Richard Blackwell

A flamboyant figure in both fashion and journalism for more than a half-century, Mr. Blackwell was a women's clothing designer and critic-cum-television personality whose yearly list of the worst dressed female celebrities was an event that generated equal amounts of glee and spite. The New York native survived a horrific childhood to become a minor stage and screen actor, but found greater success in the 1950s as the chief creative figure behind his fashion line, the House of Blackwell. In 1960, he published his first worst dressed list, which lambasted Hollywood actresses with acidic wit; though he also published a best-dressed list, his cutting comments drew more attention, and became an annual tradition for more than four decades. Almost every major female performer found herself in Blackwell's crosshairs at one point or another, with Elizabeth Taylor, Cher and Martha Stewart among his most consistent victims; some reacted with anger, while others took their inclusion as a mark of camp honor. Blackwell's popularity waned in the 1980s, but his venomous tone and outrageous humor had a lasting impact on the media and popular culture; outlets like TMZ and programs like "Fashion Police" (E!, 2010- ) were direct descendants of Blackwell's catty commentary. Loved and loathed with equal vigor by Hollywood and its observers, Mr. Blackwell was one of Hollywood's most headline-grabbing arbiters of taste.