Arts & Entertainment

Miss Cleo dies at 53

infomercial psychic had been battling colon cancer

Published

10 years ago

July 27, 2016

Mariah Cooper

(Screenshot via YouTube)

Famed television psychic Miss Cleo died Tuesday morning in Palm Beach County, Fla., after a battle with colon cancer. She was 53.

Miss Cleo, born Youree Dell Harris in Los Angeles, became an infomercial staple in the late ’90s until the early ’00s as the spokeswoman for Psychic Readers Network. The on-air personality would wear headwraps and colorful garb and use a fake Jamaican accent. Her infomercials became well known for her on-air psychic readings and famous catchphrases “You can’t fool Miss Cleo” and “Call me now.”

The calls claimed to be free, but according to the Federal Trade Commission, customers were charged $4.99 per minute adding up to an average of $60 per call. Nearly six million people fell victim to the charges. The Psychic Readers Network’s parent company reached a settlement with customers in 2002 and the Miss Cleo character retired. Harris would continue on to do private readings with clients.

In 2006, Harris came out as a lesbian in an interview with The Advocate. She told the publication coming out had always been hard for her because of people’s reactions.

“The reason it’s scary is because in my personal experience, black cultures throughout the world have a more difficult time accepting homosexuality in their family,” Harris told The Advocate.

“I have family members who will be shocked; they don’t know. I have some family members who are very close to me, and they do know. But I’ve been afraid of the wrath, of the exile. When I came out to a number of friends in the late ’80s I had a number of friends who turned their backs on me and walked away. That was really intense. I really believed they were my friends,” Harris continued.

Harris appeared in the 2014 documentary “Hotline,” which followed hotline operators and their clients. In the film, she discussed her time as a television psychic and the scandal behind Psychic Readers Network.

“What I loved watching was — and what was most poignant for me — was the connection I made with other people that were featured in the film,” Harris told IndieWire after the film’s premiere. “It really touched me. I’m tickled.”

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FUND LGBTQ JOURNALISM

a&e features

Television loses a legend, longtime ‘Will & Grace’ director James Burrows

Iconic hitmaker leaves behind a legacy of telling LGBTQ stories

Published

8 hours ago

June 23, 2026

Christian Cintron

James Burrows (Photo by kathclick/Bigstock)

You don’t have to be a pretentious film major to name 10 movie directors. But naming television directors is not that simple. They’re the unsung heroes of your favorite shows, and the late James Burrows was the television director. He passed on June 19, but his DNA runs through television history.

He directed over 1200 episodes of television and over 50 pilots. He co-created “Cheers” and directed many episodes of long-running series like “Friends,” “Taxi,” “Frasier,” “The Big Bang Theory,” and “Two and a Half Men.” You also may remember him from playing a heightened version of himself on the Lisa Kudrow comedy “The Comeback.”

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A post shared by James Burrows (@therealjamesburrows)

He has left an indelible mark on the LGBTQ community. As recently as last year, he directed the series run of “Mid-Century Modern” starring Nathan Lane, Matt Bomer, and Linda Lavin. He was also a longtime director of “Will & Grace” and directed every episode of the series revival. He even directed the unaired “Absolutely Fabulous” pilot with Kathryn Hahn, Kristen Johnston, and Zosia Mamet.

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Not to mention he’s worked with queer icons throughout history, including Betty White and Stockard Channing on their single-season series, and Jennifer Coolidge in “2 Broke Girls.”

He started his career on shows like “The Mary Tyler Moore Show,” “Rhoda,” “Laverne & Shirley,” and the first four seasons of “Taxi.”

He continued to work steadily and directed successful pilots that went to series for “Roc,” “3rd Rock From the Sun,” “Dharma & Greg,” and “Wings.” He directed multiple episodes of “Friends,” “Caroline in the City,” and “Frasier.”

This magic continued into the 2000s with him directing the pilots for “Two and a Half Men,” “The Big Bang Theory,” and multiple episodes of “Mike & Molly,” and the entire return series of “Will & Grace.”

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What was the secret to his success? He’d enact the “fun clause” in his contract. In his words, “Life is too short to deal with obnoxious leads,” he shared. “So as long as the writing is good and the cast is fun, I’m going to enjoy the experience.”

He had the magic touch, having multiple pilots turned into long-running series. He was nominated for an Emmy 24 times in 26 years and worked consistently until a year before his death.

The secret was the way he brought the cast together. He describes, “it was my job to mold them into an ensemble, and they did round into a group of people who loved each other.”

This earned him 11 Emmy Awards and five Directors Guild of America Awards, including being awarded the inaugural DGA’s Lifetime Achievement Award for Television Direction.

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In a 2003 interview by the Television Academy, he was asked how he wants to be remembered, and he said, “That every night forever you can tune in somewhere, and there’ll be a show I did.”

He’s survived by his wife, Debbie, four daughters, seven grandchildren, and the countless people whose careers he launched and the countless viewers he inspired with his television legacy.