Were you a fan of the original Dear Abby, and her no-nonsense advice?

by L.A. Times Posted 2013/01/18 16:00:00

Related Topics: San Francisco, Newspaper, Fan, Died, Image, Images, Deodorant, Profiles, Advice, World, SodaHead, Years, Year

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	Yes	642 votes	80%
	No	162 votes	20%

Dear Abby: "What would you do with a man who refuses to use a deodorant, seldom bathes, and doesn't even own a toothbrush?" .... "Absolutely nothing," she replied.

The wry answer from Abigail Van Buren -- the pen name of Pauline Friedman Phillips -- was typical of the advice she dispensed for more than 40 years to newspaper readers around the world through her "Dear Abby" column, which debuted in 1956 in the San Francisco Chronicle. The advice columnist died Wednesday at age 94.

+19

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alexandria 2013/01/19 21:47:59

Yes

+14
She's great!! A wonderful place for people to pour out feelings and seek advice.
>> See Replies

More polls by L.A. Times

Trish 2013/01/31 01:42:46

No

I don't know who she is :(

reply
Red Branch 2013/01/31 01:41:49

Yes

She was never carried in the newspaper I read. I was a fan of her sister though.

reply
jmc07806-PWCM-JLA 2013/01/22 19:44:13

No

I never paid attention to her, but she seemed okay.

reply
B.O.Plenty 2013/01/22 17:32:34

Yes

I looked for her column first when i read the paper. I think she was great right up to her last column.

reply
Muriel 2013/01/22 05:06:13

Yes

Grew up with her and still have many of her columns.

reply
star 2013/01/22 03:58:31

Yes

I just love good advice.

reply
Fashionable60s 2013/01/21 19:43:53

Yes

+1
I found her to be very wise and full of down-to-earth common sensical advices.

reply
QC 2013/01/21 08:16:35

No

Dear Abby, I really enjoyed plowing you last night.

reply
B.O.Plenty to QC 2013/01/22 17:26:46

QC you are just almost as funny as a big dose of VD on a wedding night.,

reply
QC to B.O.Plenty 2013/01/22 19:52:32

Your wife gave you VD on your wedding night? Who was she plowing while you two were engaged?

reply
Wulfdane 2013/01/21 06:40:47 (edited)

Yes

+1
She was married for 73 years, how can I not respect her? You don't remain married for that long without having some good advice to pass on.

reply
Ramón 2013/01/21 06:04:45

Yes

+1
Her kiddos are more liberal than her. She was straightforward and to the point. They often take sides on issues only 1% or 2% of the population care about. Glaad they are there though, but stick to mainstream issues!

reply
C. C. Rider 2013/01/21 00:32:54

Yes

+1
I still read her to this day even tho it is her daughter doing the writing. Just as good. But for me it was Ann Landers

reply
Kigan 2013/01/21 00:13:02 (edited)

Yes

+2
She was a very smart woman, and her no-nonsense attitude was a breath of fresh air. She probably would have laughed if someone suggested she try to be PC.

Some people didn't like her for that - Thankfully, I was never one of those people.

reply
codenamev 2013/01/20 22:10:47

No

+1
I used to read Dear Abby from time to time and almost always found her thinking to be very archaic. That may have been all well and good in the 50's, but once it got into the 80's and 90's, she was still giving the same advice. She wouldn't evolve or adapt; it was usually just the same old thing.

reply
Rosalie 2013/01/20 21:43:51

Yes

+2
I was and her sister Ann Landers!!!!

reply
WhereIsAmerica? ~PWCM~JLA 2013/01/20 21:23:08 (edited)

Yes

I liked her, but only because I thought her ridiculous answers were funny. Then again, I stopped reading her by the mid-80s, lost interest.

reply
Eania 2013/01/20 18:48:00

No

I've read some of her advice, and it was very repetitive. It seemed more like bitterness cloaked in false wisdom. She sounded like she thought herself superior to the people asking, and often answered with a snooty, or even disdainful note to her writing.
Besides that, she typically gave advice that indicated a belief that men weren't worth the trouble.

reply
Commander Pyle 2013/01/20 17:38:31

No

I never became acquainted with her work.

reply
Car1u5 2013/01/20 15:19:55

No

never read it.

reply
rude rudy 2013/01/20 15:07:42
rebeccasrevenge 2013/01/20 14:35:07

No

+2
I loved Dear Abby but my favorite was Dotti her advice was hysterical

reply
Wahvlvke 2013/01/20 14:33:48

Yes

She was not PC ... loved that.

reply
Kurt 2013/01/20 12:54:00

No

Sorry, but the answers she gave were crap.

reply
B.O.Plenty to Kurt 2013/01/22 17:33:52

Would you know a good answer if you saw one?? I seriously doubt it.

reply
SUPREME COSMIC POWER, (SCOPO) 2013/01/20 12:47:39

Yes

RIP Ms. Pauline Friedman AKA Dear Abby

reply
rude rudy to SUPREME... 2013/01/20 15:09:45
Red Rose to rude rudy 2013/01/21 05:06:09

So?

reply
rude rudy to Red Rose 2013/01/21 10:25:50 (edited)
mustangluver 2013/01/20 07:35:34

No

+1
She was a lib...

reply
ServantOfAllah 2013/01/20 03:45:59

No

+2
No. I don't do etiquette. I live by my own rules.

reply
Wretha S 2013/01/20 02:15:46

Yes

+1
I wouldn't say a "fan", but I did read her column growing up, it contained sound advice that is just as good for today as it was for that time.

Wretha

reply
B.O.Plenty to Wretha S 2013/01/22 17:29:52

+1
Right on and she was a lovely lady

reply
Dogzebra 2013/01/20 00:39:22

No

+1
If I want to learn how to deal with my dirty laundry, I'd rather take hints from Heloise.

reply
QC to Dogzebra 2013/01/21 08:17:49

+1
Why is she purple? Is she related to Oompa Lumpas?

reply
rude rudy to Dogzebra 2013/01/21 10:29:13
Torchmanner ~PWCM~JLA 2013/01/20 00:33:05

No

+2
And most people thought she was a nut.

Sure, young people claim that she was really smart, they say that Hitler was intelligent too. Yes, Hitler was a devout evolutionist too.

reply
Servant... to Torchma... 2013/01/20 03:48:02

+1
And we know believing in evolution leads to burning jews!

reply
sockpuppet 2013/01/19 22:26:48

No

+1
She always told people to seek counseling. If they could afford that, they wouldn't be writing to an Agony Aunt column in the first place.

reply
alexandria 2013/01/19 21:47:59

Yes

+14
She's great!! A wonderful place for people to pour out feelings and seek advice.

reply