Celebrity Sex Therapist Dr. Ruth Coming To Forest Hills

FOREST HILLS, QUEENS -- America's favorite celebrity sex therapist, Dr. Ruth, will bring her blunt, humor-laced words of wisdom to Forest Hills next month.

Dr. Ruth, whose full name is Ruth Westheimer, will take the stage at Central Queens Y on Oct. 15 to share her remarkable life story, as told in her autobiography, "The Doctor Is In: Dr. Ruth on Love, Life and Joie De Vivre."

The 90-year-old sex therapist, who made a name for herself hosting the hit radio show "Sexually Speaking" and several other cable TV shows, will delve into her lesser known past as a Holocaust orphan and trained sniper during Israel's War of Independence.

Her appearance is part of a series of Author Talks sponsored by the community center at 67-09 108th St.

Westheimer is widely regarded as a pioneer for frank public discussion about sex. Her media career began in 1980 with the hit radio show, "Sexually Speaking" on WYNY, which quickly topped local ratings and was eventually syndicated nationwide by NBC Radio, who renamed it "The Dr. Ruth Show." The radio show lasted a decade before she transitioned into cable TV.

She has since gone on to author more than 40 books on a range of topics, including sex, Ethiopian Jews, Bedouin women and Islam.

"Dr. Ruth is a beloved icon of her generation," Peggy Kurtz, director of the Central Queens Y Cultural Arts Programs, told Patch. "But what makes her so beloved is her humor. She is blunt, but also very funny."

Westheimer's talk at the community center will start at 1:30 p.m. on Oct. 15. It is open to the public, and a $10 donation is requested.

For more information, contact the Central Queens Y at 718-268-5011 or pkurtz@cqy.org.

Lead photo by Michael Loccisano/Getty Images