The Story:
94-year-old longtime mainstay of the world of gossip columns, Liz Smith, died in her Manhattan home on Sunday. Smith had often been accused by journalism watchdogs of lacking objectivity, something she defended by saying this:
“I am not a reporter operating on life-and-death matters, state secrets, the rise and fall of governments, and I don’t believe you can do this kind of job without access.”
Important Because:
Liz Smith was a different type of gossip columnist, free of the scathing or venomous style of many gossip writers covering celebrities and the social elite.
Smith’s income of a million dollars or more a year often exceeded that of any columnist or even executive editor.
Her career spans decades of reporting, making her a legend in her own right.
Snippets from Smith’s Career:
After graduation, Smith went through a series of jobs at media houses including Hearst and CBS.
She stood in for Igor Cassini in 1959 on the Cholly Knickerbocker column for The New York Journal-American.
Smith also developed several ideas for “Candid Camera”, Allen Funt’s hugely popular TV show.
Other magazines and papers Smith worked with: Vogue, Sports Illustrated, Cosmopolitan (she was the entertainment editor), The Daily News, Newsday, The New York Post (a 33-year stint that eventually saw her transition to the Internet in the New York Social Diary), Daily Variety and Parade.
She also worked for several years as a commentator for E! Entertainment Television, the local Fox channel in NYC and WNBC-TV.
Smith is the founder of wowOwow.com, now rebranded as PureWow.com.
“Natural Blonde”, her memoir published in 2000, was a best-seller for several months.
In a review for The Times, Jane and Michael Stern wrote what is possibly the best description of her work in the world of entertainment:
“Her brand of gossip is the old-fashioned kind, not the embarrassing or repulsive stuff dug up by so many of her journalistic colleagues. When she escorts us into the private lives of popular culture’s gods and monsters, it’s with a spirit of wonder, not meanness.”
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