At the age of seventeen, Blake Le Vine was a teen prodigy making the meteoric rise from celebrity autograph hound to becoming a celebrity in his own right. He published the coffee table photography book "Okay, Dad, You Take the Picture" and now rubbed shoulders with the subjects he once chased down for a signature:
- George Bush
- Princess Diana
- Mother Teresa
- Tom Cruise
- Britney Spears
- Steven Spielberg
- Madonna … just to name a few!
President Clinton invited him to the White House. Blake himself now graced such media outlets as Entertainment Tonight, Maury Povich, CNN, Fox and the New York Times
… and then, without warning, he was diagnosed with bipolar disorder.
Blake writes, “At 16 I was diagnosed with bipolar disorder (Manic Depression), and spent the rest of my teenage years struggling to battle the horrible and sometimes terminal illness. One high profiled psychiatrist said I would never be able to drive a car, go to college, or lead a normal life. My mother wouldn't listen and instead, went to tons of doctors until she found Dr. Amy Koreen.”
After pounding the pavement from waiting room to waiting room, Blake was eventually introduced to Dr. Amy Koreen, a specialist in neurophsychopharmacology, and began experimenting with various combinations of medications. Ultimately Dr. Koreen settled on a mixture of Zyprexa and Depakote, which appeared to work wonders.
With successful treatment, Blake was accepted to graduate school. “I was able to graduate college, receive a Masters Degree in Social Work, and work with other mentally ill teenagers to help them put their lives together.” He has been able to give back to other teenagers suffering from bipolar disorder. He also produced his own documentary as well as a television show where he has interviewed top entertainment celebrities.
Le Vine’s current project is a non-profit movie entitled Saving Life. He shares his inspiration for this project, “One night while sitting at a mountainside resort, I was thinking about my grandfather who had just died. We had talked about how I had always wanted to be an actor/writer/director many times while he was alive. I heard his voice give me an amazing idea for a film called Saving Life. It is partially based on my life and tells the story of Jimmy Silver, a teenage prodigy who is just out of a psychiatric hospital and diagnosed with bipolar disorder.” He is currently campaigning for support for this endeavor.
