Dr. Joyce Brothers papers

Collection — Multiple Containers

Identifier: 4254

COLLECTION DESCRIPTION

Papers of Dr. Joyce Brothers include correspondence, subject files, scripts, clippings, contracts, awards, photographs, video, film, tape recordings, and books documenting the over 50 year career of Dr. Joyce Brothers.

Dates

1927 - 2013

Creator

Brothers, Joyce. (Person)

Conditions Governing Access

Boxes 63-67 are closed for 90 years from date of creation.

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE

Joyce Diane Brothers (October 20, 1927 – May 13, 2013) was an American psychologist, television personality, advice columnist, and writer. She graduated from Cornell University in 1947, and with a PhD from Columbia University in 1953.

She first became famous in 1955 for winning the top prize on the American game show "The $64,000 Question." Her fame from the game show allowed her to go on to host various advice columns and television shows, which established her as a pioneer in the field of "pop (popular) psychology".

Brothers is often credited as the first to normalize psychological concepts to the American mainstream. Her syndicated columns were featured in newspapers and magazines, including a monthly column for Good Housekeeping, in which she contributed for nearly 40 years. Her television programs, where she read letters from viewers and offered advice, began in 1958.

As Brothers quickly became the "face of psychology" for American audiences, she often appeared in various television roles, usually as herself. From the 1970s onward, she also began to accept fictional roles that parodied her "woman psychologist" persona. She is noted for working continuously for five decades across various genres.

Extent

300 cubic feet.

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Abstract

Papers of Dr. Joyce Brothers include correspondence, subject files, letters received, scripts, clippings, contracts, awards, photographs, films, videos, and articles and books by Dr. Brothers.