Mr. Blackwell, List-Making Fashion Arbiter, Is Dead

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The man who called Renée Zellweger a "painted pumpkin on a pogo stick" has died.

Mr. Blackwell, best known for the worst-dressed lists in which he offered criticisms like the one above (and worse), died Sunday of complications from an intestinal infection, according to the Associated Press. He was 86.

A onetime dress designer and actor, he eventually found his niche writing rhymed ruminations on the quality of celebrity style. He released his first list in 1960, and his more recent targets have included Victoria Beckham, Britney Spears and Paris Hilton.

Mr. Blackwell chronicled his life in a biography titled From Rags to Bitches.