Liz Smith, syndicated gossip columnist, at 94

Liz Smith, the syndicated gossip columnist whose mixture of banter, barbs, and bon mots about the glitterati helped her climb the A-list as high as many of the celebrities she covered, died yesterday at the age of 94.

Joni Evans, Ms. Smith’s literary agent, told The Associated Press she died of natural causes.

For more than a quartercentury, Ms. Smith’s column — titled simply “Liz Smith” — was one of the most widely read in the world. The column’s success was due in part to Smith’s own celebrity status, giving her an insider’s access rather than relying largely on tipsters, press releases and publicists.

With a big smile and her sweet southern manner, the Texas native endeared herself to many celebrities and scored major tabloid scoops: Donald and Ivana Trump’s divorce, Woody Allen and Mia Farrow’s impending parenthood. One item proved embarrassingly premature: In 2012, she released a column online mourning the death of her friend Nora Ephron. But Ephron, who was indeed gravely ill, did not die until a few hours later and an impending tragedy that Ephron had tried to keep secret became known to the world.

Ms. Smith held a lighthearted opinion of her own legacy.

“We mustn’t take ourselves too seriously in this world of gossip,” she told The Associated Press in 1987. “When you look at it realistically, what I do is pretty insignificant.

“Still, I’m having a lot of fun.” After graduating with a degree in journalism from the University of Texas, Ms. Smith recalled buying a one-way ticket to New York in 1949 with a dream of being the next Walter Winchell.

But unlike Winchell and his imitators, Ms. Smith succeeded with kindness and an aversion to cheap shots. Whether reporting on entertainers, politicians or power brokers, the “Dame of Dish” never bothered with unfounded rumors, sexual preferences or who’s-sleeping-with-whom.

“When she escorts us into the private lives of popular culture’s gods and monsters, it’s with a spirit of wonder, not meanness,” wrote Jane and Michael Stern in reviewing Smith’s 2000 autobiography, “Natural Blonde,” for the New York Times Book Review.

But it may have been the question of her own sexuality which kept her from discussing that of the stars. A subject in the gay press for many years, Ms. Smith acknowledged in her 2000 book that she had relationships with both men and women, and confirmed a longrumored, long-term relationship with archaeologist Iris Love.

Born Mary Elizabeth Smith in Fort Worth, Texas, in 1923, she was the daughter of devout Baptist mother and an eccentric father.

She is survived by several nieces and nephews. A memorial service will be held to honor her this spring.