I too was channel surfing and saw the title 'TV Junkie' on HBO. I stopped and watched this man's life unveil itself as a train wreck right before your eyes in photos and pictures he kept as a diary. Here's the thing: I didn't recognize the name of Rick Kirkham, but I saw almost all of his stories on 'Inside Edition' as I was growing up.
Rick Kirkham is one of those guys you sit back and think, "I wonder what happened to...". He was the first set of reporters and commentators on "Inside Edition" when it first came on and eventually turned into the tabloid-mess it is today. (FYI - Bill O'Reilly also was a correspondent during Rick Kirkham's time before even he became what he is today. You'll see him quickly here.) Now, I know what happened to the man, and watching this was bittersweet, depressing, sad, relieved and...hopeful.
Make no mistake, Rick had it all. He worked his way through the journalism world from the very bottom up - and landed a plumb role on Inside Edition in it's infancy. But as you watch this tale unfold via his own words and real video and photos, you'll see his downward spiral and decent into drugs and alcohol. Hard core. But did I say decent 'around the time' of Inside Edition? No, it isn't. Watch closely from the beginning and you'll get the point of this film.
Again, Rick had EVERYTHING. He scored interviews and hung out with folks we only dreamed of. He was also a dare-devil extrodinaire, racing at the Celebrity Toyota Grand Prix in Long Beach (drugged out), scaling mountains of the world (drugged out), confronting devastation of hurricanes (drugged out), etc. He had a lovely home in Texas and a Los Angeles and New York apartments. He had a wife whom I think should get the 'tenacity award of the year'. I would have been long gone.
He was grounded with his stories ...and he was a hard core narcissistic drug addict, alcoholic, wife abuser and verbal abuser to his sons. This man had the world, and it wasn't enough to stop the behavior, losing his wife, his sons, his home, his JOB! He was even handed a golden-ticket for another chance with all of this and blew it. This will be the most eye-opening, depressing, sad...and hopeful film of a life you may watch this year.
The only problem I have with this is the six year gap that went from total destruction to "clean and sober". This is a man that filmed everything and I would venture to guess that he has those six years of film but for some reason the producers weren't allowed access to it (could be part of the divorce settlement, or he felt these were even worse than what we've seen and he's already 'let out' enough for his sons, et al to be concerned about, or maybe Rick was okay in 2004 but what about ...now?) but there should have been more there to fill that six year gap. There is no way in hell this video junkie left 6 years out of his life, unfilmed or photographed.
HBO is running a series on Drug and Alcohol abuse and how it effects families, marriages, schools, teens, children, jobs, etc. There are films, doctors, documentaries, etc. to give you the viewer perspectives. I saw this 'TV Junkie' documentary within that project and it is a must see, whether with the HBO project or on its own. Scared the heck outa me, and I never was a substance abuser. But it showed me how even you or I could have been affected by this man's actions (For example, the 1993 Celebrity Grand Prix footage and his Jeep Ride will have you cringing) and that's pretty moving.
Rick Kirkham is one of those guys you sit back and think, "I wonder what happened to...". He was the first set of reporters and commentators on "Inside Edition" when it first came on and eventually turned into the tabloid-mess it is today. (FYI - Bill O'Reilly also was a correspondent during Rick Kirkham's time before even he became what he is today. You'll see him quickly here.) Now, I know what happened to the man, and watching this was bittersweet, depressing, sad, relieved and...hopeful.
Make no mistake, Rick had it all. He worked his way through the journalism world from the very bottom up - and landed a plumb role on Inside Edition in it's infancy. But as you watch this tale unfold via his own words and real video and photos, you'll see his downward spiral and decent into drugs and alcohol. Hard core. But did I say decent 'around the time' of Inside Edition? No, it isn't. Watch closely from the beginning and you'll get the point of this film.
Again, Rick had EVERYTHING. He scored interviews and hung out with folks we only dreamed of. He was also a dare-devil extrodinaire, racing at the Celebrity Toyota Grand Prix in Long Beach (drugged out), scaling mountains of the world (drugged out), confronting devastation of hurricanes (drugged out), etc. He had a lovely home in Texas and a Los Angeles and New York apartments. He had a wife whom I think should get the 'tenacity award of the year'. I would have been long gone.
He was grounded with his stories ...and he was a hard core narcissistic drug addict, alcoholic, wife abuser and verbal abuser to his sons. This man had the world, and it wasn't enough to stop the behavior, losing his wife, his sons, his home, his JOB! He was even handed a golden-ticket for another chance with all of this and blew it. This will be the most eye-opening, depressing, sad...and hopeful film of a life you may watch this year.
The only problem I have with this is the six year gap that went from total destruction to "clean and sober". This is a man that filmed everything and I would venture to guess that he has those six years of film but for some reason the producers weren't allowed access to it (could be part of the divorce settlement, or he felt these were even worse than what we've seen and he's already 'let out' enough for his sons, et al to be concerned about, or maybe Rick was okay in 2004 but what about ...now?) but there should have been more there to fill that six year gap. There is no way in hell this video junkie left 6 years out of his life, unfilmed or photographed.
HBO is running a series on Drug and Alcohol abuse and how it effects families, marriages, schools, teens, children, jobs, etc. There are films, doctors, documentaries, etc. to give you the viewer perspectives. I saw this 'TV Junkie' documentary within that project and it is a must see, whether with the HBO project or on its own. Scared the heck outa me, and I never was a substance abuser. But it showed me how even you or I could have been affected by this man's actions (For example, the 1993 Celebrity Grand Prix footage and his Jeep Ride will have you cringing) and that's pretty moving.