Dr. Joyce Brothers Dead At 85

Famed psychologist Dr. Joyce Brothers didn’t know she would spend most of her life answering the world’s burning questions when she first applied to appear on The $64,000 Question in 1955 as a boxing expert, but life winds up taking people in some strange directions. Two appearances and two wins on the television game show, as well as a masters degree in Psychology from Columbia University led her to be offered a television show with a local NBC affiliate. High ratings for The Dr. Joyce Brothers Show led the show to go national, and after that, she never really looked back, even as some of her peers criticized her behavior.

During much of her time in the public eye, the idea of a media psychologist wasn’t exactly universally accepted. A lot of her peers didn’t buy the idea of offering advice in an informal situation outside of a 1 on 1 counseling session, but over time, the general public and most of her fellow psychologists started seeing the wonderful possibilities in offering a self-help column. In time, a slew of like-minded people started following in her footsteps, and other unrelated advice columns started increasing in popularity.

According to CNN, Dr. Brothers passed away peacefully at her home this week at the age of eighty-five. It’s impossible to know how many people Brothers helped during her life, but no doubt it was way more than just the people whose questions she answered. Her Good Housekeeping column was read by a ton of people every month, and her appearance in front of the House Committee investigating cheating in game shows single-handedly proved not everyone was being fed the answers.

Joyce was married to her husband Milton for forty years until he passed in 1989. She’s survived by two daughters, four grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. Pop Blend’s sincerest thoughts go out to everyone who was touched by her life.