Helen Keane
Encyclopedia
Helen “Happy” Faith Keane Reichert (November 11, 1901 – September 25, 2011) was an American talk show personality, New York University
Professor, founder of The Round Table of Fashion Executives, and the oldest living alumnus of Cornell University
at the time of her death.
of New York City
to Polish immigrants. As a young girl, she participated in the Girl Scouts of the United States of America (GSUSA) and had the distinction of being a member of the first Girl Scout Troop to sell World War I war bonds.
In 1925, Reichert graduated Phi Beta Kappa with a degree in English from the College of Arts and Sciences at Cornell University. During her undergraduate career, she lived in Risley Hall on East Hill
. Moreover, according to her caretaker Olive Villaluna, Reichert worked in the cafeteria because “she was ashamed of asking her parents for money to buy cigarettes.” She also participated in the women’s crew team and is, according to IvyLeagueSports.com, “arguably the program’s most well-known alumna.”
In 1931, Reichert earned a master’s degree in psychology from Columbia University Teacher’s College.
, where she taught “Fashion Co-ordination” and a self-created course called “Costume History.”
She is credited with co-founding the Round Table of Fashion Executives in 1949. As a result of the growing Fashion Group International, it became increasingly difficult to network with other women in the industry. The purpose of the group was to give women a voice, making it possible for female executives in the field to come together to exchange ideas.
In addition, for six years, she worked as a copyrighter for Bloomingdale’s, ultimately rising to the position of Fashion Coordinator. She later transferred to Montgomery Ward
, a mail-order catalog and retail company, and worked as a fashion coordinator.
The viewing audience sent in questions or problems to the show. Reichert along with the production staff would construct a show around popular topics sent in by viewers; each episode featured experts in the relevant field. Examples of topics covered by the daily program were cooking, housekeeping advice, how to play piano, narcotics, and talking to one’s doctor about breast cancer. Because the show was designed to benefit the community, it performed a great deal of public outreach, including promoting the League of Women Voters
and garnering donations for the Volunteers of America
.
In 1951, her show was awarded the McCall Golden Mike Award for “Women in Radio and Television.” According to the description on the cover of the program of the award ceremony,
“The McCall’s Awards to Women in Radio and Television,[…]are the only awards given exclusively to women Broadcasters and Executives for public service accomplishments in the communications field. Judged solely on evidence submitted by the contestants, [the award][…] set a publishing precedent. McCall’s is the only magazine with a national circulation which has ever paid tribute to the public service record of any group in radio and television.”
One of the judges, Senator Margaret Chase Smith of Maine, stated “The material was inspiring evidence of what women can do, and are doing, for our country and our people.”
(founded in 1949), and served as its executive director from 1952-1962. Much of his rare diagnostic medical equipment and personal archives (correspondence, publications, notebooks, biographical information, minutes and transactions of the Board of Trustees of the American College of Cardiology, research, and other miscellaneous literature) were donated by his wife to Weill Cornell and are on permanent display in the college’s faculty room. Dr. Reichert died on March 19, 1985 at the age of 87. The couple bore no children.
Helen Reichert founded the Helen F. Reichert Scholarship, awarded to medical students of Weill Cornell, in honor of her husband, who resolved to become a doctor after watching a doctor tend to his dying father. In order to put himself through school, her husband needed to work multiple jobs but ended with a life-long, happy career. Helen Reichert stated her hope was to “help someone else reach that dream.”
Helen Reichert had three siblings: sister Lee and brothers Irving and Peter. The four siblings were centenarians.
She is survived by her two centenarian brothers, Irving (105) and Peter (102). In her will, she bequeathed her body to research at Weill Cornell Medical College. In addition, she bequeathed a $100,000 gift to the Residential Initiative in support of Cornell's West Campus House System. The Reichert Suite in Carl Becker House is named in her honor. In lieu of flowers, she requested that donations be made to Cornell Medical College.
New York University
New York University is a private, nonsectarian research university based in New York City. NYU's main campus is situated in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan...
Professor, founder of The Round Table of Fashion Executives, and the oldest living alumnus of Cornell University
Cornell University
Cornell University is an Ivy League university located in Ithaca, New York, United States. It is a private land-grant university, receiving annual funding from the State of New York for certain educational missions...
at the time of her death.
Early life
Helen Reichert (given name: Helen Faith Kahn) was born on November 11, 1901 on Attorney Street in the Lower East SideLower East Side
The Lower East Side, LES, is a neighborhood in the southeastern part of the New York City borough of Manhattan. It is roughly bounded by Allen Street, East Houston Street, Essex Street, Canal Street, Eldridge Street, East Broadway, and Grand Street....
of New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
to Polish immigrants. As a young girl, she participated in the Girl Scouts of the United States of America (GSUSA) and had the distinction of being a member of the first Girl Scout Troop to sell World War I war bonds.
In 1925, Reichert graduated Phi Beta Kappa with a degree in English from the College of Arts and Sciences at Cornell University. During her undergraduate career, she lived in Risley Hall on East Hill
East Hill
East Hill could refer to:* East Hill, Kent* East Hill, a village amalgamated into Brome Lake, Quebec...
. Moreover, according to her caretaker Olive Villaluna, Reichert worked in the cafeteria because “she was ashamed of asking her parents for money to buy cigarettes.” She also participated in the women’s crew team and is, according to IvyLeagueSports.com, “arguably the program’s most well-known alumna.”
In 1931, Reichert earned a master’s degree in psychology from Columbia University Teacher’s College.
Career in the fashion industry
In 1947, Reichert began her thirty-year-long teaching career at The Graduate School of Retailing at New York UniversityNew York University
New York University is a private, nonsectarian research university based in New York City. NYU's main campus is situated in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan...
, where she taught “Fashion Co-ordination” and a self-created course called “Costume History.”
She is credited with co-founding the Round Table of Fashion Executives in 1949. As a result of the growing Fashion Group International, it became increasingly difficult to network with other women in the industry. The purpose of the group was to give women a voice, making it possible for female executives in the field to come together to exchange ideas.
In addition, for six years, she worked as a copyrighter for Bloomingdale’s, ultimately rising to the position of Fashion Coordinator. She later transferred to Montgomery Ward
Montgomery Ward
Montgomery Ward is an online retailer that carries the same name as the former American department store chain, founded as the world's #1 mail order business in 1872 by Aaron Montgomery Ward, and which went out of business in 2001...
, a mail-order catalog and retail company, and worked as a fashion coordinator.
Broadcasting career
In 1951, Reichert hosted the award-winning TV talk show, “FYI: The Helen Faith Keane Show,” airing on New York City’s Channel 5. The show resulted from Reichert’s dissatisfaction with a male commentator from a fashion show broadcast over the DuMont network whom she believed was “uninformed and condescending on the topic.” She telephoned the company and was told that if she felt she could do a better job, she should come down to the station and try it herself. She agreed. Over lunch, the producer, Keith Thomas, offered her a show.The viewing audience sent in questions or problems to the show. Reichert along with the production staff would construct a show around popular topics sent in by viewers; each episode featured experts in the relevant field. Examples of topics covered by the daily program were cooking, housekeeping advice, how to play piano, narcotics, and talking to one’s doctor about breast cancer. Because the show was designed to benefit the community, it performed a great deal of public outreach, including promoting the League of Women Voters
League of Women Voters
The League of Women Voters is an American political organization founded in 1920 by Carrie Chapman Catt during the last meeting of the National American Woman Suffrage Association approximately six months before the Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution gave women the right to vote...
and garnering donations for the Volunteers of America
Volunteers of America
Volunteers of America, based in Alexandria, Virginia, is a national, nonprofit, faith-based human services organization providing support programs to more than two million people throughout the United States each year...
.
In 1951, her show was awarded the McCall Golden Mike Award for “Women in Radio and Television.” According to the description on the cover of the program of the award ceremony,
“The McCall’s Awards to Women in Radio and Television,[…]are the only awards given exclusively to women Broadcasters and Executives for public service accomplishments in the communications field. Judged solely on evidence submitted by the contestants, [the award][…] set a publishing precedent. McCall’s is the only magazine with a national circulation which has ever paid tribute to the public service record of any group in radio and television.”
One of the judges, Senator Margaret Chase Smith of Maine, stated “The material was inspiring evidence of what women can do, and are doing, for our country and our people.”
Personal and family life
In 1939, fourteen years after graduating from Cornell University, Reichert married cardiologist Dr. Philip Reichert, M.D. (Weill Cornell Medical College ’23). Her husband was a founding member, trustee, and governor of The American College of CardiologyAmerican College of Cardiology
The American College of Cardiology is a nonprofit medical association established in 1949 to advocate for quality cardiovascular care through education, research promotion, development and application of standards and guidelines, and to influence health care policy...
(founded in 1949), and served as its executive director from 1952-1962. Much of his rare diagnostic medical equipment and personal archives (correspondence, publications, notebooks, biographical information, minutes and transactions of the Board of Trustees of the American College of Cardiology, research, and other miscellaneous literature) were donated by his wife to Weill Cornell and are on permanent display in the college’s faculty room. Dr. Reichert died on March 19, 1985 at the age of 87. The couple bore no children.
Helen Reichert founded the Helen F. Reichert Scholarship, awarded to medical students of Weill Cornell, in honor of her husband, who resolved to become a doctor after watching a doctor tend to his dying father. In order to put himself through school, her husband needed to work multiple jobs but ended with a life-long, happy career. Helen Reichert stated her hope was to “help someone else reach that dream.”
Helen Reichert had three siblings: sister Lee and brothers Irving and Peter. The four siblings were centenarians.
Death
Helen Reichert died of natural causes on the night of Sunday, September 25, 2011 in her Park Avenue apartment in New York City at the age of 109. Olive Villaluna, her caretaker for over eleven years, stated that Reichert passed away “as she had wanted to, comfortably in her chair with a smile.”She is survived by her two centenarian brothers, Irving (105) and Peter (102). In her will, she bequeathed her body to research at Weill Cornell Medical College. In addition, she bequeathed a $100,000 gift to the Residential Initiative in support of Cornell's West Campus House System. The Reichert Suite in Carl Becker House is named in her honor. In lieu of flowers, she requested that donations be made to Cornell Medical College.
As a subject of genetic research
Because Helen Reichert and her siblings were all centenarians (the youngest, Lee Kahn, died at the age of 101), researchers have been studying them to see if longevity is correlated to genetics. Geneticist Nir Barzilai, a researcher who studied the biology of aging for over a decade, included the Kahn siblings and other Ashkenazi Jews in his research. He asked the pool about the details of their living habits: nutrition, alcohol consumption, smoking, physical activity, sleep, education, status, and spirituality. Barzilai and the team of researchers at Einstein’s Institute for Aging Research discovered three genes common to the centenarians that may be the key to their long life. The first is a gene that increases the amount of good cholesterol HDL (High-density lipoprotein) to two to three times higher than average, which Barzilai believes is part of the reason for the siblings’ mental acuity at an old age. The second is a gene that slows metabolism as a result of a mildly underactive thyroid. The last is a mutation in axis, a human growth hormone that could possibly protect against age-related diseases such as cancer.Trivia
- Reichert has confessed that there is no reason why she should have lived as long as she did. She hated vegetables, getting up early, and most things associated with living a healthy lifestyle. She loved rare hamburgers, chocolate, cocktails, and nightlife in New York, including exotic restaurants, Broadway shows, movies, and the Metropolitan Opera. She smoked for over eighty years.
- Reichert saw Albert EinsteinAlbert EinsteinAlbert Einstein was a German-born theoretical physicist who developed the theory of general relativity, effecting a revolution in physics. For this achievement, Einstein is often regarded as the father of modern physics and one of the most prolific intellects in human history...
eating Jell-O in a Princeton dining hall. - Reichert loved to play and listen to piano music; she especially loved ragtime.
- Oprah requested the Kahn family to appear on her show. Reichert’s sister Lee never heard of the Oprah Show before; after explaining what it was, according to an interview with Reichert, Lee replied, “Don’t people have anything better to do than watch television,” and that “only fools watched television in the afternoon.”