Mr. Blackwell

▪ 2009

Richard Sylvan Selzer 

      American fashion designer and Hollywood tastemaker

born Aug. 29, 1922, Brooklyn, N.Y.

died Oct. 19, 2008, Los Angeles, Calif.

attracted media and public attention for his annual “10 Worst Dressed Women's List,” in which he used his biting wit to pillory what he viewed as the horrendous fashion choices of the people whom he selected; his “best-dressed list” gained much less attention. Blackwell's hardscrabble youth was spent protecting himself from his violent stepfather by sleeping in the alley with a broken bottle; he also worked as a prostitute to earn money—funds he told his mother he garnered by walking dogs. He later enjoyed a brief career as a child actor and a Hollywood agent before founding (1958) the House of Blackwell, his fashion concern. The company's classic designs were popular until the 1960s heyday of the miniskirts, and in the mid-1970s Blackwell shuttered the doors to his business. Nonetheless, his “list” made him a household name and brought him the fame that he sought. In his 1995 autobiography, From Rags to Bitches, he remarked that he tried “to become my most unforgettable creation: king of the caustic quote, arbiter of good taste and bad, the ultimate mix of madness, marketing and media attention.” He also made a number of cameo appearances in films.

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