Dr. Ruth Westheimer, TV Sex Guru, Dies at 96
variety.comPat Saperstein Deputy EditorRuth Westheimer, who brought frank talk about sex into America’s living rooms for the first time as radio and television talk show host Dr.
Ruth, has died. She was 96.Westheimer died on Friday at her home in New York City, a spokesperson told the New York Times. The diminutive educator with a thick German accent was known for dispensing explicit, down-to-earth advice on matters that weren’t previously discussed on-air.Westheimer hosted at least five shows on Lifetime and other cable stations from 1984 to 1993, and wrote dozens of books on sex.The college professor was already in her 50s when she started her radio show on New York radio station WYNY in 1980.
She later said that being middle-aged probably helped her be accepted as an expert rather than a sex object, as discussing erotic pleasure was largely taboo on radio and television before her show.
Debuting as a 15-minute segment at midnight on Saturdays, the advice show quickly gained popularity and by 1984 it was syndicated nationwide as “The Dr.
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