Flo Anthony, ca. 1952 – 2026

Gossip columnist Flo Anthony, 74, died on Aug. 6. Anthony started her career as a sports publicist, and went on to write for such publications as The New York Post, The New York Amsterdam News, The Philadelphia Sun and The National Examiner. As a talking head, she showed up on just about every gossip and talk show there is: Inside Edition, Entertainment Tonight, The Insider, Geraldo, Joan Rivers, Ricki Lake, and was a regular on E!, Court TV, MSNBC (I just cannot call it MS NOW, it sounds like the latest edition of Ms. magazine), Fox, CNN, and HLN. She also wrote several novels. She told writer Kam Williams that her best decision was “To move to New York City by myself the Monday after I graduated from college to pursue my dreams,” adding the advice, “Never give up! If you really want to do something, you can do it. Can you imagine that a person like me, born in Mississippi, child of schoolteachers, would one day interview Michael Jackson and be able to call him and La Toya my friends?” Anthony is survived by her husband, boxer Michael Spinks, whom she married earlier this year.