ETHEL MERMAN

What a belter. She was loud, she was brash, and she had great hats. And, the mark of a true diva, she is frequently imitated by drag acts. Here she is giving her all in the famous 1954 film of the same name, I can't help miming along to this when I'm doing the ironing.

DOROTHY PARKER

The imcomparable Dorothy Rothschild Parker, critic, poet, short-story writer, screenwriter and civil rights campaigner. Star of the Algonquin Round Table 1919-1929. I am not worthy. But the woman who said "You can lead a whore to culture but you can't make her think" deserves a prominent place in my pantheon. She took bitchiness to an art form, as the following quotes will attest:

"She speaks eighteen languages, and she can't say 'no' in any of them."

"Men seldom make passes at girls who wear glasses."

"She ran the whole gamut of emotions from A to B."

"This is not a novel to be tossed aside lightly. It should be thrown with great force."

"If all the young ladies who attended the Yale promenade dance were laid end to end, no one would be the least surprised."

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