Joyce Brothers, Celebrity Psychologist, Dead at 85

Decades-long media career included TV shows, a syndicated column and best-selling books

Joyce Brothers, who rose to fame as a celebrity psychologist via television radio and print media, died on Monday, a representative for Brothers told TheWrap. She was 85.

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Brothers came to prominence in 1955 as the winner or the game show "The $64,000 Question," appearing as a boxing expert. She received her own show in 1958 on a New York TV station, dispensing relationship advice to her studio audience, and launched a daily syndicated newspaper column. She would go on to host a number of advice shows on television and the radio, which bore titles such as "The Dr. Joyce Brothers Show," "Consult Dr. Brothers" and "Living Easy With Dr. Joyce Brothers."

Brothers' decades-long media career included a column for "Good Housekeeping" magazine and numerous books, including the 1992 offering "Widowed," which was inspired by the death of her husband.

She also became a staple as a guest star on numerous television shows, with appearances on numerous series including "CHiPs," "Taxi," "Happy Days" and "WKRP in Cincinnati," among many others.

Born Joyce Diane Bauer in New York City, she earned her Ph.D. in psychology from Columbia University, and married internist Milton Brothers in 1949. The pair had a daughter, Lisa, together. Milton Brothers died of cancer in 1989.

 

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