Liz Smith has been writing about celebrities for almost fifty years, and along the way, she’s become one herself. She’s a Living Landmark in New York, she’s soon to be immortalized in Madame Tusssaud’s Wax Museum in Times Square, and she’s now the highest-paid print journalist in the world – all because of her ear for delectable bits of private lives. She’s fine-tuned the art of gossiping: know all, but don’t tell all; don’t hound the famous in public, but strike a deal with them in private; never coddle celebrities, but it’s okay to lecture them on their shortcomings.
After all, gossip columnists, she says, are “like mothers. We can’t be stopped.” Liz Smith has chronicled the battles between Ivana Trump and The Donald, suffered the insults of Frank Sinatra, predicted the marriage of Jackie and Ari and been propositioned by Norman Mailer. Occasionally, however, she has stopped and asked herself, “Is this all there is – gossip, show biz, limitless entertainment and trivia?” We’re talking with Liz Smith this hour on the Connection.
(Hosted by Christopher Lydon)
Guests:
Liz Smith