Descriptive Summary
Smith, Liz, 1923-
Smith, Liz, Papers
1982-2009
Materials are written in English.
2009-030; 2009-035; 2009-046; 2009-058; 2009-310;
2010-066; 2010-082; 2010-088; 2010-108; 2010-120; 2010-135; 2010-138;
2010-142
ca. 28 ft.
Dolph Briscoe Center for American History, The
University of Texas at Austin
The Liz Smith Papers, 1982-2009,
document her career as a gossip columnist for several prominent New York City
newspapers and the development of her books. The collection contains original
newsprint and typewritten columns published in the New York
Daily News, New York Newsday, Newsday, and the New York
Post, materials related to Smith’s books Natural
Blonde and Dishing, books by other authors,
publicity and event files, charity files, scrapbooks about her career, and
audiocassette interviews conducted by Smith with celebrities.
Biographical Note
Gossip columnist Liz Smith was born in Fort Worth, Texas, in 1923 and graduated from
the University of Texas at Austin’s School of Journalism in 1949. After moving to
New York City, she worked as a producer for Mike Wallace on CBS Radio and as a news
producer for NBC-TV. In the 1960s, she was entertainment editor for Cosmopolitan magazine and for Sports Illustrated. Smith began writing her self-titled gossip column
for the New York Daily News in 1976, and three years
later she started an eleven-year stint on Live at Five,
a celebrity news show on WNBC in NYC. In 1991, Smith moved her column to Newsday, leaving four years later for the New York Post. Her column was discontinued in 2009, but
Smith continues to write online for wowOwow.com: Women on
the Web, a website focusing on women’s issues which she co-founded with
The Women on the Net, Inc., in 2008.
Sources:
Smith, Liz. Liz Smith | wowOwow. The Women on the
Net, Inc. http://www.wowowow.com/users/liz (accessed June 28, 2010).
Smith, Liz. Natural Blonde: A Memoir. New York:
Hyperion, 2000.
Scope and Contents
The Liz Smith Papers, 1982-2009, document her career as a gossip columnist for
several prominent New York City newspapers and the development of her books. The
collection contains original newsprint and typewritten columns published in the
New York Daily News, New York
Newsday, Newsday, and the New York Post, materials related to Smith’s books Natural Blonde and Dishing,
books by other authors, publicity and event files, charity files, scrapbooks about
her career, and audiocassette interviews conducted by Smith with celebrities.
For a complete listing of audiocassette interviews, contact repository for list in
holding record.
Access Restrictions
This collection is open for research use.
Index Terms
Subjects (Persons)
Smith, Liz, 1923- -- Archives.
Subjects (Organizations)
New York post.
Daily news (New York, N.Y. : 1920)
Newsday (Hempstead, N.Y.)
Subjects
Gossip columnists -- United States.
Preferred Citation
Liz Smith Papers, 1982-2009, Dolph Briscoe Center for American History, The
University of Texas at Austin.
Separated Material
Some material has been separated to the Library Unit.
Processing Information
Basic processing and cataloging of this collection was supported with funds from the
National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC) for the Briscoe
Center’s “History Revealed: Bringing Collections to Light project,” 2009-2011.
Collection contains unprocessed materials.
Detailed Description of the Papers
Contact repository for inventory.