Richard Blackwell

Born Richard Sylvan Selzer in the Bensonhurst neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York, he was the youngest of two children by printer Henry Selzer and his wife, Eva. By his own account, Blackwell's childhood consisted of physical and emotional turmoil on a Dickensian level: he was abandoned by his alcoholic mother, severely beaten by a stepfather, and sexually abused by adults on numerous occasions. He found an outlet in acting for the stage, and appeared in the original Broadway run of "Dead End" in 1935. His appearance in the play led to minor roles as other troubled youth in Hollywood features like "Juvenile Court" (1938) and "Little Tough Guy" (1938), which featured many of his fellow "Dead End" co-stars, who would go on to long-running fame as the Bowery Boys. He adopted the "Blackwell" surname at the suggestion of Howard Hughes, who had signed him to a contract with RKO and a role in "Vendetta" (1950), though his scenes in the notoriously disastrous crime thriller were cut from the theatrical release. While working on the film, Blackwell met hair stylist Robert Spencer, who became his professional and personal partner for the next five decades.Blackwell left the acting business to form a talent agency with Spencer, but found greater success as a fashion designer. Billing himself as "Mr. Blackwell," he launched his own fashion line, the House of Blackwell, in 1958, which quickly established itself through glitzy, often outrageous designs for a wide array of female shapes, including plus-sized customers. Patronage from some of Hollywood's more physically abundant female talent, like Jane Russell, lent star quality to his fashions, and by the 1960s, Blackwell was among the best-known American designers. However, his most enduring fame came not from clothing but fashion critique, which began in 1960 with what was intended as a one-shot feature for American Weekly on the "10 Best and Worst Dressed" celebrities. Blackwell's talent for cleverly crafted but acidic put-downs soon became as popular as his designs, and led to a second career as a fashion journalist.Blackwell also published a list of the 10 best-dressed celebrities, which included at varying times Joan Crawford, Audrey Hepburn and Reese Witherspoon, but these failed to generate as much attention as his worst-dressed list. His comments could be cutting and even cruel: Elizabeth Taylor's weight gain in the 1970s was spared no quarter by Blackwell, and figures ranging from Julia Roberts to Martha Stewart were described, albeit colorfully, as transvestites, professional wrestlers, Martians or truck drivers. Men were also the target of Blackwell's venom, most notably flamboyant figures like Elton John and Boy George. While many of the figures who made Blackwell's list ignored his comments, others took umbrage at his comments and lashed back at their perceived mean-spiritedness. Others accepted their inclusion as a sort of backwards badge of honor; after making the list in 1963, Jayne Mansfield hired Blackwell as costume designer for her spicy comedy "Promises! Promises!" Blackwell himself made excellent use of the attention afforded by his comments, becoming a regular presence on Los Angeles radio and nationally televisied talk shows.Changing tastes in both fashion and media commentary reduced Blackwell's presence in both industries during the 1980s. He remained a regular presence in print and on television, often playing himself in TV-movies and episodic series. In 1991, he published his first book, Mr. Blackwell: 30 Years of Fashion Fiascos, which was followed in 1995 by his autobiography, From Rags to Bitches. He briefly reduced his public appearances after being diagnosed with Bell's Palsy in 2001, but returned the following year to present his 2001 "Worst Dressed" list at a live news conference. Blackwell's health declined in subsequent years, and he succumbed to complications from an intestinal infection on October 19, 2008 at the age of 86.