Joyce Haber (1931–1993) was an American gossip columnist who worked for the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the U ...

''. Haber was one of Hollywood's last powerful gossip columnists who "were capable of canonizing a film or destroying a star". She took over the old job of

Hedda Hopper Hedda Hopper (born Elda Furry; May 2, 1885February 1, 1966) was an American gossip columnist and actress. At the height of her influence in the 1940s, her readership was 35 million. A strong supporter of the House Un-American Activities Committ ...

. Haber left the ''Times'' in 1976 to write a roman a clef titled ''The Users''. It was her only novel, rose to the top of the

New York Times Bestseller List ''The New York Times'' Best Seller list is widely considered the preeminent list of best-selling books in the United States. John Bear, ''The #1 New York Times Best Seller: intriguing facts about the 484 books that have been #1 New York Times ...

, and was made into a tele-film with the same name. She was married to television producer

Douglas S. Cramer Douglas Schoolfield Cramer (August 22, 1931 – June 4, 2021) was an American television producer who worked for Paramount Television and Spelling Television, producing series such as '' Mission: Impossible'', ''The Brady Bunch'', and ''Dynasty''. ...

from 1966-1972 and had two children, Douglas S. Cramer III and Courtney Cramer, with him. In 1994, Cramer attempted to produce a two-act play about their marriage entitled ''The Last Great Dish'' but failed to get it off the ground. Haber was instrumental in an

FBI The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice, t ...

black-op that led to the suicide of actor

Jean Seberg Jean Dorothy Seberg (; ; November 13, 1938August 30, 1979) was an American actress who lived half of her life in France. Her performance in Jean-Luc Godard's 1960 film ''Breathless'' immortalized her as an icon of French New Wave cinema. Seb ...

. According to ''

Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large na ...

'' journalist

Betty Medsger Betty Medsger is an author and investigative reporter. Medsger is the author of several books, including ''The Burglary: The Discovery of J. Edgar Hoover's Secret FBI''. Medsger was instrumental in uncovering the work of COINTELPRO and secret acti ...

(''The Burglary: The Discovery of J. Edgar Hoover's Secret FBI'', published 2014), Haber agreed in 1970 to plant an unfounded rumour in her column to the effect that Seberg's pregnancy was the result of a liaison with a leader of the Black Panther Party. This was to be in retaliation for Seberg's public support of the Black Panther Party. Seberg miscarried shortly afterwards, and thereafter suffered from depression which ultimately led to her suicide in 1979.Betty Medsger, born 1942, The Burglary: The Discovery of J. Edgar Hoover's Secret FBI, e-book 2014.

Filmography

References

American columnists American women novelists 1931 births 1993 deaths American women non-fiction writers American women columnists 20th-century American women 20th-century American people {{US-writer-stub