TV writer David Milch, creator of 'NYPD Blue,' 'Deadwood, reveals he has Alzheimer's

David Milch, the veteran TV writer/producer behind shows like "NYPD Blue" and "Deadwood," says he has Alzheimer's disease.

He made the revelation while talking to Vulture about "Deadwood," his foul-mouthed HBO western which ran from 2004 to 2006 and has been revived as a feature film premiering May 31.

His representatives did not immediately respond to USA TODAY's request for comment. 

Milch, 74, said his symptoms began about five years ago when he and loved ones noticed that he was having trouble with memory recall and his temper had grown shorter.

"I became an acquired taste,'" he said, putting it mildly.

The Alzheimer's Association describes the disease as an irreversible brain disorder that gradually erodes a person's memory, cognitive skills and ability to function. The group estimates 5.8 million Americans live with the disease.

Milch joins a list of high-profile Alzheimer's sufferers. The disease took the lives of President Ronald Reagan and singer Glen Campbell. Last fall, Sandra Day O'Connor, the first female Supreme Court justice, announced that she was retiring from public life after learning she has dementia, most likely Alzheimer's. 

In addition to affecting his short-term memory and personality, Alzheimer's began to impact his writing – he was working on the "Deadwood" movie script at the time – and making decisions. Eventually, he went for a brain scan, which confirmed the Alzheimer's diagnosis.

“As best I understand – which is minimally – I have a deterioration in the organization of my brain,” he told the website. “And it’s progressive. And in some ways discouraging. In more than some ways – in every way I can think of.”

Milch was known as an incredibly hands-on showrunner during the show's three-season run. But by the time the movie went into production, he had to turn over the managerial reins to other "Deadwood" veterans. 

In hindsight, he also believes his father may have had Alzheimer's. (According to the Alzheimer's Association, patients who have a case in their immediate family are at higher risk of developing it themselves.)

"That was a while ago, and the diagnosis was not as sophisticated or specific, but in retrospect, he exhibited all the symptoms of the illness,” Milch said of his father.

With "Deadwood" in the can and the disease becoming an impediment to screenwriting, Milch wouldn't commit to any other projects aside from writing his memoir, which will encompass his career highs – he rose from the writing staff of "Hill Street Blues" to create "NYPD Blue" with his mentor, Steven Bochco – and personal lows, including a gambling problem that had him $17 million in debt at one point

His wife, Rita, says that in addition to preserving his memories, the task of writing his autobiography will double as a memory-strengthening exercise.

“I compare it to a musician who can still play and has access to the memory of how to do that and is still able to exercise his talent,” she told Vulture. “The brain is David’s most exercised muscle.”