76: Bad Blood: Ann Landers, Dear Abby Feud Goes Public (Part 3)

For a few years, the feud between twin sisters Ann Landers and Dear Abby was an industry secret. That changed in 1958, when Life Magazine printed a story that exposed the rivalry. In the article, Abby shared stories that weren’t hers to tell. She talked about Ann’s nose job. She talked about Ann’s broken engagement.

Abby told the reporter, “I understand why she’s disturbed. She wanted to be the first violin in the school orchestra, but I was. She swore she’d marry a millionaire, but I did.”

From that point on, the sisters’ feud became part of their permanent public narrative.

Remember, kids, history hoes always cite their sources! For this episode, Kristin pulled from:
The book “Dear Ann, Deary Abby: The Unauthorized Biography of Ann Landers and Abigail Van Buren” by Jan Pottker and Bob Speziale
“Twin lovelorn advisers torn asunder by success,” by Paul O’Neil for Life Magazine
The book, “The Best of Ann Landers: Her Favorite Letters of All Time,” by Ann Landers
The book, “The Best of Dear Abby,” by Abigail Van Buren
“Pauline Phillips, better known as ‘Dear Abby,’ dies at 94,” Washington Post
“Ann Landers, advice giver to the millions, is dead at 83,” by Margalit Fox for the New York Times
“The rivalry of Dear Abby and Ann Landers,” by Melissa Baron for BookRiot.com
“Landers’ death renews family feud,” South Florida Sun Sentinel
“Pauline Phillips, longtime Dear Abby advice dies at 94,” by Michael Martinez for CNN
“Columnists/ daughters carry on the feud,” by Beverly Beyette for the Los Angeles Times
“Competition between Iowa sisters who penned Dear Abby, Ann Landers fueled advice columns,” Des Moines Register

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