Long before Andy Dick was found unresponsive in the apparent throes of an overdose, he battled addiction.
The comedian’s patterns of legal drama, addiction, treatment and relapses have played out in the public eye and stretched decades — with Dick himself often leading the discussion with candid accounts of his battle.
On Tuesday, the struggle once again played out publicly, as Dick, 59, was found unconscious on a Hollywood street in broad daylight, per video obtained by TMZ.
As witnesses attempted to revive the limp comedian, an onlooker at the scene suggested somebody obtain Narcan — an emergency medication that effectively reverses opioid overdoses — and he was given a shot as he lay on a set of concrete steps in what appeared to be pajamas.
A rep for the Los Angeles Fire Department told TMZ that though they responded to an overdose call involving a male of 59 years old, he was not sent to the hospital for treatment.
The “Newsradio” alum declined to share specifics of what transpired in a phone call Tuesday night with TMZ, but confirmed he was OK and alive following the incident.
Dick’s latest incident follows a string of arrests and run-ins with the law dating as far back as 1999, when he pleaded guilty to felony cocaine possession and misdemeanor marijuana possession — in addition to possession of a smoking device — according to CBS News.
In 2007, he was pulled off the set of “Jimmy Kimmel Live” after touching Ivanka Trump, and in 2008, he was arrested for theft and sexual battery in California after groping a 17-year-old while “heavily intoxicated.
He pleaded guilty to misdemeanor drug and battery charges and was ordered to serve three years of probation and wear an alcohol monitor for a year, according to USA Today.
And in 2011, he was arrested and charged with felony first-degree sexual abuse in West Virginia after allegedly kissing a nightclub patron. He pleaded not guilty, and after he completed an alcohol addiction program, criminal charges against him were dropped.
In 2014, Dick allegedly attempted to crash a share house, streaked through Montauk nude and attempted to kickstart a threesome by allegedly groping the woman’s husband.
Two years later, in 2016, TMZ reported that the embattled star had become a spokesperson for recovery center SOBA, where he received outpatient treatment for 18 months.
His ex-wife, Lena Sved, obtained a restraining order against him in March 2018 — protecting her and their three grown children after a pair of alleged incidents in which Dick was intoxicated — until 2023.
Additionally, he was accused of groping an Uber driver’s genitals in West Hollywood in April 2018, resulting in a conviction and sentence of 90 days behind bars in 2019. In 2020, a disturbing video surfaced apparently showing Dick extremely intoxicated while officiating a wedding at a private residence.
In June 2021, he was arrested for alleged felony assault with a deadly weapon after allegedly striking former lover Lucas Crawford with a metal chair. He was released on 50,000 bond and told Page Sixthat Crawford, whom he alleged “body-slammed” him and broke his leg, instigated the incident.
There was also a November 2021 arrest for felony domestic violence after allegedly striking ex Lucas Crawford with an alcohol bottle. He was then released on $50,000 bond. Another November 2021 arrest came next, after he allegedly struck a boyfriend with a frying pan, for which he posted a $30,000 bond.
In May 2022, Dick was famously arrested while staying at an Orange County RV park for felony sexual battery, which he denied.
A man who goes by the name of “JJ” accused Dick of molesting him as he slept, and the arrest itself was livestreamed and uploaded to YouTube.
The case was dismissed, Dick was released from jail and no formal charges were filed.
He was also arrested for burglary after being accused of taking power toolsfrom an unoccupied home in Santa Barbara in October 2022 — the star was then released on a $50,000 bond, and ultimately pleaded not guilty, with the case being dismissed months later.
Dick was most recently arrested in Lake Elsinore after allegedly causing a scene in January 2023, per ABC7. He was accused of public intoxication and failing to register as a sex offender.
The troubled actor has been candid about his battle with addiction through the years. In 2012, he recalled going in and out of rehab centers a dozen times for cocaine and alcohol addiction.
“The very first time, years ago, I think 15 years ago — I don’t think there was any other choice for me,” the comedian told Dr. Drew Pinskyof entering treatment. “I needed to go to a safe place.”
“I admit that I’m an alcoholic,” Dick said elsewhere in the interview, calling into question the characterization that it’s a “disease” that he “has trouble with.”
“It doesn’t feel like a disease,” he added. “I get that when I drink, it ain’t no good. I know that.”
He also confessed that he needs the daily work of sobriety to keep him on track. “If I’m not doing that work, I know I will drink again,” he told Pinsky.
In a 2015 video for The Artists Project LA, he again admitted to struggles with addiction — but said he was sober at the time.
“The main thing that I’ve struggled with over the years as an actor and really as a person, is the abuse of drugs and alcohol,” he said, claiming that “right now I’m doing phenomenally.”
“I’m recovering, I’m in recovery,” he explained in the February 2015 clip. “I have a lot of months behind me and hopefully many many more years ahead of me, of sobriety.”
The actor called his journey a “long, rough, up and down winding, inside out tumbly rocky road as everybody seems to know,” and joked that fans can “google that.”
“My main advice I give to people is keep going,” he said. “Don’t give up if you fall off the horse. Get back on it and go for it, because if i can do it — let me tell you something — you can do it.”
He launched a short-lived podcast5 years ago dedicated to discussing his battle with addiction — the “ADICKTED With Andy Dick” podcast produced 10 episodes beginning in April 2021. The podcast recorded its last episode in September 2021.
The post Inside Andy Dick’s decades-long addiction battle before apparent overdose appeared first on Page Six.
