Laura Catherine Schlessinger (born January 16, 1947) is an American
talk radio
Talk radio is a radio format containing discussion about topical issues and consisting entirely or almost entirely of original spoken word content rather than outside music. Most shows are regularly hosted by a single individual, and often featur ...
host and author. ''The Dr. Laura Program'', heard weekdays for three hours on
Sirius XM Radio
Sirius XM Holdings Inc. is an American broadcasting company headquartered in Midtown Manhattan, New York City that provides satellite radio and online radio services operating in the United States. It was formed by the 2008 merger of Sirius Sat ...
, consists mainly of her responses to callers' requests for personal advice and often features her short monologues on social and political topics. Her website says that her show "preaches, teaches, and nags about morals, values, and ethics." She is an inductee to the
National Radio Hall of Fame
The Radio Hall of Fame, formerly the National Radio Hall of Fame, is an American organization created by the Emerson Radio Corporation in 1988.
Three years later, Bruce DuMont, founder, president, and CEO of the Museum of Broadcast Communicati ...
in Chicago.
Schlessinger used to combine her local radio career in Los Angeles with a private practice as a
marriage and family counselor, but after going into national
radio syndication, she concentrated her efforts on ''The Dr. Laura Program'' heard each weekday, and on writing
self-help books. The books ''Ten Stupid Things Women Do to Mess Up Their Lives'' and ''The Proper Care and Feeding of Husbands'' are among her bestselling works. A short-lived television talk show hosted by Schlessinger was launched in 2000. In August 2010, she announced that she would end her syndicated radio show in December 2010.
Her show moved to the
Sirius XM Stars
Sirius is the brightest star in the night sky. Its name is derived from the Greek word , or , meaning 'glowing' or 'scorching'. The star is designated α Canis Majoris, Latinized to Alpha Canis Majoris, and abbreviated Alpha CM ...
satellite radio channel on January 3, 2011. Schlessinger announced a "multiyear" deal to be on satellite radio. On November 5, 2018, her radio program moved to the Sirius XM Triumph Channel 111.
Early life
Schlessinger was born in the New York City borough of
Brooklyn
Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...
. She was raised in Brooklyn and later on
Long Island
Long Island is a densely populated island in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, part of the New York metropolitan area. With over 8 million people, Long Island is the most populous island in the United Sta ...
. Her parents were Monroe "Monty" Schlessinger, a
Jewish American civil engineer, and Yolanda (née Ceccovini) Schlessinger, a
Catholic
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
war bride
War brides are women who married military personnel from other countries in times of war or during military occupations, a practice that occurred in great frequency during World War I and World War II.
Among the largest and best documented examp ...
from Italy.
Schlessinger has said her father was charming and her mother beautiful as a young woman.
She has a sister, Cindy, who is 11 years her junior. Schlessinger has described her childhood environment as unloving and unpleasant, and her family as dysfunctional. She has ascribed some of the difficulty to extended family rejection of her parents' mixed faith Jewish-Catholic marriage.
Schlessinger said her father was "petty, insensitive, mean, thoughtless, demeaning, and downright unloving". She described her mother as a person with "pathological pride", who "was never grateful", who "would always find something to criticize," and who "constantly expressed disdain for men, sex, and love".
She credited her father with giving her the drive to succeed.
Schlessinger attended
Westbury High School and
Jericho High School
Jericho High School is an American comprehensive public high school in the hamlet of Jericho in Nassau County, New York. It is the only high school in the Jericho Union Free School District. It opened in 1959.
As of the 2014-15 school yea ...
, where she showed an interest in science. She received a
bachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...
from
Stony Brook University.
Moving to
Columbia University
Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...
for graduate studies, she earned a master's and PhD in
physiology
Physiology (; ) is the scientific study of functions and mechanisms in a living system. As a sub-discipline of biology, physiology focuses on how organisms, organ systems, individual organs, cells, and biomolecules carry out the chemical ...
in 1974. Her
doctoral thesis
A thesis ( : theses), or dissertation (abbreviated diss.), is a document submitted in support of candidature for an academic degree or professional qualification presenting the author's research and findings.International Standard ISO 7144: ...
was on
insulin
Insulin (, from Latin ''insula'', 'island') is a peptide hormone produced by beta cells of the pancreatic islets encoded in humans by the ''INS'' gene. It is considered to be the main anabolic hormone of the body. It regulates the metabolism o ...
's effects on
laboratory rat
A laboratory rat or lab rat is a brown rat of the subspecies '' Rattus norvegicus domestica'' which is bred and kept for scientific research. While less commonly used for research than mice (see laboratory mouse), rats have served as an importa ...
s.
After she began dispensing personal advice on the radio, she obtained training and certification in marriage and family counseling from the
University of Southern California
The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in C ...
, where she worked in the biology department, and a therapist's license from the State of California. In addition, she opened up a part-time practice as a marriage and family therapist.
[The California Department of Consumer Affairs' Board of Behavioral Science']
Online License / Registration Verification
shows that she holds a Marriage And Family Therapist license, issued January 11, 1980, expiration February 28, 2013.
Radio career
Schlessinger's first appearance on radio was in 1975 when she called in to a
KABC show hosted by
Bill Ballance
Willis Bennett Ballance (October 27, 1918 – September 23, 2004) was an American radio talk show host.
Ballance was born in Peoria, Illinois, and studied journalism at the University of Illinois before serving in the United States Marines., R ...
. Impressed by her quick wit and sense of humor, Ballance began featuring her in a weekly segment. Schlessinger's stint on Ballance's show led to her own shows on a series of small radio stations. By 1979, she was on the air Sunday evenings from 9:00 to midnight on
KWIZ
KWIZ (96.7 FM) is a commercial radio station licensed to Santa Ana, California, and broadcasting to the Los Angeles- Orange County area. KWIZ airs a Spanish Christian radio format branded as "Vision Latina 96.7 FM". It is currently owned by Es ...
in
Santa Ana, California. That year, the ''Los Angeles Times'' described her show as dealing with all types of emotional problems, "though sex therapy is the show's major focus".
[(free abstract, article available for a fee)]
In the late 1980s, Schlessinger was filling in for
Barbara De Angelis
Barbara De Angelis (born March 4, 1951) is an American relationship consultant, lecturer and author, TV personality, relationship, personal growth adviser and spiritual teacher.
Biography
De Angelis received a Ph.D. in psychology from Columbia P ...
' noon-time, relationship-oriented talk show in Los Angeles on
KFI
KFI (640 AM broadcasting, AM) is a radio station in Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, owned and operated by iHeartMedia, Inc. It began operations in 1922 and became one of the first high-powered, clear-channel station, clear-channel List of ...
,
while working weekends at KGIL in
San Fernando
San Fernando may refer to:
People
*Ferdinand III of Castile (c. 1200–1252), called ''San Fernando'' (Spanish) or ''Saint Ferdinand'', King of Castile, León, and Galicia
Places Argentina
*San Fernando de la Buena Vista, city of Greater Buenos ...
. Her big break came when
Sally Jessy Raphael
Sally Lowenthal (born February 25, 1935), better known as Sally Jessy Raphael, is an American former tabloid talk show host known for her program '' Sally'' (originally called ''The Sally Jessy Raphael Show'').
Early life and education
Lowent ...
began working at ABC Radio, and Maurice Tunick, former vice president of talk programming for the
ABC Radio Networks ABC Radio may refer to:
Australia
* History of ABC Radio (Australia), the division of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) responsible for:
** ABC Classic, a classical music radio station
** ABC Classic 2, an un-presented streaming-only c ...
, needed a regular substitute for Raphael's evening personal-advice show. Tunick chose Schlessinger to fill in for Raphael.
Schlessinger began broadcasting a daily show on KFI, which was nationally
syndicated in 1994 by Synergy, a company owned by Schlessinger and her husband. In 1997, Synergy sold its rights to the show to
Jacor
Jacor Communications was a media corporation, existing between 1987 and 1999, which owned many radio stations in the United States. In 1998, Jacor was purchased by Clear Channel Communications, now iHeartMedia, for $2.8 billion.
Jacor Communica ...
Communications, Inc., for $71.5 million.
Later, Jacor merged with
Clear Channel Communications and a company co-owned by Schlessinger, Take on the Day, LLC, acquired the production rights. The show became a joint effort between Take on the Day, which produced it,
Talk Radio Network
Talk Radio Network (TRN) was an independent radio producer and syndicator of news and talk radio programming headquartered in Central Point, Oregon. TRN consists of a number of associated companies, which have launched or re-built some of the U ...
, which syndicated and marketed it to radio stations, and
Premiere Radio Networks
Premiere Networks (formerly Premiere Radio Networks, shortened as PRN) is an American media company, a wholly owned subsidiary of iHeartMedia, for which it currently serves as its main original radio content distribution and production arm. I ...
, (a subsidiary of Clear Channel), which provided satellite facilities and handled advertising sales. As of September 2009, Schlessinger broadcast from her home in
Santa Barbara, California
Santa Barbara ( es, Santa Bárbara, meaning "Saint Barbara") is a coastal city in Santa Barbara County, California, of which it is also the county seat. Situated on a south-facing section of coastline, the longest such section on the West Co ...
, with
KFWB
KFWB (980 AM) is a commercial radio station in Los Angeles, California. It airs a classic Regional Mexican music format. KFWB is owned by Lotus Communications. The station has a colorful history, being the radio voice of Warner Bros. Studios i ...
as her flagship station.
Podcast
A podcast is a program made available in digital format for download over the Internet. For example, an episodic series of digital audio or video files that a user can download to a personal device to listen to at a time of their choosing ...
s and live streams of the show have been available on her website for a monthly fee, and the show was also on
XM Satellite Radio
XM Satellite Radio (XM) was one of the three satellite radio ( SDARS) and online radio services in the United States and Canada, operated by Sirius XM Holdings. It provided pay-for-service radio, analogous to subscription cable television. Its se ...
.
At its peak, ''The Dr. Laura Program'' was the second-highest-rated radio show after ''
The Rush Limbaugh Show
''The Rush Limbaugh Show'' is an American conservative talk radio show hosted by Rush Limbaugh. Since its nationally syndicated premiere in 1988, ''The Rush Limbaugh Show'' became the highest-rated talk radio show in the United States. At its ...
'', and was heard on more than 450 radio stations.
Writing in 1998, Leslie Bennett described the popularity of the show:
In 2010—her last year on terrestrial radio—she was still No. 5.
In May 2002, the show still had an audience of more than 10 million, but had lost several million listeners in the previous two years as it was dropped by
WABC and other affiliates, and was moved from day to night in cities such as Seattle and Boston. These losses were attributed in part to Schlessinger's shift from giving relationship advice to lecturing on morality and conservative politics. Pressure from gay rights groups caused dozens of sponsors to drop the radio show, as well.
In 2006, Schlessinger's show was being aired on about 200 stations.
As of 2009, it was tied for third place along with ''The
Glenn Beck Program
''Glenn'' (previously titled ''The Glenn Beck Program'') is a news talk and political opinion show on TheBlaze hosted by Glenn Beck. It is produced and recorded at TheBlaze studios in Dallas, TX. The show originally ran on CNN Headline News fr ...
'' and ''
The Savage Nation
''The Savage Nation'' (also called ''The Michael Savage Show'') was an American conservative talk radio show hosted by Michael Savage. The program was heard by approximately 11 million listeners a week, which made it the 7th most listened to radi ...
''.
Schlessinger used "Hot Talkin' Big Shot", a song by country and blues singer and songwriter
Nikki Hornsby
Nikki Hornsby is an American musician. She has been active in the pop, Americana, country, and blues genres as a songwriter, singer, and guitarist. She is a Broadcast Music, Inc. associated songwriter and has written over 1000 songs.
Early y ...
, for several years as cue music for her radio program and for a national radio commercial advertising for the show. She also used "
New Attitude" by
Patti LaBelle.
On August 17, 2010, during an appearance on ''
Larry King Live
''Larry King Live'' was an American television talk show hosted by Larry King on CNN from 1985 to 2010. It was the channel's most watched and longest-running program, with over one million viewers nightly.
Mainly aired from CNN's Los Angeles ...
'', Schlessinger announced the end of her radio show, saying that her motivation was to "regain her First Amendment rights",
and that she wanted to be able to say what is on her mind without "some special interest group deciding this is a time to silence a voice of dissent."
Several of her affiliates and major sponsors had dropped her show after her on-air use of a racial epithet on August 10 (see
below). Specifically, she said, "
-word n-word n-wordis what you hear
n rap"
On January 3, 2011, Schlessinger's show moved exclusively to
Sirius XM Radio
Sirius XM Holdings Inc. is an American broadcasting company headquartered in Midtown Manhattan, New York City that provides satellite radio and online radio services operating in the United States. It was formed by the 2008 merger of Sirius Sat ...
.
[ ]
She currently offers a short podcast of the "Call of the Day" from her SiriusXM daily show, and it is ranked in the top 25 "Kids and Family" podcasts on iTunes
Television show
In 1999, Schlessinger signed a deal with
Paramount Domestic Television
Paramount Domestic Television (PDT) was the television distribution arm of American television production company Paramount Television, once the TV arm of Paramount Pictures. It was formed in 1982 originally as Paramount Domestic Television and V ...
to produce a syndicated talk show titled ''Dr. Laura'', which was carried in major markets by
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...
's
owned and operated stations and in 96% of the nation's markets overall for fall 2000.
This was viewed as something of a coup by Paramount, as they felt that a popular personality such as Schlessinger could be the spark they needed to sell themselves as a daytime syndication powerhouse rivaling
King World
King World Productions, Inc. (also known as King World Entertainment, King World Enterprises, or simply King World) was a production company and syndicator of television programming in the United States independently established in 1964 until acq ...
and
Warner Bros. Television
Warner Bros. Television Studios (operating under the name Warner Bros. Television; formerly known as Warner Bros. Television Division) is an American television production and distribution studio of the Warner Bros. Television Group division of ...
, which distributed the popular topical talk show ''
The Oprah Winfrey Show
''The Oprah Winfrey Show'', often referred to as ''The Oprah Show'' or simply ''Oprah'', is an American daytime broadcast syndication, syndicated talk show that aired nationally for 25 seasons from September 8, 1986, to May 25, 2011, in Chicag ...
'' and the variety talk show ''
The Rosie O'Donnell Show
''The Rosie O'Donnell Show'' is an American daytime variety television talk show created, hosted, and produced by actress and comedian Rosie O'Donnell. It premiered on June 10, 1996, and concluded after six seasons on May 22, 2002.
This talk sh ...
''.
Leading up to the September 11, 2000, premiere of ''Dr. Laura'', Schlessinger created a significant amount of controversy. In the months before the premiere of her TV show, Schlessinger called homosexuality a "biological error", said that homosexuality was acceptable as long as it was not public, and said that homosexuals should
adopt older children. She also expressed her view that "a huge portion of the male homosexual populace is predatory on young boys."
Schlessinger was frequently criticized in
LGBT
' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity.
The LGBT term is a ...
media for these views.
Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation
GLAAD (), an acronym of Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, is an American non-governmental media monitoring organization originally founded as a protest against defamatory coverage of gay and lesbian demographics and their portrayals ...
, an LGBT media watchdog group, began monitoring Schlessinger's on-air comments about LGBT people, posting transcripts of relevant shows on its website.
In March 2000, a group of gay activists launched StopDrLaura.com, an online campaign with the purpose of convincing Paramount to cancel ''Dr. Laura'' prior to its premiere.
The group protested at Paramount studios, stating her views were offensively
bigoted
Discrimination is the act of making unjustified distinctions between people based on the groups, classes, or other categories to which they belong or are perceived to belong. People may be discriminated on the basis of race, gender, age, rel ...
. StopDrLaura.com organized protests in 34 cities in the U.S. and Canada,
and picked up on an advertiser boycott of the radio and the TV shows started by another grass-roots organization which called itself "Silence Of The Slams" operating its boycott through AOL Hometown.
On
Yom Kippur
Yom Kippur (; he, יוֹם כִּפּוּר, , , ) is the holiest day in Judaism and Samaritanism. It occurs annually on the 10th of Tishrei, the first month of the Hebrew calendar. Primarily centered on atonement and repentance, the day's ...
in 2000, Dr. Laura said she "deeply
egrettedthe hurt this situation has caused the gay and lesbian community" and asked for forgiveness, while abstaining from offering a retraction of her words.
''Dr. Laura'' premiered to low ratings and unkind reviews. Critics and viewers complained that the format had been dumbed down and did not stand out from any other daytime talk show. The biting rhetoric that worked well on radio seemed overly harsh for face-to-face discourse, owing to the normal sympathetic nature of most other daytime hosts; the radical change in Schlessinger's demeanor from her radio persona left viewers cold. The television show failed to generate the energy and interest of Schlessinger's radio show.
The credibility of Schlessinger's television program also suffered during its first month, when the ''
New York Post
The ''New York Post'' (''NY Post'') is a conservative daily tabloid newspaper published in New York City. The ''Post'' also operates NYPost.com, the celebrity gossip site PageSix.com, and the entertainment site Decider.com.
It was established ...
'' reported that Schlessinger had used show staff to falsely pose as guests on the show. A September 25, 2000, episode named "Readin', Writin', and Cheatin'" featured a so-called college student who specialized in professional note-taking. On the next day's show, "Getting to the Altar," the same guest appeared in different hair and makeup and said she was a woman living with her boyfriend. In fact, the woman was San-D Duchas, a researcher for the show whose name appeared in the closing credits of the shows on which she posed as a guest.
By November 2000, advertisers that had committed to Schlessinger's show had pulled their support due to plummeting ratings.
[ ] CBS was displeased enough with the ratings that it began looking to either drop the series or move it to late-night slots on its stations within two months of its premiere. Other stations outside of CBS did the same thing, while others moved it to weaker sister stations. ''Dr. Laura'' aired its last first-run episode on March 30, 2001, on the stations that continued to air it, with reruns continuing until September 2001.
In 2004, Schlessinger said that although the money and celebrity in television is greater, it is not as meaningful or intimate as radio, and for her, television was a "terrible experience".
Publications
Columns
For several years, Schlessinger wrote a weekly column syndicated by
Universal Press Syndicate
Universal Press Syndicate (UPS), a subsidiary of Andrews McMeel Universal, was an independent press syndicate. It distributed lifestyle and opinion columns, comic strips and other content. Popular columns include Dear Abby, Ann Coulter, Roger Ebe ...
that was carried in many newspapers, and in ''
Jewish World Review
''Jewish World Review'' is a free, online magazine updated Monday through Friday (except for legal holidays and holy days), which seeks to appeal to "people of faith and those interested in learning more about contemporary Judaism from Jews who t ...
''. She discontinued the column in July 2000, citing lack of time due to her upcoming television show.
She wrote a monthly column for ''
WorldNetDaily
''WND'' (formerly ''WorldNetDaily'') is an American far-right fake news website. It is known for promoting falsehoods and conspiracy theories, including the false claim that former President Barack Obama was not born in the United States.
Th ...
'' between 2002 and 2004, with one entry in 2006.
[
] In 2006, Schlessinger joined the ''
Santa Barbara News-Press'', writing biweekly columns dealing with Santa Barbara news, as well as general news and cultural issues discussed on her radio show. She suspended the column in mid-2007, resumed writing it later, then discontinued it in December 2008.
She currently writes columns on her blog, on a variety of topics.
Books
Schlessinger has written 13 books for adults and four for children. Several follow the mold of her successful ''Ten Stupid Things Women Do to Mess Up Their Lives'', with similarly named books giving advice for men, couples, and parents, while others are more moral in orientation.
Magazine
For several years, Schlessinger published a monthly magazine, ''Dr. Laura Perspective''. She was the editor, her husband a contributing photographer, and her son the creative consultant.
The magazine has ceased publication.
Schlessinger was invited to the editorial board of
Skeptic
Skepticism, also spelled scepticism, is a questioning attitude or doubt toward knowledge claims that are seen as mere belief or dogma. For example, if a person is skeptical about claims made by their government about an ongoing war then the ...
magazine in 1994 after taking a stand against
recovered memory therapy
Recovered-memory therapy (RMT) is a catch-all term for a controversial and scientifically discredited form of psychotherapy that critics say utilizes one or more unproven therapeutic techniques (such as psychoanalysis, hypnosis, journaling, past ...
, but resigned abruptly in 1998 after it published an issue on ''The God Question,'' insisting to its publisher
Michael Shermer
Michael Brant Shermer (born September 8, 1954) is an American science writer, historian of science, executive director of The Skeptics Society, and founding publisher of ''Skeptic'' magazine, a publication focused on investigating pseudoscientifi ...
that there can be no question about God's existence.
Website
Schlessinger has a website that contains hints for stay-at-home parents, her blog, a reading list, and streaming audio of her shows (by subscription only). When it was started, 310,000 people tried to access it simultaneously and it crashed.
Certain aspects of
feminism
Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social equality of the sexes. Feminism incorporates the position that society prioritizes the male po ...
are often discussed on her website; she was a self-proclaimed feminist in the 1970s, but is now opposed to feminism.
Charitable work
Schlessinger created the Laura Schlessinger Foundation to help abused and neglected children in 1998. Schlessinger regularly asked her on-air audience to donate items for ''My Stuff'' bags, which go to children in need. All other donations came from other people or groups, usually in the form of donated items for the bags. Per the foundation's reports, money not used for operations was directed toward
pro-life organizations, such as
crisis pregnancy centers. In September 2004, Schlessinger announced that she was closing down the foundation because it had become too difficult and costly for her husband and her to underwrite, and they wished to devote their "energies and resources to other pressing needs".
In 2007, Schlessinger began fundraising for Operation Family Fund, an organization that aids the families of fallen or seriously injured veterans of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. In 2008, she helped raise more than $1 million for the organization.
In 2017, Dr. Laura began donating proceeds from the sale of jewelry and glass art she designs and hand makes to Children of Fallen Patriots Foundation, a charitable organization that provides college scholarships to military children who lost a parent in the line of duty.
Awards
She was the first woman to win the
Marconi Award :''"Marconi Award" links here. Note that in the Netherlands, the radio academy awards are also called Marconi Awards.''
The Marconi Radio Awards are presented annually by the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) to the top radio stations and ...
for Network/Syndicated Personality of the Year (1997). In 1998 she received the American Women in Radio & Television's Genii Award. She was on the'' Forbes'' top 100 list of celebrities in 2000 with estimated earnings of $13 million.
[ ] In September 2002, the industry magazine ''
Talkers
''Talkers Magazine'' is a trade-industry publication related to talk radio in the United States. Its slogan is "The Bible of Talk Radio and the New Talk Media". In addition to radio, it also covers talk shows on broadcast and cable television, a ...
'' named Schlessinger as the seventh-greatest radio talk-show host of all time. In 2005
and 2008,
Schlessinger received a National Heritage award from the
National Council of Young Israel
The National Council of Young Israel (NCYI) or Young Israel (in Hebrew: , ''Yisrael Hatza'ir''), is a synagogue-based Orthodox Judaism organization in the United States with a network of affiliated "Young Israel" synagogues. Young Israel was found ...
in March 2001.
She also received the
National Religious Broadcasters
National Religious Broadcasters (NRB) is an international association of evangelical communicators. While theologically diverse within the evangelical community, NRB members are linked through a Declaration of Unity that proclaims their joint comm ...
Chairman's Award, and has lectured on the national conservative circuit. She was the commencement speaker at
Hillsdale College in June 2002, and was awarded an honorary degree as a doctor of tradition and culture.
In 2007, Schlessinger was given an Exceptional Public Service award by the Office of the U.S. Secretary of Defense. In 2008,'' Talkers'' presented her with an award for outstanding community service by a radio talk-show host.
Schlessinger most recently was named to the National Radio Hall of Fame, Class of 2018. Schlessinger and Nanci Donnelan (the Fabulous Sports Babe) are the first two women with their own national radio shows to be inducted into the National Radio Hall of Fame.
Religious beliefs
Born to a Jewish father and an Italian Catholic mother, Schlessinger was raised in Brooklyn in a home that was without religion.
Schlessinger was not religious until she started to practice
Conservative Judaism in 1996.
In 1998, Schlessinger, Bishop, and their son converted to
Orthodox Judaism
Orthodox Judaism is the collective term for the traditionalist and theologically conservative branches of contemporary Judaism. Theologically, it is chiefly defined by regarding the Torah, both Written and Oral, as revealed by God to Moses ...
.
[Although Schlessinger's father was Jewish, her mother was not, thus, she was not a Jewish under Jewish law, and conversion was required for her to become an Orthodox Jew.] and began instruction under
Rabbi Reuven P. Bulka of
Ottawa, Ontario
Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...
, Canada. During this time, Schlessinger sometimes used Jewish law and examples to advise her callers about their moral dilemmas. She occasionally clarified ethical and moral issues with her local Orthodox Rabbi Moshe D. Bryski, before mentioning them on the air. She was embraced by many in the politically conservative segment of Orthodox Judaism for bringing more awareness of Orthodoxy to her radio show. Some of her expressed views were explicitly religious and are referenced her 1999 book ''The Ten Commandments: The Significance of God's Laws in Everyday Life''.
In July 2003, Schlessinger announced on her show that she was no longer an Orthodox Jew, but that she was still Jewish.
Marriage and family life
Schlessinger met and married Michael F. Rudolph, a dentist, in 1972 while she was attending Columbia University. The couple had a
Unitarian ceremony. Separating from Rudolph, Schlessinger moved to
Encino, California
Encino (Spanish for "oak") is a neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley region of Los Angeles, California.
History
In 1769, the Spanish Portolá expedition, first Europeans to see inland areas of California, traveled north through Sepulveda ...
in 1975, when she obtained a job in the science department at the
University of Southern California
The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in C ...
. Their divorce was finalized in 1977.
In 1975, while working in the labs at USC, she met Lewis G. Bishop, a professor of
neurophysiology
Neurophysiology is a branch of physiology and neuroscience that studies nervous system function rather than nervous system architecture. This area aids in the diagnosis and monitoring of neurological diseases. Historically, it has been dominated b ...
, who was married and the father of three children.
Bishop separated from his wife and began living with Schlessinger the same year. Schlessinger has vociferously proclaimed her disapproval of unwed couples "shacking up" and having children out of wedlock. According to her friend Shelly Herman, "Laura lived with Lew for about nine years before she was married to him."
His divorce was final in 1979. Bishop and Schlessinger married in 1985. Herman says that Schlessinger told her she was pregnant at the time, which Herman recalls as "particularly joyful because of the happy news."
Schlessinger's only child, a son named Deryk, was born in November 1985. Schlessinger's husband died November 2, 2015, after being ill for 1.5 years.
In the late 1980s, when her son was almost 4, Schlessinger began training in
Hapkido
Hapkido ( , , also spelled ''hap ki do'' or ''hapki-do''; from Korean 합기도 ''hapgido'' ) is a hybrid Korean martial art. It is a form of self-defense that employs joint locks, grappling, throwing techniques, kicks, punches, and other s ...
under Sayed Qubadi, and had earned a black belt in that art by 1993.
Schlessinger was estranged from her sister for years, and many thought she was an only child.
She had not spoken to her mother for 18 to 20 years before her mother's death in 2002 from heart disease.
Her mother's remains were found in her Beverly Hills condo about two months after she died,
and lay unclaimed for some time in the Los Angeles morgue before Schlessinger had them picked up for burial.
Concerning the day that she heard about her mother's death, she said: "Apparently she had no friends and none of her neighbors were close, so nobody even noticed! How sad."
In 2006, Schlessinger wrote that she had been attacked in a "vulgar, inhumane manner by media types" because of the circumstances surrounding her mother's death, and that false allegations had been made that she was unfit to dispense advice based on
family values. She said that she had not mourned the deaths of either of her parents because she had no emotional bond to them.
Controversies
Libel lawsuit
In 1998, Schlessinger was in a Costa Mesa surf shop with her son when she began perusing the skateboarding magazine ''
Big Brother''. On her radio program, Schlessinger declared the magazine to be "stealth pornography". When the owner of the store publicly denied that she found pornography in his store, Schlessinger sued him for lying, claiming that his denial had hurt her reputation. When the case went to court, the judge dismissed her suit, but the shop owner's $4 million defamation
countersuit
In a court of law, a party's claim is a counterclaim if one party asserts claims in response to the claims of another. In other words, if a plaintiff initiates a lawsuit and a defendant responds to the lawsuit with claims of their own against th ...
lodged for hurting the reputation of his store was allowed to stand. The suit has since been settled, but the terms of the settlement have not been revealed.
Internet publication of nude photos
In 1998, Schlessinger's early radio mentor,
Bill Ballance
Willis Bennett Ballance (October 27, 1918 – September 23, 2004) was an American radio talk show host.
Ballance was born in Peoria, Illinois, and studied journalism at the University of Illinois before serving in the United States Marines., R ...
, sold
nude photos of Schlessinger to a company specializing in internet porn. The photos were taken in the mid-1970s, while Schlessinger was involved in a brief affair with the then-married Ballance.
["Feisty Bill Ballance says a snub by ex-lover Dr. Laura Schlessinger made him sell nude photos of her."] Schlessinger sued after the photos were posted on the internet, claiming invasion of privacy and copyright violation. The court ruled that Schlessinger did not own the rights to the photos. She did not appeal the ruling. She told her radio audience that she was embarrassed, but that the photos were taken when she was going through a divorce and had "no moral authority."
Opposition to homosexuality
Over the years, Schlessinger expressed opposition to homosexuality based on biblical scripture, at one point referring to homosexual behavior as "products of a biological disorder". Her rhetoric eventually prompted an open letter penned in the year 2000 responding to her position that used text of Bible decrees.
Use of racial slur
On August 10, 2010, Nita Hanson, a black woman married to a white man, called Schlessinger's show to ask for advice on how to deal with a husband who did not care when she was the subject of racist comments by acquaintances. Schlessinger first replied that "some people are hypersensitive" and asked for some examples from the caller. Hanson informed Schlessinger that her acquaintances had stated, "How you black people do this? You black people like doing that." Schlessinger responded that her examples were not racist and that "a lot of blacks only voted for Obama simply because he was half black. Didn't matter what he was going to do in office; it was a black thing. You gotta know that. That's not a surprise." Schlessinger continued by telling the caller that she had a "chip on
ershoulder," was "sensitive," and also, "Don't NAACP me," and, "a lot of what I hear from black-think ... it's really distressing and disturbing."
[CNN]
Dr. Laura's rant: In her own words
August 13, 2010. Retrieved February 12, 2012.
When the caller noted that she was referred to as the "n-word" by the individuals in question, Schlessinger complained that blacks are fine with cordially using the slur among themselves, but that it was wrong when whites used it to slur them. In doing so, she uttered "
nigger
In the English language, the word ''nigger'' is an ethnic slur used against black people, especially African Americans. Starting in the late 1990s, references to ''nigger'' have been progressively replaced by the euphemism , notably in cases ...
" 11 times, albeit not directed at the caller. She discussed the word and its use by blacks and in black media. When Hanson asked, "Is it ever OK to say that word?" Schlessinger responded, "It depends how it's said. Black guys talking to each other seem to think it's OK." After the call Schlessinger said, "If you're that hypersensitive about color and don't have a sense of humor, don't marry out of your race."
Early that evening, she wrote an apology to Los Angeles Radio People online journalist Don Barrett. A day later, as soon as she was back on the air, Schlessinger apologized.
Hanson questioned the motivation and sincerity of Schlessinger's apology, believing it to be result of being "caught."
Hanson also said that Schlessinger did not apologize for her comments on interracial marriage.
Schlessinger announced in August 2010 that, while not retiring from radio, she would end her radio show at the end of 2010:
In 2011, she began broadcasting on
satellite radio with Sirius XM.
[ Her program is also available as a podcast at ]iTunes
iTunes () is a software program that acts as a media player, media library, mobile device management utility, and the client app for the iTunes Store. Developed by Apple Inc., it is used to purchase, play, download, and organize digital mul ...
and from her own website.
Bibliography
Advice books:
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
Religious books:
*
*
*
Children's books
* ''Why Do You Love Me?''. With Martha Lambers, illustrated by Daniel McFeeley. HarperCollins. 1999. pp. 40. .
* ''But I Waaannt It!''. Illustrated by Daniel McFeeley. HarperCollins. 2000. pp 40. .
* ''Growing Up Is Hard''. Illustrated by Daniel McFeeley. HarperCollins. 2001. pp. 40. .
* ''Where's God?'' Illustrated by Daniel McFeeley. HarperCollins. 2003. pp. 40. .
Fictional portrayals
In January 1992, Schlessinger played herself in the ''Quantum Leap
''Quantum Leap'' is an American science fiction television series, created by Donald P. Bellisario, that premiered on NBC and aired for five seasons, from March 26, 1989, to May 5, 1993. The series stars Scott Bakula as Dr. Sam Beckett, a phys ...
'' season four episode "Roberto!".
In 1999, Schlessinger was parodied as Dr. Nora on the sitcom ''Frasier
''Frasier'' () is an American television sitcom that was broadcast on NBC for 11 seasons. It premiered on September 16, 1993, and ended on May 13, 2004. The program was created and produced by David Angell, Peter Casey, and David Lee (as Grub ...
''. The character was portrayed as having dogmatic and fundamentalist social views that promoted social conservatism. The character was also shown to have a degree that belies her therapeutic advice and was estranged from her mother.
A fictional, non-speaking depiction of Schlessinger is briefly seen in ''The Simpsons
''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical depiction of American life, epitomized by the Simpson family, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, ...
'' eleventh season episode "Treehouse of Horror X
"Treehouse of Horror X" is the fourth episode of the eleventh season of the American animated television series ''The Simpsons'', and the tenth annual ''Treehouse of Horror'' episode, consisting of three self-contained segments. It first aired on ...
", as one of the useless people put on a rocketship headed for the Sun.
In 2000, in the episode "The Midterms
The second season of the American political drama television series ''The West Wing'' aired in the United States on NBC from October 4, 2000 to May 16, 2001 and consisted of 22 episodes.
Production
The second season made frequent use of flashba ...
" on ''The West Wing
''The West Wing'' is an American serial political drama television series created by Aaron Sorkin that was originally broadcast on NBC from September 22, 1999, to May 14, 2006. The series is set primarily in the West Wing of the White Hous ...
'', the fictional "Dr. Jenna Jacobs" is scolded by President Bartlet, who criticizes her views on homosexuality, and points out she is not a doctor in any field related to morality, ethics, medicine or theology. He quotes from the Bible to point out the inconsistency of condemning certain sins but not others. Show creator Aaron Sorkin
Aaron Benjamin Sorkin (born June 9, 1961) is an American playwright, screenwriter and film director. Born in New York City, he developed a passion for writing at an early age. Sorkin has earned an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, five Primetime ...
admitted to modeling Bartlet's diatribe on an anonymous "Letter to Dr. Laura," which was a popular viral email
A viral email (also known as a "pass-along email") is an email which rapidly propagates from person to person, generally in a word-of-mouth manner. It is an example of a viral phenomenon, which is used for profit in viral marketing, but can also c ...
at the time.
A fictionalised version of Schlessinger is featured as an antagonist in the 2000 animated series '' Queer Duck''.
In 2001, Schlessinger was portrayed on the claymation show Celebrity Deathmatch
''Celebrity Deathmatch'' is an adult stop-motion claymated series created by Eric Fogel and produced by John Worth Lynn Jr. for MTV. A parody of sports entertainment programs, ''Celebrity Deathmatch'' depicted various celebrities engaging in ...
on the episode, A Night of Vomit. She was in a fight with Ellen DeGeneres
Ellen Lee DeGeneres ( ; born January 26, 1958) is an American comedian, television host, actress, writer, and producer. She starred in the sitcom ''Ellen'' from 1994 to 1998, which earned her a Primetime Emmy Award for " The Puppy Episode". Sh ...
; she lost.
See also
* Culture war
A culture war is a cultural conflict between social groups and the struggle for dominance of their values, beliefs, and practices. It commonly refers to topics on which there is general societal disagreement and polarization in societal valu ...
* Talk radio in the United States
* Joy Browne
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 syndicated call-in talk show for several decades, heard ...
– radio psychologist
* Toni Grant
Toni, Toñi or Tóni is a unisex given name.
In Spanish, Italian, Croatian and Finnish, it is a masculine given name used as a short form of the names derived from Antonius like Antonio, Ante or Anttoni.
In Danish, English, Finnish, Norwegia ...
– radio psychologist
* Santa Barbara News-Press controversy
The ''Santa Barbara News-Press'' controversy refers to a series of events starting after businesswoman Wendy P. McCaw bought the '' Santa Barbara News-Press'' from The New York Times Company in 2000. McCaw proceeded to oversee some of the newspap ...
References
External links
Official website
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Schlessinger, Laura
Living people
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