Voting Station

Amy Vanderbilt

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Commentator

The Resume

    (July 22, 1908-December 27, 1974)
    Born in Staten Island, New York
    Wrote a syndicated column on etiquette
    Wrote ‘Amy Vanderbilt’s Complete Book of Etiquette’ (1952) and ‘Amy Vanderbilt’s Complete Cookbook’ (1961)
    Hosted the TV program ‘It’s in Good Taste’ (1954-60) and the radio program ‘The Right Thing To Do’ (1960-62)
    Died when she jumped or fell from the second floor of her brownstone apartment

Why she might be annoying:

    She was married four times, divorced three times.
    When approached about writing an etiquette book, she said it seemed ‘almost silly’ to describe ‘such things as the traditional formal dinner for 34 with a butler and several footmen.’
    She appeared in a commercial for Lucky Strike cigarettes.
    She wrote up a code of conduct for New York subway writer, which does not seem to have ever caught on.
    It was still titled her ‘Complete Book of Etiquette’ after her death, even as other authors (such as Letitia Baldridge) overhauled it.

Why she might not be annoying:

    She was a part-time reporter for the ‘Staten Island Advance’ while still in high school.
    Her syndicated column had a readership of over 40 million.
    She was a consultant to the State Department on etiquette questions.
    Her cookbook was illustrated by a pre-fame Andrew Warhol.

Credit: C. Fishel


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    For 2024, as of last weekly ranking, Out of 3 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 5 Votes: 60.0% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 6 Votes: 83.33% Annoying
    In 2020, Out of 6 Votes: 33.33% Annoying
    In 2019, Out of 1 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2018, Out of 2 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2017, Out of 16 Votes: 50.0% Annoying