Ruth Westheimer, sex therapist, known to millions as ‘Dr.’ Know by the name of. Ruth dies at the age of 96

His death was confirmed by Pierre Lehu, a publicist and his co-author of several books, but the reason for the denial became well known.

Known as the first celebrity sex therapist, Dr. Westheimer was over 50 when she debuted with “Sexually Speaking” on New York’s WYNY in 1980. The radio program initially aired in 15-minute installments and was later syndicated and extended to 2 hours to address questions received from callers. Many listeners claimed that he had saved their marriages.

Cable TV viewers knew her as the lead, matronly host of “Good Sex with Dr. Ruth Westheimer” in the 1980s and as a prominent guest on late-night talk shows. At 4 feet 7 inches tall, she would often sit outstretched on a seat adorned with beads and eagerly offer advice about best practices in the sack.

“Have good sex!” She belted out her instantly recognizable German-influenced voice.

Dr. Westheimer’s Old World accent, sometimes incongruous with his discussion of intimate anatomy and its uses, was one of his few major lines before coming to America. Born into an Orthodox Jewish community in Germany, she survived the Holocaust in a Swiss orphanage, where her parents sent her before they died.

Dr. Westheimer once advised an interviewer, “I realized that since I wasn’t killed by the Nazis – because I survived – I had an obligation to make a splash in the world.” She added that she did not know that once it came to light, she would have to “talk about sex from morning till night.”

After the conflict, she went to Israel, where she joined the Haganah paramilitary group fighting for the Jewish state (and where, she said, she lost her virginity in a meadow). Then the strikes took her to France and untouched York, where she learned English before studying counselling.

After Dr. Westheimer taught college classes on human sexuality to a producer at WYNY, an NBC affiliate asked him for a 15-minute segment, the first to air on Sundays at midnight. Within a generation, she had graduated to the 10 pm to 11 pm slot. Early enthusiasts wore T-shirts that read, “Sex on Sunday?” Absolutely!”

The sexual revolution that started 20 years ago has freed hundreds of men from taboos but has also played a significant role in reducing problems such as erectile disorder and inability to achieve orgasm. Just as Julia Kidd was charging TV crowds to teach French cooking, Dr. Westheimer took to the radio waves to explain lovemaking techniques in simple terms.

She was not the first on-air therapist; The Joyce Brothers, through a past, preceded him. However, very little, if any, can match Dr. Westheimer’s blend of candor and enthusiasm. Furthermore, he surmised, society found him dangerous.

“If I were a tall blonde in a miniskirt and décolleté,” she told the Sunday Times of London, “if I were young and pretty, it wouldn’t work.”

Dr. Westheimer advised his listeners that “anything two consenting adults do in the privacy of their bedroom is fine by me.” Masturbation, fantasies, love dolls – they’ve all been wonderful through her.

Once, Newsweek Fiction reported his reaction when he was asked for his opinion on a particular unconventional sexual relationship. “What’s wrong,” he replied, “as long as there’s a connection with peanut butter or with the new use of onion rings?”

His main fear was safety. The Untouchable York Times recorded the response of a young girl who, like many others, had called because she was thinking about losing her virginity.

“Don’t do it,” said Dr. Westheimer. “I heard in your question that he is pressuring you. Listen to that inner voice that says you might want to wait. Tell her that Dr. Westheimer told you that you can hug, kiss, hug, and caress, but you’re not ready yet.

Whenever she was able, Dr. Westheimer warned the woman, she should no longer forgo a good contraceptive.

Many screams came from people of the other gender. The two issues that Dr. Westheimer has paid most attention to over the years are premature ejaculation and the inability to maintain an erection.

“Men, you are all ignorant!” He once said. “You are constantly worried about penis size. Let’s shout it from the rooftops: Penis size has nothing to do with a woman’s sexual satisfaction.

It was impossible to resist him when it came to parody, including “Saturday Night Live.” Some psychological status professionals warned that it was impossible for them to correctly diagnose or make recommendations to a person in a short-term trade made immediately.

Dr. Westheimer countered that she was merely educating listeners so they could resist unintended pregnancy, avoid sexual weakness, and strengthen their sex lives. Apart from the critics, it was almost unanimous: he made excellent television.

TV critic Tom Shales once wrote, “Once you’ve had sex with Dr. Ruth, can it be this good with anyone else?”

Carola Ruth Siegel, a child genius, was born on June 4, 1928 in Frankfurt, Germany.

He said he first learned about sex when he found an illustrated book in his father’s library, which his parents had tried to keep out of his reach. It was a book called “Perfect Marriage: Its Physiology and Technique”, which was common in the nineteen twenties. Dutch gynecologist guides you through th. H. Van de Velde. Far from stopping her, she said, her Orthodox Jewish upbringing taught her that sex inside marriage was great.

An hour after Kristallnacht in 1938, the Nazis took her father to a concentration camp. “I was looking out the window,” she advised London Parent, “and I saw my father climb onto a covered truck… He forced himself to smile and that was the last time I saw him.” Was.”

She saw her mother for the last generation from the window of the train that took her and her fellow Jewish children to Switzerland. He remembered his grandmother running beside him near the stage.

In a children’s home, surrounded by children who were also disadvantaged in their own homes, “Carola” shared her knowledge on topics such as menstruation. For several years, she continued to receive letters from her community about the orphanage. In the future, there was opposition from the newspapers.

Like many surviving alternative European Jews, he attempted to create a new brand while living in Israel. “I never killed anyone,” she once told USA TODAY about her Haganah provider, “but I know how to throw grenades and shoot.” Once in a skirmish she was badly injured by a cannon ball fragment.

She married David, an Israeli soldier, and moved with him to France, where before divorcing she studied psychology at the Sorbonne. In the mid-1950s, she immigrated to America with her French boyfriend named Dan, whom she married after becoming pregnant. Besides, he has also been divorced. In 1961, she married Manfred Westheimer, also a refugee from Nazi Germany, who died in 1997.

She worked as a maid party to further her education, earning a master’s degree in sociology at the Untouchable School for Social Analysis in 1959 and a doctorate in education from the Academics School, Columbia University, in 1970. One of his mentors was Helen Singer Kaplan. Pace-setters in psychological treatment.

During the early years of her practice, Dr. Westheimer worked intentionally with parenthood and, as a sex training teacher, made a strong point in sexual healing. For years she ran a personal counseling program along with her broadcasting system. His franchise included a series of best-selling books, including “Dr.” Was also included. Ruth’s Guide to Good Sex,” “Sex for Dummies” and “Dr. Ruth’s Sex After 50: Uncovering Romance, Passion and Excitement!”

Her book “First Love: A Young People’s Guide to Sexual Information”, published in 1985, incorrectly indicated that “the safe time (for sex) is the week before ovulation and the week of ovulation.” An Untouchable Jersey librarian made a typo – the alleged contract was unsafe – leading to the recall of more than 100,000 books.

Dr. Westheimer said on the future, “Even big shots like me make mistakes.”

There once was a Dr. Ruth board entertainment and a Dr. Ruth video cassette. She took inspiration from Mark St. Germain’s play “Becoming Dr. Ruth” and played prominent cameo roles in television and film.

The survivors came with two children and four grandchildren.

Once, an interviewer asked Dr. Westheimer what he thought his legacy would be.

“I think people would say he had courage – in the Jewish tradition, it’s called chutzpah. He had the courage to talk about things that other people were too worried to talk about,” he told The “I don’t mind if people get turned on by my radio show,” she told the publication. “I think it’s great. Don’t let boredom enter your bedroom.