We are saddened by the passing of the incomparable Ruth Westheimer – cultural trailblazer, and a treasured friend of 92NY for more than 40 years. Dr. Ruth first appeared on our stage in June 1983. “Sexually Speaking,” her live call-in radio show, had risen to the Number 1 spot in the New York market and Susan Engel, Executive Director, Recanati-Kaplan Talks, invited her to come for a talk. “It was at the very beginning of what would become 92NY Talks. I had just started a lecture series for singles on Sunday evenings, and I thought she was someone singles would want to listen to.”
Dr. Ruth Westheimer and Susan Engel backstage at 92NY, 1983
Annette Insdorf, Columbia film professor and Moderator of 92NY’s Reel Pieces, first met Dr. Ruth a year later. “We became close friends,” said Insdorf, adding, “It was Dr. Ruth who presented the award when 92NY honored me at the 2006 Gala for 20 years of Reel Pieces.” Insdorf interviewed Dr. Ruth twice at 92NY. She also greeted her backstage at many Reel Pieces events. “She loved meeting my celebrity guests – Hugh Jackman, Jason Reitman, Jeremy Irons – and they adored meeting her.” Engel says, “She was a guest in the audience so many times. She would always be in the first two rows, and she’d always ask a question about sex! And she was on everyone’s backstage list. When we had Bill and Hillary Clinton here last year, the backstage list was very controlled. The day of the talk we were told President Clinton said, ‘She’s the only one I want backstage.’”
Hugh Jackman, Dr. Ruth Westheimer and Jason Reitman backstage at 92NY
Dr. Ruth appeared with us 16 times over the years, in frank and spirited conversations about sex, and also about her work to counter antisemitism and to teach the lessons of the Holocaust to a new generation. Insdorf introduced Dr. Ruth in her final 92NY Talk with Rabbi Peter Rubinstein in October 2021. “It was for a 92NY Confronts Hate talk that followed a screening of the animated short Ruth: A Little Girl’s Big Journey. “We didn’t know about her personal story when we first met her,” says Engel. “She was a survivor, and a truly amazing woman.” Insdorf says, “She had an insatiable zest for life.” And she was hilarious. When Insdorf asked Dr. Ruth about her focus, “she replied candidly, ‘I have to stay away from politics in order to keep talking about sex.”
In the lobby of 92NY: Annette Insdorf, Dr. Ruth and Jeremy Irons
Onstage at 92NY with Susan Engel, Dr. Ruth and Rabbi Peter Rubinstein
We send our condolences to Dr. Ruth’s family and friends, and invite you to enjoy two of her conversations on our stage, here.
Dr. Ruth with Annette Insdorf: The Doctor Is In, June 8, 2015
Ask Dr. Ruth: Reel Pieces with Annette Insdorf, November 20, 2019