Anna Nicole Smith's Shrink Ignored Drug Expert's Warning

Anna Nicole Smith | 'Mr. Brooks' | R.I.P. Luther Ingram

Dr. Khristine Eroshevich is digging a deeper hole for herself on TV.

Last night on CBS Paramount TV's syndicated show "The Insider," Eroshevich turned up to defend herself against our revelation from last Friday that she had been giving Anna Nicole Smith a potentially lethal cocktail of heavy drugs including methadone, Soma, Prexige, Ativan and Dilaudid.

But Eroshevich failed to say that it was she who had written and sent the fax from the Bahamas asking for all the drugs. She and "The Insider" simply said who had received it: Anna Nicole's regular doctor, Dr. Sandeep Kapoor, of Los Angeles.

And then, "The Insider" neglected another important fact: Dr. Kapoor refused to fill the order.

In fact, this column has learned even more: Eroshevich was put in touch by phone with an addiction and pharmacology expert at a prestigious local university. Smith's local pharmacist, who also refused to fill the prescriptions, put them in touch. The expert told Eroshevich that the medicines and doses she was asking for were inappropriate and dangerous.

"He told her she was in way over her head and that Anna Nicole should be hospitalized," a source who knew about the conversation told me last night.

Eroshevich was referred to treatment centers where Smith's problems — chronic pain and grief over her son's death — could be addressed professionally.

But Eroshevich would have none of it. Even though the expert warned her that the drugs she was ordering were "horrible combinations" and that one dose was enough to kill someone, Eroshevich ignored him.

Luckily, sources say, Kapoor was reassured when he first heard from Eroshevich, Smith and Howard K. Stern, that she was not breastfeeding her newborn baby girl.

Nevertheless, Kapoor was apparently horrified when Eroshevich told him, "I need something to knock her out." And the notion that the baby might be a priority didn't seem to matter.

"She told Kapoor that she hadn't bonded with the baby, and that she had people there to look after her," a source said.

All of this happened on or around Sept. 15, 2006, approximately five months before Smith died. Because "The Insider" and "Entertainment Tonight" have paid Eroshevich for interviews, they are not asking her anything definitive or questioning what went on in the Bahamas at that time or from then on.

Smith became Kapoor's patient in 2004 after he inherited the practice of a physician who retired. He had continued the treatment prescribed by the prior doctor: a low dose of methadone for chronic pain.

"Hundreds of thousands of pregnant women are on methadone. It doesn't affect the placenta," a source said.

Many respected medical journals describe the safety of taking methadone during pregnancy. But the other drugs Eroshevich ordered surprised Kapoor, friends say, especially since he had never heard her name until that day in September.

"Stern told him Eroshevich was a longtime friend," a source said. "He said that they hadn't given Anna anything for pain after her C-section. And Eroshevich said she would be with Anna Nicole 24/7 and that she would administer the drugs herself."

Kapoor responded that he would not send them, and that he was particularly concerned about the dose of Dalmane, which was 12 times the limit.

"Eroshevich told him Anna Nicole was really tolerant of Dalmane," a source said.

But after the phone call and fax from Eroshevich, he heard from Smith only one or two more times. The last time was in November. Smith died three months later.

New Kevin Costner and Demi Moore Flick Is an 'Incoherent' Flashback

I was hoping for good things from "Mr. Brooks," a drama that pairs Demi Moore in kind of a comeback role with Kevin Costner. It was such an '80s concept, all it was missing was a theme song by Toto.

Alas, the audience at ShoWest in Las Vegas last week did not have kind things to say about this June 1 release from MGM. "Incoherent" is one word that cropped up a lot. Not good.

Moore and Costner are joined by William Hurt, who apparently plays a ghost — although that fact wasn't completely apparent to the audience. It's not a good sign if it's unclear whether your character is dead or alive.

Demi — who has been surrounded by rumors she is pregnant for the last couple of years — tiptoed back into the water with "Charlie's Angels 2" a few seasons ago. She made a movie in 2006 called "Half Light" for Lakeshore Entertainment that couldn't get a theatrical release here despite Moore's heavy agency reps at CAA. It wound up on cable instead.

Last year, Moore did excellent work in Emilio Estevez's "Bobby," and she also finished "Flawless," which still doesn't have a distributor and sounds pretty, well, flawed. Michael Caine co-stars in this diamond heist flick that should wind up heading straight to DVD.

Personally, I don't get it. In the right vehicle, Demi Moore could be huge. She should be playing a kind of take-off on Emma Peel in an HBO or Showtime series resembling "The Avengers." Someone should write her a pilot with just that idea: hip and glib with some cool action scenes.

As for Mr. Brooks himself, Costner tries hard but can't seem to get any movie right. He came very close in "The Upside of Anger," but all that good will has been frittered away in "Rumor Has It" and "The Guardian."

Truth be told, it's been a decade of aimless wandering for Costner since "Tin Cup" threatened to restore his career. "Anger" was similar in tone. That's the field he should be playing on.

So, scratch out "Mr. Brooks" from anything but the least serious consideration for June. At least you can say you were warned.

Rest in Peace, Luther Ingram

Add another name to the roll call of soul stars who have passed. Luther Ingram was 69 years old, and the singer of "(If Loving You Is Wrong) I Don't Want to Be Right," a simmering ballad of immense power that hit the top of the charts in 1973.

Ingram didn't write "Wrong" — Homer Banks did — but he did compose the Staples Singers hit "Respect Yourself" with Sir Mack Rice, as well as lots of other songs.

I got to know Luther eight years ago when he was honored at a fundraiser in Memphis. He had received a kidney transplant he couldn't afford and it didn't work anyway. He spent the rest of his years on dialysis.

Ingram was a sweet man with a wide smile and a cherubic face. He raised a good family including a son, Eric, who devoted all his time to his dad in the last decade.

Eric Ingram has a script and music rights for a cool movie about his dad's era, and hopefully he'll get it made.

Luther recorded for a little label called Koko that was distributed by Stax. He's not in the Rock Hall of Fame and does not have any plaques. He just made some great records and lived a good life. He will be missed.

As Sam Moore said to me yesterday — his being the only name still alive from Arthur Conley's "Sweet Soul Music": "We've lost another piece of our culture."