Joy Browne (born Joy Oppenheim; October 24, 1944 – August 27, 2016), also known as Dr. Joy, was an American talk show host, specializing in advice counselling. She hosted a nationally syndicatedcall-in talk show for several decades, heard on numerous radio stations in the U.S. and Canada.
Early life
Browne was born Joy Oppenheim in
New Orleans
New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...
,
Louisiana
Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...
, the oldest of five children born to Nelson Oppenheim, a life insurance salesman, and Ruth Strauss, a teacher. Browne spent much of her childhood in
Denver, Colorado
Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...
, and graduated from
Rice University
William Marsh Rice University, commonly referred to as Rice University, is a Private university, private research university in Houston, Houston, Texas, United States. Established in 1912, the university spans 300 acres.
Rice University comp ...
in
Houston, Texas
Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...
, with a bachelor's degree in
behavioral science
Behavioural science is the branch of science concerned with Human behavior, human behaviour.Hallsworth, M. (2023). A manifesto for applying behavioural science. ''Nature Human Behaviour'', ''7''(3), 310-322. While the term can technically be ap ...
.
Career
Browne did her graduate work at
Northeastern University
Northeastern University (NU or NEU) is a private university, private research university with its main campus in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. It was founded by the Boston Young Men's Christian Association in 1898 as an all-male instit ...
in
Boston
Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...
,
Massachusetts
Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...
, earning an M.A. and Ph.D. in
psychology
Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Its subject matter includes the behavior of humans and nonhumans, both consciousness, conscious and Unconscious mind, unconscious phenomena, and mental processes such as thoughts, feel ...
. She was a licensed clinical psychologist who was first on the air in
Boston
Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...
at WITS, where she hosted a program called ''Up Close and Personal'' in the late 1970s. She later hosted call-in shows on radio stations in
San Francisco
San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...
and
New York City
New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
.
Her syndicated show was one of the longest-running call-in therapy shows in the United States. Browne took a no-nonsense approach to callers, trying to zero in on a problem without getting caught up in a caller's long stories or digressions. Browne was also known for her "one-year rule", which states that people who have lost a spouse or long-time partner due to break-up, death, or divorce should wait at a minimum one year before resuming romantic relationships.
Dr. Joy was also known for her advice to act "stupid and cheerful" when dealing with difficult people. She also half-jokingly suggested that people wait until they are 40 or 45 years old before having sex, due to the emotional nakedness involved, in addition to the physical.
Dr. Browne hosted a TV show on the Discovery Health cable channel in 2005 which was a live one-hour simulcast of her weekday show on WOR. She previously hosted a King World-Eyemark weekday syndicated TV advice talk show in 1999 for one year.
She wrote numerous books on life and dating, including ''It’s A Jungle Out There Jane'', ''Dating for Dummies'', ''The Nine Fantasies That Will Ruin Your Life'', ''Capitalizing on Incompetence'', ''Getting Unstuck'', and ''Dating Disasters''.
On September 30, 2010, Dr. Browne joined the cast of the off-Broadway play '' My Big Gay Italian Wedding'' for three performances.
Browne's call-in therapy show was heard for two decades at 710 WOR in New York and was syndicated to other cities via the WOR Radio Network. She was released by WOR on December 20, 2012, after
iHeartMedia
iHeartMedia, Inc., or CC Media Holdings, Inc., is an American mass media corporation headquartered in San Antonio, Texas. It is the holding company of iHeartCommunications, Inc., formerly Clear Channel Communications, Inc., a company founded by ...
bought the station and brought in its own network hosts. Bumper music for the show was often the bass line from the
Nick Lowe
Nicholas Drain Lowe (born 24 March 1949) is an English singer-songwriter, musician and producer. A noted figure in Pub rock (United Kingdom), pub rock, power pop and New wave music, new wave,Radio America from Noon-3p.m. ET on weekdays. On September 8, 2014, she switched to the Genesis Communications Network (GCN), continuing her syndicated radio show in the same time slot.
Personal life and death
Browne was married once (to Carter Browne, whom she divorced, although she kept her married name professionally) and had a daughter, Patience Browne. Browne died in Manhattan on August 27, 2016, at the age of 71.