The Resume

(June 10, 1918-November 11, 2016)
Born in El Paso, Texas
Birth name was Aileen Elder
Wrote a society column under the pen name ‘Suzy’
Temporarily changed her pen name to ‘Suzy Knickerbocker’ after taking over Igor Cassini’s ‘Cholly Knickerbocker’ column (1963)
Wrote for the Miami Daily News, New York Mirror, New York Journal-American, New York Daily News, New York Post, Women’s Wear Daily, and W
At its peak, her column was syndicated to 100 newspapers with a readership of 30 million
Frequent panelist on What’s My Line

Why she might be annoying:

She said her parents taught her not to pry into people’s personal lives. (Clearly, the lesson didn’t stick.)
Both her marriages ended in divorce.
Life magazine called her ‘America’s Number One Society Snooper.’
She had a long-running feud with Zsa Zsa Gabor, whom she dubbed ‘Miss Chicken Paprika of 1914.’
Fellow gossip columnist James Revson revealed that she reported on parties she had never attended, basing her stories on press releases and guest lists (1988).

Why she might not be annoying:

Blaine Trump said of her fashion sense, ‘She was allergic to anything unattractive.’
She established a scholarship fund for journalism students at Marymount Manhattan College.
Outside of a handful of feuds, she usually got along remarkably well with the celebs she covered, with Frank Sinatra -- ordinarily no fan of gossip columnists – commenting, ‘It’s important to remember that a writer in her position has a great deal of power. Aileen wields that power with a feather duster.’
She noted about New York’s high society, ‘No matter what I say about them, it can’t begin to compare with what they say about each other.’

Credit: C. Fishel

Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

• Blackgama Furs - What Makes a Legend Campaign
• C. Fishel's Profiles [Series 63]
• Celebrities Born on the Same Date [June] (Ranked: 6101918)
• Gossip Columnists
• I Attended University of California, Santa Barbara
• I Died in 2016 (Ranked: 98)
• I Died on Veteran's Day [November 11th] (Ranked: 2016)
• Little People [5'3 and Shorter] - Female L-Z
• Look at Me, I'm Thirsty
• Look at Me, I've Been Caught with Alcohol
• Newspaper Journalists/Editors/Publishers
• Profiles 38251-38500 (Ranked: 38414)
• We Died on the Same Day (Ranked: 20161111)

Year In Review:

For 2024, as of last weekly ranking, Out of 1 Votes: 0% Annoying
In 2023, Out of 1 Votes: 100% Annoying
In 2022, Out of 2 Votes: 0% Annoying
In 2021, Out of 7 Votes: 85.71% Annoying
In 2020, Out of 2 Votes: 100% Annoying
In 2019, Out of 5 Votes: 100% Annoying
In 2018, Out of 4 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
In 2017, Out of 3 Votes: 66.67% Annoying
In 2016, Out of 41 Votes: 73.17% Annoying