Sue Johanson, the groundbreaking Canadian sex educator, broadcaster, and therapist, has passed away at age 93.
Johanson, a registered nurse, established and ran a first-of-its-kind birth control clinic at a Don Mills high school in the 1970s, before rising to popularity with her call-in show, the Sunday Night Sex Show, on Q107 (CILQ-FM) Toronto in the 1980s.
The show eventually made the transition to television, airing on Rogers TV, starting in 1985, before being picked up by the Women’s Television Network (WTN) in 1996 where it had a 10-year run. The U.S. version of the show, Talk Sex with Sue Johanson, debuted on Oxygen in 2002 where it aired until 2008.
Sue Johanson was for so many people the first person they ever heard speak frankly about sex on TV or radio without any kind of judgment or moralizing.
Here she is on Conan in 2006.
RIP to a Canadian icon. pic.twitter.com/cOMQxnqIPo
— Mike Beauvais (@MikeBeauvais) June 29, 2023
As part of her introduction to U.S. audiences, Johanson infamously made the rounds on the late night talk shows, with appearances on Late Show with David Letterman, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, and Late Night with Conan O’Brien.
Johanson was the subject of filmmaker Lisa Rideout’s 2022 documentary, Sex with Sue, chronicling the educator’s life story. Among other accolades, she was appointed to the Order of Canada in 2001.
My catholic school upbringing left a lot to be desired when it came to sex ed.
“Canada’a Naughty Grandma” Sue Johanson filled the gaps and made sure a kid like me wasn’t left behind.
She was basically the Mr. Dress-Up for curious Canadian teens. pic.twitter.com/Xdp4X8W9AO
— Courtney Theriault (@cspotweet) June 29, 2023
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