Logo

18 Facts About Aileen Mehle

1.

Aileen Mehle, known by the pen name Suzy or Suzy Knickerbocker, was an American society columnist, active in journalism for over fifty years.

2.

Aileen Mehle's column was syndicated to 100 newspapers and read by over 30 million people.

3.

Aileen Mehle attended Long Beach Junior College and Santa Barbara State College.

4.

Cox's husband overheard Aileen Mehle complaining about the quality of writing in his paper and invited her to submit sample columns; she did, and was hired to cover society news.

5.

Aileen Mehle adopted the pen name "Suzy" and wrote for the paper until 1957, when she moved to New York.

6.

Aileen Mehle added this surname to her pen name "Suzy" and became "Suzy Knickerbocker".

7.

Aileen Mehle wrote six columns a week for the paper, until it closed.

8.

Aileen Mehle then joined The Daily News, followed by The New York Post.

9.

In 1988, James Revson, a rival gossip columnist at Newsday, accused Aileen Mehle of fabricating some of the content of her columns.

10.

Aileen Mehle alleged that she had reported on parties which she had not attended, instead writing from press releases and guest lists.

11.

Aileen Mehle acknowledged that her writing was centred on the trivial and superficial, and that part of her goal was to bring some glamour to the lives of regular people.

12.

Aileen Mehle has been called the "social historian" of her time.

13.

Aileen Mehle's writing style was considered crisp and colourful, and she was skilled at making flattering observations without risk of hurting a person's reputation.

14.

Aileen Mehle appeared as the mystery guest on October 23,1966.

15.

Aileen Mehle made a cameo appearance in the Batman TV series.

16.

In 1991, Aileen Mehle received an honorary doctorate from Marymount Manhattan College.

17.

Aileen Mehle married a second time, to Mark Kenneth Frank Jr.

18.

Aileen Mehle died at her home in Manhattan on November 11,2016, aged 98.