Gossip queen of N.Y. tabloids
LIZ SMITH, 1923 - 2017
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 Sunday at the age of 94.
Joni Evans, Smith’s literary agent, told the Associated Press she died of natural causes.
For more than a quartercentury, 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, news 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, including Donald and Ivana Trump’s divorce. 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.
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, Smith recalled buying a oneway ticket to New York in 1949 with a dream of being the next Walter Winchell.
But unlike Winchell and his imitators, 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 orientation or who’s-sleeping-with-whom.
But it may have been the question of her own sexuality that kept her from discussing that of the stars. Smith acknowledged in her 2000 autobiography, “Natural Blonde,” that she had relationships with both men and women, and confirmed a long-term relationship with archaeologist Iris Love.
Born Mary Elizabeth Smith in Fort Worth in 1923, she was the daughter of a devout Baptist mother and an eccentric father. Smith said her dad received his divine inspiration more from the race track than the pulpit.
As a young girl, Smith quickly fell in love with the silver screen.
After a brief marriage, Smith earned her journalism degree and headed off for New York with two suitcases and $50.
For nearly 30 years, Smith bounced from job to job as a publicist, an assistant and a ghostwriter.
Smith ultimately wrote for nine New York newspapers and dozens of magazines, but a stint writing for Cosmopolitan led to her break. While establishing herself as an authority on Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton, Smith attracted the attention of the New York Daily News.
She started her own column at the tabloid in 1976. A gossip star was born.
In 1978, during a strike at the News, Smith helped usher in the era of celebrity journalism on television by joining WNBC-TV for three nights a week of commentary. Ten years later she jumped to Fox, and she later did work for the cable channel E! Entertainment Television.
During that time, Smith migrated from the News to the rival New York Post and finally to Newsday. Her column was syndicated nationwide, drawing millions of readers.
She was married a second time, but it was also short-lived.
Smith is survived by several nieces and nephews. A memorial service will be held to honor her in the spring.