Robert Giller

Robert Maynard Giller (September 14, 1942 – October 19, 1996) was an American physician, acupuncturist, nutritionist, and author. He specialized in preventive medicine and became known for his public advocacy concerning diet, weight loss, nutrition, vitamins, and the relationship between stress and physical health. His books included Medical Makeover, Maximum Metabolism (1989), and Natural Prescriptions (1995).

Early life and education Robert Maynard Giller was born in Chicago, Illinois, on September 14, 1942, to Edward M. Giller and Lillian Giller (née Katz), later Lillian Kolbe. He attended the University of Illinois from 1960 to 1963 and received his Doctor of Medicine degree from the University of Illinois College of Medicine in 1967. He subsequently served two years in the United States Army Medical Corps as a resident preventative medical officer.

In 1972, he began studying at the College of Chinese Acupuncture in Kenilworth, England, where he studied under British acupuncturist J. R. Worsley.

In 1974, Giller established a private medical practice in New York City, specializing in preventive medicine. He was associated with New York Hospital-Cornell Medical Center and later became a member of its faculty. His practice attracted performers, athletes, and celebrities, including fashion designer Halston, actress Bianca Jagger, actors George Hamilton, Liza Minnelli, and Carrie Fisher s, singer Judy Collins, and ballet dancer Mikhail Baryshnikov. Baryshnikov used Giller's vitamin supplements to support his dancing, while basketball player Kareem Abdul-Jabbar sought treatment from Giller for migraines. They followed with Maximum Metabolism: The Diet Breakthrough for Permanent Weight Loss (Berkeley, 1989), which presented his approach to weight reduction and metabolism. Their third book, Natural Prescriptions: Dr. Giller's Natural Treatments & Vitamin Therapies for Over 100 Common Ailments (Ballantine, 1995), presented dietary, vitamin, and other natural-treatment approaches to a range of common health complaints. In September 1978, Halston hosted a birthday party for Giller at his home, where the cake was inscribed "Dr. Feelgood." He also gave Giller a black straw Halston hat decorated with a band of $10 bills, one of which was signed by Warhol, which became a distinctive objet d'art. Giller is pictured wearing the hat in the 1979 book Andy Warhol's Exposures.

Giller and his wife Nancy Lee Giller, a television producer, lived on the Upper East Side of Manhattan and in East Hampton, New York. He previously lived in Hoosick, New York.

Death Giller died at the age of 54 in a car accident on the Garden State Parkway in Manahawkin, New Jersey, on October 19, 1996. He was killed instantly when the vehicle, in which he was a passenger, spun out of control during a gale-force rainstorm. The driver, an employee of Giller's wife's business and the vehicle's only other occupant, was uninjured. He was survived by his wife, Nancy Lee Giller, and his mother, Lillian Kolbe, and brother, Michael.