Sally Jessy Raphael facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Sally Jessy Raphael
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Raphael in 2012
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| Born |
Sally Ray Lowenthal
February 25, 1935 Easton, Pennsylvania, U.S.
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| Occupation | Talk show host |
| Years active | 1959–2024 |
| Spouse(s) |
Andrew Vladimir
(m. 1956; div. 1963)Karl Soderland
(m. 1963; died 2020) |
| Children | 3 |
Sally Lowenthal (born February 25, 1935), known to many as Sally Jessy Raphael, is a famous American talk show host. She is best known for her popular TV program, Sally, which was first called The Sally Jessy Raphael Show.
Contents
Early Life and Learning
Sally Lowenthal was born on February 25, 1935, in Easton, Pennsylvania. She went to and finished high school there. She also spent some time in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Her father worked in the rum business, and her mother ran an art gallery. Sally has a younger brother named Steven.
When she was a teenager, Sally lived in Scarsdale, New York. One of her first jobs in media was at a local radio station, WFAS. In the late 1950s, this station had a show for junior high students. Sally got to read the news on the radio.
She later studied at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. She also went to the University of Puerto Rico in San Juan. Sally studied acting in New York City. She also graduated from Columbia University in New York City.
She chose her mother's last name, Raphael, for her professional name. She added "Jessy" from her father's family as a middle name to make her name unique.
Her Career in Media
Starting in Journalism
After finishing college, Sally became a news reporter. She covered news in Central America. She could do this because she had connections in Puerto Rico. She also spoke both English and Spanish very well. This helped her work for big news companies like Associated Press (A.P.) and United Press International (U.P.I.).
She also gained a lot of experience in Puerto Rico. She worked in both radio and television there. One of her first TV jobs was hosting a cooking show.
While working in radio, she met Karl Soderlund. He later became her second husband. He was the manager of a radio station that hired her. After Karl lost his job, they moved to Miami, Florida. While Sally was on the radio in Miami, she became friends with the famous talk show host Larry King.
Sally worked for many radio stations. She was a disc jockey, a news reporter, and hosted shows where she interviewed famous people. In the early 1980s, she started a call-in advice show on WMCA in New York City.
In 1989, she appeared as herself on the TV show The Equalizer. She interviewed someone who supported gun control.
Becoming a Talk Show Host
Sally's husband, Karl Soderlund, became her manager. He helped her with her two biggest successes. She hosted a radio call-in advice show from 1981 to 1987. This show was part of NBC Talknet.
However, Sally is most famous for her TV talk show, The Sally Jessy Raphael Show. It was later called Sally. This show ran from October 17, 1983, to May 24, 2002.
In August 1981, Sally had a trial run for a radio show. She decided to give advice and talk about relationships. Soon, her advice show was on over 200 radio stations. She gained many loyal fans.
One of her fans was the famous talk show host Phil Donahue. He heard her show and liked how she connected with her audience. His encouragement led to her trying out for TV. She got a chance to be a guest host on a talk show. People who loved her radio show were very happy to see her on TV.
By October 1983, Sally got her own show in St. Louis. The Sally Jessy Raphael Show was only 30 minutes long. But it was the start of her very successful career as a TV talk show host.
Sally became known for her large red-framed glasses. This became her trademark by accident. When she had her first news job, she had trouble reading the teleprompter. Five minutes before going on air, she quickly bought some reading glasses. The only pair she could afford was a big red one. Even though station managers didn't like them, the audience did. So, she kept wearing that style.
In 1991, Sally and her talk show appeared in the movie The Addams Family.
By March 2002, it was announced that her show would be canceled after 18 years. In 2002, Talkers Magazine named Sally Jessy Raphael one of the 25 Greatest Radio Talk Show Hosts of all time. She was also named one of the 25 Greatest Television Talk Show Hosts of all time. She was one of only three people to be on both lists.
From about 2005 to 2008, she hosted a daily radio show called Sally Jessy Raphael on Talknet. This show was on the internet and on local radio stations. The show ended on July 7, 2008.
On November 10, 2010, Sally Jessy Raphael was a guest on The Oprah Winfrey Show. Other famous talk show hosts like Phil Donahue and Geraldo Rivera were also there.
In 2014, Sally hosted a web series called Sally Jessy Rides. In 2024, she made a short appearance in the TV episode "Everybody Still Hates Drew’s Brother."
Personal Life
Sally was first married in 1956 to Andrew Vladimir. They divorced seven years later. They had two daughters, Allison and Andrea. They also had two grandsons, Max and Kyle. Sadly, Allison passed away unexpectedly in 1992 at age 33.
Sally married Karl Soderlund in 1963. He later became her manager. They adopted a son named Jason. They also fostered three other children. Sally and Karl were married for 57 years until Karl passed away in 2020.
