Talk:Dan Aykroyd

What kicked out of?

There was a reference to Aykroyd being expelled from a Catholic seminary. All I can find is reference to being kicked out of Catholic high school. It could have happened , I suppose, but for the moment it sounds like a mis-understanding of the Canadian separate (i.e. Catholic) school system. --Dhodges 19:58, 10 July 2005 (UTC)

SNL original

Simman2 claims "Ackroyd was not an SNL original", but is wrong. Aykroyd was a writer and cast member from the start, including a sketch about salesman for a home security company terrorizing a suburban couple that was on the first show ever. Hill and Weingrad, Saturday Night, p. 91. See also History_of_Saturday_Night_Live_(1975-1980). Simman2 must be confused with Chevy Chase (who was hired on as a writer but also was a performer on a contract basis) and Bill Murray (who replaced Chase early in the second season). Wasted Time R 12:49, 14 January 2006 (UTC)

I stand corrected then. It was Bill Burray who replaced Chevy Chase. My apologies. -- Sim [16:51, 15 January 2006 Simman2]

Request for better picture

Can someone please put a better picture of him up? One that shows his face or something? [01:10, 4 February 2006 70.93.249.46]

Tourette and Asperger

Asperger's and Tourette's, eh? And both *cured*? Riiiight. [05:44, 8 December 2005 4.240.72.44]

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21:53, 6 February 2006 SandyGeorgia
(Asperger's is a new diagnosis: it didn't exist when he was a preteen. He was pulling people's legs, and doesn't show symptoms of either condition.)
02:39, 7 February 2006 Wasted Time R
(rv - I've listened to the interview and he seemed to be serious; several AS sites claim him as an example
04:27, 7 February 2006 SandyGeorgia
rv - sure, they claim him, but he has no symptoms, and Asperger's did not EXIST as a diagnosis when he was that age, so it's not even possible. And he has no symptoms of TS, either. :-))

Regarding TS, he says he was almost completely cured of it by therapy between the ages of 12 and 14. So yes, he has no symptoms now, why would he? Regarding AS, you are right that it was not a diagnosis then, but he is obviously retroactively applying to what he now believes he had then, and still does to some extent. Also, he says he had a mild instance of both. Mild AS as an adult now isn't something you would be able to observe, unless possibly you saw his social behavior for an extended period of time. So I don't think you can prove he's joking about this; he's made these claims in at least two interviews (the radio one is referencing some print one), and our best course of action is simply to report what he's said and leave it at that. Wasted Time R 04:44, 7 February 2006 (UTC)

Hi there -- thanks for bringing it to talk. There was no "therapy" for Tourette's when he was 12 to 14. It was barely understood or diagnosed back then, and if it was diagnosed, in those days, it was typically the most severe cases, and it got "nuked" with some pretty major drugs -- very different than today, where milder cases are diagnosed, and some cognitive therapies are being used. Tourette's is not "psychological" -- you don't "cure it" with therapy. What he says just doesn't ring true for the era. And, he shows no symptoms. Yes, Tourette syndrome tends to remit as one passes through adolescence, but if he was diagnosed then, he most likely had a severe case, and it's not all that likely he would be symptom-free today.

I participated in lots of discussions with lots of people with Tourette syndrome and Asperger's syndrome (that's what I do :-) about the interview, and everyone I was talking to agreed that they interpreted that he was joking. He specifically mentions having an AS diagnosis as a pre-teen -- considering the date that AS came into being, it just doesn't fit. And he shows no signs of AS at all ... and mild AS doesn't go away. The hallmark of AS is difficulties with social interaction. Dan Akroyd?? Nah ...

Even more, even though AS can be mild, and TS can be mild, when they co-occur, you end up with a more severe condition. Not likely (as another poster mentioned above) that he outgrew the duo.

I disagree that the best action is to report what he's said, because he's a comic. That's what he does. Robin Williams has joked many times about having Tourette's, but people with Tourette's who know him could see that he doesn't have TS and he was joking.

I think the best action is to come up with a full transcript of the interview, and the written source. If the claim is going to put out here, we need some primary sources, that can be distinguished from comic joking, or at least that people could read for themselves, to make an educated decision. A statement from his publicist wouldn't hurt, either ... I doubt that his managers are going to go along :-)) Respectfully Sandy 05:11, 7 February 2006 (UTC)

Hmmm. A third possibility is that he isn't joking, but instead he's mis-remembering what he had, or retroactively self-diagnosing himself. (Similar to how some adults who did poorly in school later self-decide that they had dyslexia or some other learning disability.) Regarding TS, he said he had problems with tics and grunts. Is there something less than TS that has those symptoms? Regarding AS, yes this has become an almost fashionable diagnosis for a variety of social interaction and/or strong-and-peculiar interest behaviors.

But, nevertheless, based on the Hill and Weingrad Saturday Night: A Backstage History of Saturday Night Live book, you could definitely make a case for difficulties with social interactions back then. He misplayed his (lack of) status during the audition process (but still got the job anyway). He hated portraying "himself" in any sketch, including on Weekend Update; he was only comfortable in the guise of others. He disliked being recognized or talked to on the street, and so let Belushi walk in front of him to grab any attention first. He left the stage immediately after each show, skipping any social gatherings and instead riding his motorcycle all night to parts unknown in Canada. All this could just add up to "shy and a bit weird", but it seems consistent with mild AS as well. Wasted Time R 12:08, 7 February 2006 (UTC)

With respect to your question, " Regarding TS, he said he had problems with tics and grunts. Is there something less than TS that has those symptoms? Regarding AS, yes this has become an almost fashionable diagnosis for a variety of social interaction and/or strong-and-peculiar interest behaviors," you raise a valid consideration. Non-tourettic tics are (or can be for some patients) part of the autism spectrum (which includes Asperger's), and are a frequent source of diagnostic confusion. One physician estimated that up to 1/3 of the patients he sees in his specialty TS clinic are actually cases of misdiagnosed autism, because their stereotyped movements are confused with tics. There is also another diagnosis called Stereotypic Movement Disorder. You can read about the diagnostic confusion here [1]. My concern about this issue is that Wiki not become a source of internet urban legend and myth, and that we carefully evaluate primary sources. Wikipedia has been a contributor to the myth about Mozart and Tourette's, even though not a single credible Tourette's syndrome expert or neurologist or psychiatrist has supported the claim, and it has been furthered by a website written by an author with less than authentic credentials, who has been referenced as a primary source on Wikipedia. Things that get accepted on Wiki tend to become "fact" throughout the internet, and we need to take care in the presence of diagnostic confusion, and even more so with a comic. Thanks for considering the possibilities :-)) Sandy 13:17, 7 February 2006 (UTC)

PS - I just re-read the entry here on DA and TS/AS, and see that he had other congential abnormalities. Is there a primary source for those abnormalities ? (I'm sorry, I don't know that much about Dan Akroyd, since he almost never comes up in Tourette's circles as a person with Tourette's.) Chromosomal or congenital abnormalities are also a recognized source of tourettism: tics not related to Tourette syndrome. So, it's possible that he has/had a secondary cause of tics, not related to Tourette's. The link above discusses same. Can we find a way to re-word the entry while we discuss this? TIA. Sandy 13:28, 7 February 2006 (UTC)

The Hill & Weingrad book confirms the webbed toes:

"Belushi invented his madness from the stuff of legend, but Aykroyd just seemed to be there. Danny had webbed toes, a twist of nature he often pointed to with pride as proof he was a genuine mutant, and many of his friends share the conviction that he always had one ear tuned to frequencies from other planets. 'You look at the floor and see the floor,' he said to a friend once. 'I look at the floor and see molecules.'"

Another thing about the NPR interview is that he was quietly serious throughout it. He was especially emphatic when he related how the original SNL cast took pride in not breaking up in laughter during their sketches (behavior that has become annoyingly frequent in recent SNL years). He wasn't in "comic" mode during the interview, he was in "contemplative" mode. Wasted Time R 14:03, 7 February 2006 (UTC)

In any case, I've had a go at rewording the section in question, have a look. Wasted Time R 15:20, 7 February 2006 (UTC)

It looks good, WT. My concern is for the big picture, wrt things I've seen happen on other entries and the problem with applying retroactive (or self-conferred) diagnoses, and even more so, with historical figures (e.g.; the "Mozart had Tourette's" scenario, relative to the well-documented "Samuel Johnson had Tourette's" claim). I'm reflecting a concern that Wiki should be more stringent in requiring primary sources on these claims, rather than "somebody said so," when the somebody isn't always an authoritative source. (The Mozart claim was put out by an endocrinologist -- not a specialty that deals with TS -- for example.) What do you think of expanding your wording to this:

(It is unclear when Aykroyd received these diagnoses or whether they were self-made, and whether he may make these statements in jest, as there is no medical consensus or confirmation of the diagnoses.)

Or something encompassing those issues? Just wanting to expand it more, so we don't see things like this (not this one, per se) develop into the kind of internet legends that has happened with Mozart -- it is just not possible to say that Mozart had TS, but we see it all the time now. Nice conversation.  :-)) Sandy 17:37, 7 February 2006 (UTC)