American psychologist and pop-culture figure Joyce Brothers, who parlayed her 1950s game show celebrity into a six-decade media career, died Monday. She was 85.
Her long-time publicist said she died in New York City of natural causes.
Brothers, who once taught at Columbia University, first gained fame on the 1950s game show "The $64,000 Question" for her encyclopedic knowledge of boxing.
She became the only woman to win the show's top prize, and by 1958 NBC television had signed her as a program host who dispensed advice on love, marriage, sex and child-bearing.
Brothers also boosted her celebrity as an author and magazine columnist, and wrote a syndicated advice column that appeared in more than 350 newspapers. She also appeared in film roles portraying her professional self in more than a dozen Hollywood movies.
Her long-time publicist said she died in New York City of natural causes.
Brothers, who once taught at Columbia University, first gained fame on the 1950s game show "The $64,000 Question" for her encyclopedic knowledge of boxing.
She became the only woman to win the show's top prize, and by 1958 NBC television had signed her as a program host who dispensed advice on love, marriage, sex and child-bearing.
Brothers also boosted her celebrity as an author and magazine columnist, and wrote a syndicated advice column that appeared in more than 350 newspapers. She also appeared in film roles portraying her professional self in more than a dozen Hollywood movies.