Liz Smith (journalist)

Liz Smith (born February 2, 1923 in Fort Worth, Texas) is a popular gossip columnist. She worked as a typist, a proofreader and a reporter before she broke into the New York media world as a news producer for Mike Wallace at CBS Radio.

Related Topics:
February 2 - 1923 - Fort Worth, Texas - New York - Mike Wallace - CBS Radio

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In the late 1950's Smith worked as a ghostwriter for the popular Cholly Knickerbocker gossip column that appeared in the Hearst newspapers. After leaving that column in the early 1960's she went to work for Helen Gurley Brown as the entertainment editor for the American version of Cosmopolitan magazine. Soon after she pulled double duty working for both Cosmo and Sports Illustrated, acting as entertainment editor for both magazines.

Related Topics:
Hearst - Helen Gurley Brown - Cosmopolitan - Sports Illustrated

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In 1978 Smith was lured into writing her own gossip column for the New York Daily News causing her to bid the magazine world a fond farewell as she set to work on carving out a niche for herself in the New York gossip world. In 1979, due to a newspaper strike, her editors at the Daily News asked her to appear daily on WNBC's popular afternoon news program Live At Five. Smith accepted and stayed with the program for eleven years. Due to her exposure on television, Smith became a popular figure on the Manhattan social scene which provided her with much needed fodder for her column which had, by then, been syndicated to nearly seventy newspapers.

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However, all was not well in the news business and in 1991 Smith, hot off her exclusive interviews with Ivana Trump during her divorce from real estate tycoon Donald Trump, made a leap to another newspaper Newsday which provided her with a more stable working environment and a brighter financial future along with a wider syndication audience. Unfortunatly, Smith's time at Newsday would be only a handful of years as it too succumbed to its own dire financial situation in 1995.

Related Topics:
Ivana Trump - Donald Trump - Newsday

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Weary after her many years at WNBC's Live At Five Smith had been easily lured by the heads of FOX Television, Barry Diller and Rupert Murdoch, to head up the entertainment segments at the network in 1989. Smith proved successful at the burgeoning network, winning an Emmy for her reporting in 1995. Therefore it surprised few when Smith signed on to another Murdoch owned entity, the New York Post, in the summer of 1995. She has remained with the paper ever since, although her time on FOX Television ended in the late 1990's. Never one to rest on her laurels, Smith often muses about making a return to television.

Related Topics:
FOX - Barry Diller - Rupert Murdoch - Emmy - New York Post

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In 2000, her memoir, Natural Blonde was published, quickly appearing on The New York Times's best-seller list. In 2005, Smith published Dishing: Great Dish - And Dishes - From America's Most Beloved Gossip Columnist which was also a great success.

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Married and divorced twice Smith now resides alone in a spacious apartment in Manhattan's Murray Hill neighbourhood. Once dubbed "The Grande Dame of Dish" Liz Smith proves her title to be correct to millions of daily readers all around the world.

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