Liz Smith, the syndicated gossip columnist whose mixture of banter, barbs, and bon mots about the glitterati helped her climb the A-list as high as many of the celebrities she covered, died Sunday at the age of 94. Joni Evans, Smith’s literary agent, told The Associated Press she died of natural causes. For more than a quarter-century, Smith’s column — titled simply “Liz Smith” — was one of the most widely read in the world.