Had July 13, 2024, been the slow-news day it first seemed, it would have been the moment to remember two greats whose deaths were announced on that date: celebrity sex therapist Dr. Ruth Westheimer (who passed away on Friday) and fitness impresario Richard Simmons (whose body was found by his housekeeper Saturday morning). Instead, someone had to go and attempt to assassinate Donald Trump.

This was also bad for other reasons (political violence, not good for democracy), but let us take this moment to remember the other two so that they not be forgotten for having gone and died on the wrong day. The alternative is to do as a woman on my Toronto streetcar was and watch video of the assassination attempt with an intensity that suggested maybe this lady was going to figure it out on a level that exceeds what forensic experts are capable of.

Dr. Ruth and Richard Simmons seem somehow of a piece. It’s the kitchy wellness angle that was integral to the 1980s—to the point where both got their big breaks as the decade dawned. The corny infotainment of it all. It’s that both are remembered at least as much for their concrete additions to the culture as for their cameo-ready personas. For myself, being born in 1983 means I had given neither of these “gurus” (how obits remember both) much thought, but simply by consuming enough late-20th century pop culture, I could instantaneously summon who they were and what they were all about.

And both had similar gimmicks. Shticks. They seemed like they would not be experts in the thing they were there to teach you about. A little old Jewish refugee lady (she was 4-foot-7) in conservative attire was going to speak openly and knowledgeably about........

© Canadian Jewish News