Diana McLellan | D.C. gossip columnist, 76
Diana McLellan, 76, whose Washington gossip column "the Ear" became a puckish, first-read chronicle of social news and intrigue in the 1970s and 1980s, died Wednesday of cancer, according to her daughter, Fiona Weeks.
Diana McLellan, 76, whose Washington gossip column "the Ear" became a puckish, first-read chronicle of social news and intrigue in the 1970s and 1980s, died Wednesday of cancer, according to her daughter, Fiona Weeks.
Ms. McLellan, a self-described "jolly pariah," mock-lamented the foibles of public officials ("Where are standards?") and detailed who was going "wok shopping" (getting married) or "expecting more than the mailman" (pregnant).
Washington has long been a free-trade zone of rumor. In the 1960s, the Washington Post's Maxine Cheshire brought an investigative zeal to the gossip trade, while the Washington Star's genteel Betty Beale scouted human-interest items in the lives of the black tie and champagne set.
Into this mix came the British-born Ms. McLellan, who wrote gossip in the 1970s and 1980s, first for the Star, then for the Post, and finally at the Washington Times.
"The Ear" began in 1975 to satisfy the appetite for celebrity news presented with a droll touch. She poked fun at perceived slights. When she was left off a White House party list, she wrote that "Ear's invitation got lost in the mail, again."
- Washington Post