FRIENDS CELEBRATE THE LIFE OF FABULOUS FLORENCE 'FLO' ANTHONY AT SYLVIA'S SOUL FOOD IN HARLEM

Flo Anthony Memorial Program

 

Helen Shelton

NEW YORK, September 2026 – More than 75 loved ones of Florence “Flo” Anthony gathered in Harlem at iconic soul food restaurant Sylvia’s to celebrate the life and times of the multi-hyphenate dynamo. The memorial celebration, Fabulously Flo, was organized by long-time friends of Flo’s Helen Shelton, Angelo Ellerbee and Roz Nixon. 

NBA greats Johnny Newman, Charles Oakley and Patrick Ewing were lead sponsors of the event, with Newman also serving as event host. Members of Flo’s beloved sorority, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Incorporated, came out in force. Other noted attendees representing the worlds of media, sports, entertainment and philanthropy included: boxing legend Iran Barkley, journalists from the leading New York media outlets, as well as R&B sensation Meli’sa Morgan, real estate executive Eugenia Foxworth, entertainment executive Marita Monroe, jewelry designer Lu Willard, broadcaster Rolonda Watts, and philanthropist Jean Shafiroff.

Flo Anthony, who passed away on August 5th was a pioneering American entertainment reporter, 
syndicated radio host, critically acclaimed author and contributing television journalist. She was also a
sports world authority, specializing in boxing promotion and working with fighters ranging Muhamad Ali
to Michael Spinks, whom she married in January 2026. 

Pastor John Dillard, Alvina Alston (in sunglasses), Angelo Ellerbee (seated), Helen Shelton, Roz Nixon and Johnny Newman

 

Helen Shelton With Alvina Alston And Angelo Ellerbee

Jean Shafiroff With Iran Barkley And Rolonda Watts

The event began with a sumptuous buffet dinner featuring Sylvia’s soul food classics – Flo’s favorites – 
followed by a loving program of tributes to Flo by friends from near and far, including Roz Nixon, Jean
Shafiroff, Frank DiGiacomo, Jawn Murray, and members of Flo’s sorority Chapter. The room was
decorated with life-size images of Flo at different stages in her life from childhood throughout her career.
A special video tribute was displayed on a continuous loop, and guests were also treated to live
musical selections by keyboardist Alson Farley, concluding with the Motown Temptations classic, “My
Girl,” a nod to Flo’s Michigan roots. The décor featured red and white accents representing the colors of
Delta Sigma Theta including crystal elephant figurines and floral arrangements with red roses with
diamante accents. 

Helen Shelton And Johnny Newman

 

Iran Barkley With Daily News Richard Johnson

Former New York Knick Johnny Newman With Boxing Legend Iran Barkley And NY Knick Charles Oakley

A keepsake program was also shared with each guest, documenting Flo’s life in words 
and pictures. Pastor John Dillard presided over the event offering opening and closing prayers. A highlight was a toast to Flo led by Helen Shelton, also a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated,
featuring Flo’s favorite Kendall-Jackson Chardonnay. 

Florence Anthony-Spinks (Sunrise March 4, 1952 –Sunset August 5, 2026)

 Florence “Flo” Anthony-Spinks was a pioneering American entertainment reporter, syndicated radio host, critically acclaimed author and contributing television journalist. She was also featured in an impressive list of documentaries that include Showtime’s 2021 Gossip and CNN’S American Prince - JFK Jr. in 2025.

Flo was a proud graduate of Howard University and a member of her beloved Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated. After arriving in New York City in the late 70’s Flo (as she is affectionally known) followed one of her childhood dreams and landed a job as  an actress on  a network day time soap opera, not long after that because her phenomenal writing skills in the early 80’s  she began working as a publicist for athletes like Muhammad Ali,  Michael Spinks, Larry Holmes, Mike McCallum, and Matthew Saad Muhammad. She went on to become the first African American female sports journalist for the New York Post and then the first African American entertainment reporter for the Post’s Page Six! She was also the first African American to pen a column for The National Examiner.  She was labeled an expert on numerous celebrities including Michael Jackson, O. J. Simpson, Whitney Houston, and Donald Trump.  Flo was also a contributor on news magazine television shows like Inside Edition, The Insider, and Entertainment Tonight.
 
In the 1990-the 2000’s Flo took her star-studded conversations on the road and appeared on The Ricki Lake Show, The Rolonda Watts Show, The Joan Rivers Show, Geraldo, The Sally Jessy Raphael Show, The Tempestt Bledsoe Show, The Gordon Elliott Show, Forgive or Forget, The Leeza Gibbons Show, The Danny Bonaduce Show, The Bertice Berry Show, The Mark Walberg Show, The Vicki Lawrence Show, and The Maury Povich Show. She was also a guest on Court TV, MSNBC, Fox News Channel, CNN, HLN, The Dini Petty Show, and The Camilla Scott Show.  With her "Gossip to Go” she was a radio delight in several markets on the nationally syndicated “Tom Joyner Morning Show” as well as the “Skip Murphy Morning Show” in Dallas, Texas and more.
 
For six seasons Flo was a contributor and substitute co-host of E! Network's The Gossip Show, a roundtable entertainment news show featuring gossip columnist. She also appeared on E! True 
Hollywood Story episodes regarding celebrities like La Toya Jackson, Robin Givens, Janet Jackson, Whitney Houston, and Bobby Brown.
 
In 2019 Flo renewed her ties in the boxing world by once again working for former Heavyweight Champion Michael Spinks, arranging and organizing his personal appearances and after a 40-year and off- and on-again courtship, Flo Anthony and Michael Spinks married in January 2026.
 
With her company Dottie Media Group LLC, Flo was publisher/editor-in-chief of Black Noir Magazine, she also had two syndicated radio shows, Gossip To Go With Flo and Flo Anthony's Big Apple Buzz, which were distributed in partnership with Supe Radio. The shows were heard by over three million listeners daily in 20 radio markets nationwide. As a writer, Flo was a regular contributor to the New York Daily News, providing entertainment news stories for its Confidential column. She also had a weekly syndicated column of her own that appeared in The New York Amsterdam News, Philadelphia Sunday Sun, BRE Magazine, Columbus Times, and Oklahoma Eagle. Flo also worked on Steven Hoffenberg's PostPublishing.buzz website and was a contributing writer for Resident magazine, PARK Magazine, and editor-in-chief of Black Elegance magazine.

On television, she was regularly featured as a guest contributor on TV One's documentary series Unsung and Unsung: Hollywood. She also appeared for numerous seasons on TV One's series Life After.
 
As an author, Anthony released her first novel, Keeping Secrets Telling Lies, in 2000. Her second novel was released in 2013, when she signed a book deal with Zane's Strebor Books to release Deadly Stuff 
Players. The sequel to that novel, One Last Deadly Play, was released in 2016, through W. Clark 
Distribution. Flo regularly appeared at book festivals and expos signing copies of her books.

Flo was devoted to giving and always gave freely, especially to her favorite charity, the Ella Nixon Gift Drive, which she donated to for 8 years, since it’s conception.
  
Flo Anthony passed away on August 5, 2026, at Presbyterian Weill Cornell Medical Center. Flo will join her mother Doris J. Anthony, a graduate of Rust College in Holy Springs Mississippi and an educator for 30 years in the Ann Arbor School System as well as with her father Joe Savoldi Anthony a sports coach for the Ypsilanti Public School System who pursued his PhD at the University of Michigan. On earth Flo leaves behind her husband Michael Spinks along with a host of friends and Family that includes cousins Claudette Bush, Josie Anthony, Rhonda Bush, Margie Williams, Jamie Smith, and her goddaughter Alvina Alston.

Photos Courtesy Of Helen Shelton And Gerald Peart