[citation needed]. We want to hear from you! Liz Smith was born Betty Gleadle[2] in 1921 in the Crosby area of Scunthorpe, Lincolnshire. She described this as an extremely difficult period in her life, as she struggled against financial difficulties and social disapproval of her status as a divorcee. Liz Smith, the premiere gossip columnist of her generation, died in New York today. But unlike Winchell and his imitators, Smith succeeded with kindness and an aversion to cheap shots. 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. While establishing herself as an authority on Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton, Smith attracted the attention of the New York Daily News. We learned of the deceased through the following tribute posted on social media. Although her career in gossip writing lasted almost 60 years, she always seemed to be playing by the rules of … My family is thankful for all of your prayers… Read More » “She dished, but always found a way to make it entertaining and fun.”. During that time, Smith migrated from the News to the rival New York Post and finally to Newsday, ultimately earning salaries well into six figures. She raised money for groups such from Literacy Volunteers, which teaches adults to read and write, to the Women’s Action Alliance, which promotes full equality for women. That same year she was a castaway on BBC Radio 4's Desert Island Discs and was in the film City of Ember, which was released in October 2008. FILE- In this Aug. 9, 2009, file photo, Liz Smith leaves the Celebration of Life Memorial ceremony for Walter Cronkite at Avery Fisher Hall in New York. “It didn’t do them any harm, either.”. We learned of the deceased through the following tribute posted on social media. Copyright © 2020 by The Associated Press. She became a proofreader for Newsweek, a press agent for Broadway shows, and a news producer for Mike Wallace at CBS Radio. Smith’s self-titled column began in 1976 in the New York Daily News, and was soon syndicated to scores of newspapers, reaching as many as 50 million readers daily. She is survived by several nieces and nephews. But it may have been the question of her own sexuality which kept her from discussing that of the stars. I went to an audition and I got the job of the mother in this improvised film – Bleak Moments, his first film – and it changed my life. Joni Evans, Smith's literary agent, told The Associated Press she died of natural causes. Smith started the 1990s by appearing in 2point4 Children (as "Aunt Belle" and "Bette"), Bottom, The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles and Lovejoy. Joni Evans, Smith’s literary agent, told The Associated Press she died of natural causes. She described this as an extremely difficult period in her life, as she struggled against financial difficulties and social disapproval of her status as a divorcee. Ten years later she jumped to Fox, and she later did work for the cable channel E! This aired until 2000, but came back for a special episode in 2006 when her character, Nana, died. Betty Gleadle MBE (11 December 1921 – 24 December 2016), known by the stage name Liz Smith, was an English character actress, known for her roles in BBC sitcoms, including as Annie Brandon in I Didn't Know You Cared (1975–1979), the sisters Bette and Belle in 2point4 Children (1991–1999), Letitia Cropley in The Vicar of Dibley (1994–1996) and Norma Speakman ("Nana") in The Royle Family (1998–2000, 2006). Iris Love, the archaeologist, champion dog breeder and longtime romantic partner of gossip columnist Liz Smith, has died of the coronavirus at age 86 https://nyti.ms/2Y2ob6B. He said that during his time at WNBC, she was nothing short of “fabulous.”, “Liz Smith was the definition of a lady,” actor James Woods tweeted. Literary agent Joni Evans told The Associated Press she died in New York on Sunday, Nov. 12, 2017. DEATH -DEAD / OBITUARIES : Liz Smith has died, according to a statement posted online on April. In the meantime, she had appeared in The Queen's Nose, The Bill and Secrets & Lies. When the city edition folded, she moved to the Post. She also appeared as Madame Balls in The Pink Panther Strikes Again (1976), but her scenes were deleted and remained unseen until Trail of the Pink Panther in 1982. A subject in the gay press for many years, Smith acknowledged in her 2000 book that she had relationships with both men and women, and confirmed a long-rumored, long-term relationship with archaeologist Iris Love. 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