Pauline Phillips

Early life

Pauline Friedman, nicknamed "Popo", was born in Sioux City, Iowa, to Russian Jewish immigrants Rebecca (née Rushall) and Abraham B. Friedman, owner of a chain of movie theaters. She was the youngest of four sisters and grew up in Sioux City. Her identical twin Esther Pauline Friedman (married name Lederer), nicknamed “Eppie”, was columnist Ann Landers. Lederer had become Ann Landers in 1955, and Phillips soon followed suit by launching her own advice column.

Phillips graduated from the now-defunct Central High School in Sioux City. She then studied journalism and psychology at Morningside College, where she and her twin sister wrote a gossip column in the school newspaper. The column was called "The Campus Rat", and they used the pen name "PE-EP", inspired by their names Pauline Esther and Esther Pauline. Both sisters were married in a double wedding ceremony on July 2, 1939, two days before their 21st birthday. Pauline married Morton Phillips of Minneapolis, and had son Edward and daughter Jeanne.

Career

Phillips' writing career began in January 1956 when she was 37 and new to the San Francisco area. She phoned the editor of the San Francisco Chronicle and said that she could write a better advice column than the one that she had been reading in the newspaper.

She went by the pen name Abigail Van Buren, combining the Old Testament prophetess from 1 Samuel Her twin sister was the author of the Ann Landers column, and the competition created acrimony between them for many years. In 1956, Phillips offered her column to the Sioux City Journal at a reduced price, provided that the paper refuse to print her sister's column. The sisters ostensibly reconciled in 1964 but remained competitors. They became "the most widely read and most quoted women in the world" in 1958, according to Life magazine.

Writing style

Newspapers had included gossip and personal columnists for more than a century, but the two sisters added "something special", according to Life, in that they were the first to publish letters and replies covering a wide range of personal problems, replying with "vaudeville punch lines" rooted in common sense. The editor of the Chicago Sun-Times described their skill as "beyond mere shrewdness—a quality very close to genuine wisdom."

Phillips stated that she did not publish the most sensitive letters that she received, but instead replied to them individually. Sometimes she would write a brief note on the letter itself, letting one of her secretaries respond fully using her advice. If a person seemed suicidal from their letter, she would call them on the phone.

Personal life and beliefs

Phillips was considered "the embodiment of female orthodoxy." This attitude carried over into her column in the late 1950s, and she considered women "faintly ridiculous" if they were unable to make their marriages work. Her "code of conduct" was "husband and children first."

Phillips supported gay rights, and season 1, episode 8 of the podcast Making Gay History is about her.

Both Phillips and her sister enjoyed socializing with celebrities, and because of their fame, celebrities liked being seen with them. Among Phillips' friends soon after she began her column were politicians, including Senators Hubert Humphrey and Herbert Lehman; and entertainers, including Jerry Lewis and Dean Martin. They also admired Bishop Fulton Sheen, whom they met when learning about Catholicism while studying about other religions. The bishop admired them both in return due to their ability to remain "unawed" and unaffected by the fame of others. Phillips was Jewish, and she commented: "He's one of the greatest men I ever met, but he'll be a Jew before I'm a Catholic."

Phillips was an honorary member of Women in Communications, the American College of Psychiatrists, and the National Council of Jewish Women. Her columns were collected in Dear Abby, Dear Teenager, Dear Abby on Marriage, Where Were You When President Kennedy was Shot?, The Dear Abby Wedding Planner, and The Best of Dear Abby. She said that writing is "only work if you'd rather be doing something else."

Death

Phillips died on January 16, 2013, at age 94, after battling Alzheimer's for 11 years. She was survived by her husband of 73 years, Morton Phillips, daughter Jeanne Phillips, four grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren. Her son, Edward, had died two years prior.

Bibliography

Books about Dear Abby

• (Children's book).

Books by Abigail Van Buren

• Dear Abby. Illustrated by Carl Rose. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall, [1958].
• Dear teen-ager. Illustrated by Roy Doty. [New York]: B. Geis Associates; distributed by Random House [1959].
• Dear Abby on marriage. New York: McGraw-Hill, [1962].
• The Best of Dear Abby. Kansas City: Andrews and McMeel, 1981. ; 081613362X (lg. print.)
• Dear Abby on planning your wedding. Andrews and McMeel, c1988. .
• Where were you when President Kennedy was shot?: memories and tributes to a slain president as told to Dear Abby. Foreword by Pierre Salinger. Andrews and McMeel, c. 1993. .

References

References

1. (January 17, 2013). "Pauline Phillips, longtime Dear Abby advice columnist, dies at 94". CNN News.
2. Sawyer, Diane. (January 17, 2013). "'Dear Abby' Columnist, Pauline Phillips, Dies at Age 94". ABC News.
3. (January 17, 2013). "Pauline Phillips, Flinty Adviser to Millions as Dear Abby, Dies at 94". The New York Times.
4. "Central High School".
5. Ewing, Jody. (23 August 2001). "Daughter helps keep 'Abby' ink flowing".
6. Eppie: The Story of Ann Landers, by Margo Howard (her daughter), p. 45.
7. Ewing, Jody. (August 23, 2001). "Daughter Helps Keep 'Abby' Ink Flowing". Ewing, Jody.
8. akk_67S3DUk. "'Dear Abby' talks about her big break", CNN
9. Judd, Robin. "Ann Landers biography".
10. ''Life'' magazine, April 7, 1958 pp. 102–112
11. (January 17, 2013). "Dear Abby, advice columnist, sister of Ann Landers, dies at 94". The Chronicle Herald.
12. "Season One". Making Gay History.
13. Universal Press Syndicate historical files.
14. Johnson, Dr. Tim. (February 12, 2010). "'Dear Abby' Struggles With Alzheimer's". ABC News.
15. Fisher, Luchina. (January 17, 2013). "'Dear Abby' Advice Columnist Dies". ABC News Blogs.
16. (August 7, 2002). "Dear Abby creator has Alzheimer's, family announces". Chicago Tribune.
17. (January 17, 2013). "Pauline Phillips, Flinty Adviser to Millions as Dear Abby, Dies at 94". The New York Times.