Sally Kirkland, 77; Influenced Fashion as Life Magazine Editor

Sally Kirkland, fashion editor of Life magazine for more than 20 years, has died at age 77.

Her daughter, actress Sally Kirkland, said from Los Angeles that her mother died Monday of emphysema at St. Vincent’s Hospital in New York City.

Mrs. Kirkland was the fashion editor of Life from 1947 to 1969, making the weekly magazine influential in international fashion. She received the Order of the Star of Solidarity from the Italian government in 1954 for her reports on Italian clothes and a Neiman-Marcus award in 1955 for contributions to fashion.

After graduating from Vassar College in 1934, she went to work in the college shop at Lord & Taylor. Five years later, she became assistant to the editor of Vogue magazine. She joined Life after working as a correspondent in the Pacific during World War II.

After she left the magazine, she wrote a book about designer Claire McCardell and contributed articles to the RAM Report, a monthly trade journal.

In addition to her daughter, she is survived by a brother.