Famed American TV sex therapist Dr. Ruth dies at 96, reports Washington Post

Dr. Ruth Westheimer, the lively and petite therapist who became a pop culture icon encouraging Americans to engage in safe, frequent, and creative sex, has passed away at the age of 96, as reported by the Washington Post.

Westheimer, popularly known as “Dr. Ruth,” died on Friday at her Manhattan residence, according to the newspaper citing her publicist.

A refugee from Nazi Germany, she first discovered sex at the age of 10, having taken her parents’ “marriage manual” from a locked cabinet. This early curiosity paved the way for a career that granted her international fame through books, instructional videos, lectures, academic positions, a radio show, television appearances, a syndicated column, and even a “Good Sex” board game.

Standing at just 4 feet 7 inches with a distinct German accent and ceaseless cheerfulness, Dr. Ruth championed the joys of good, great, and particularly safe sex.

Her first intimate experience occurred at 17 in a hayloft on a kibbutz under a starry night. She recalled this vividly in her 2001 autobiography “All in a Lifetime,” highlighting that the first experience can be very enjoyable when two people are in love.

A staunch advocate of contraception, she reflected on her lack of concern about birth control in her early encounters and chose not to reveal her partner’s identity, as she stayed friends with him and his wife.

Westheimer was herself the result of an unplanned, out-of-wedlock pregnancy. Her mother, working as a housekeeper for Westheimer’s father’s family in Frankfurt, Germany, became pregnant, leading the young couple to eventually marry. Karola Ruth Siegel was born on June 4, 1928.

When Westheimer was 10, the Nazis came to their Frankfurt home and took her father away. Six weeks later, her mother sent her to an orphanage in Switzerland. In 1941, the letters from her parents ceased, and she later learned they had been victims of the Holocaust.

At 16, she emigrated to what was then Palestine and joined Haganah, a Jewish paramilitary organization. She learned skills such as assembling a rifle in the dark and trained as a sniper. However, she never used these skills in combat, although she was injured in a bombing in Jerusalem.

She married an Israeli soldier, moved to Paris to attend college, but eventually divorced. She then relocated to New York with a boyfriend, married him, had a daughter, and continued her education. After another divorce, she married Manfred Westheimer, an engineer, in 1961. That marriage lasted until Manfred’s death in 1997 and produced a son.

Westheimer earned a doctorate in education and started working for Planned Parenthood, catching the eye of a New York radio station executive during a lecture on contraception.

This opportunity led to a weekly 15-minute midnight radio program called “Sexually Speaking” in 1980. The advice show addressed sensitive topics like orgasms, condoms, and sexual dysfunction, quickly gaining Westheimer a devoted following. Her experience, quirky voice and accent, combined with her cheerful sign-off of “good sex!” won over listeners.

Her popularity grew, leading to numerous TV talk show appearances and eventually her own show. She often likened herself to a Jewish mother who spoke explicitly.

Dr. Ruth believed that people should do whatever they were comfortable with sexually, as long as it was between consenting adults and practiced with proper contraception. Her own personal beliefs, however, were conservative.

She described herself as old-fashioned and a square, emphasizing her belief in love, relationships, and long-term commitments in a 2003 National Geographic interview.

Dr. Ruth authored nearly 40 books, including titles such as “Sex for Dummies,” “Dr. Ruth’s Sex After 50,” “Heavenly Sex: Sexuality in the Jewish Tradition,” “Dr. Ruth’s Encyclopedia of Sex,” and “Dr. Ruth’s Top Ten Secrets for Great Sex.”

Source: Reuters