Warren Boyd - The Real Cleaner

by Libby Pelham | More from this Blogger

Have you seen the new A&E show "The Cleaner?" It features Benjamin Bratt as a former addict who now uses extreme measures to help other addicts get clean. If you've seen the show, you may not know that Benjamin's character, William Banks, is based on a real person.

Warren Boyd was raised in sunny Santa Rosa, California, but by the age of 32, he had seen his share of trouble. He had nine DUI convictions and had already spent five years in prison. Addicted to both alcohol and cocaine, Boyd had been in and out of 26 rehab programs without any success. In 1990, he was due back in jail, but something was about to happen in Boyd's life that would finally make him want to go clean. His then-girlfriend Deedee gave birth to the couple's first child right before Boyd returned to prison. He said "Up until that moment, no one could talk any sense into me. But when the nurse placed her in my arms, I knew it was all over."

Boyd spent the next 15 months is prison, but he began attending 12-step meetings and got clean. Once he was released from prison, he decided to devote his life to helping others break the terrible cycle of addiction. But, Boyd knew that sometimes addiction intervention calls for extreme actions. Just like on the show, Boyd and his team (all former addicts themselves) often rescue addicts through physical intervention. In doing this, the team risks being shot at or beaten, but they know how important it is to get the addict the help he or she needs.

Twenty years later, Boyd and Deedee are now married with three children. He runs private rehab centers, but also has helped individual celebrities. While he won't say who he has helped, rumors are that he helped Robert Downey Jr., Courtney Love, and Whitney Houston - three of the worse celebrity cases of addition. Boyd also serves as the co-executive producer of "The Cleaner," the show his real life dedication inspired.

Learn more about Libby Pelham

Libby Pelham is a web designer/freelance writer located in Memphis, TN. She has a beautiful little boy, Will, born in July of 2004.

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