,760 --> 00:10:01,280 Speaker 1: but I knew he was still around. Sometimes we'd be 153 00:10:01,360 --> 00:10:03,840 Speaker 1: on our deck and we'd see him outside working in 154 00:10:03,880 --> 00:10:07,360 Speaker 1: the yard. When I returned to the Hamptons the following summer, 155 00:10:07,920 --> 00:10:11,320 Speaker 1: I noticed something strange at the house next door. I 156 00:10:11,320 --> 00:10:14,000 Speaker 1: would see the maintenance man out on the property doing 157 00:10:14,040 --> 00:10:18,840 Speaker 1: his usual work in the backyard, but Ike Hurshkoff was gone. 158 00:10:20,040 --> 00:10:22,320 Speaker 1: I would never see him or his wife, Becky, and 159 00:10:22,360 --> 00:10:26,760 Speaker 1: the Hamptons again. There were no more summer parties. It 160 00:10:26,920 --> 00:10:31,679 Speaker 1: was as if they had simply disappeared. And that's when 161 00:10:31,720 --> 00:10:34,439 Speaker 1: I learned that everything I had thought i'd known about 162 00:10:34,480 --> 00:10:39,360 Speaker 1: my neighbor was wrong. It's it's a wild story. That's 163 00:10:39,440 --> 00:10:42,840 Speaker 1: the maintenance man, the guy who came to our door 164 00:10:42,960 --> 00:10:45,839 Speaker 1: with the press clippings, the guy we saw working around 165 00:10:45,880 --> 00:10:51,439 Speaker 1: the yard. That was Marty Marcuitz, the same guy who 166 00:10:51,520 --> 00:10:54,640 Speaker 1: had first gone to see Dr Isaac Hurstkoff as a 167 00:10:54,720 --> 00:11:05,040 Speaker 1: patient nearly thirty years earlier. That was just a preview 168 00:11:05,120 --> 00:11:07,720 Speaker 1: of The Shrink next Door. To listen to the rest, 169 00:11:08,040 --> 00:11:11,600 Speaker 1: subscribe to The Shrink next Door on Apple Podcasts or 170 00:11:11,600 --> 00:11:13,200 Speaker 1: wherever you're listening right now.