James Lipton

Louis James Lipton (September 19, 1926 – March 2, 2020) was an American writer, actor, talk show host, and dean emeritus of the Actors Studio Drama School at Pace University in New York City. He was the executive producer, writer, and host of the Bravo cable television series Inside the Actors Studio, which debuted in 1994. He retired from the show in 2018.

Early life Louis James Lipton and Lawrence Lipton, a journalist and beat poet. Known for writing the Beat Generation chronicle The Holy Barbarians, Lawrence was a graphic designer, a columnist for the Jewish Daily Forward, and a publicity director for a movie theater. Lawrence was a Polish Jewish emigrant (from Łódź), whose surname was originally Lipschitz. Betty's parents were Russian Jews. His parents divorced when Lipton was six,

Lipton's family struggled financially, and he started to work when he was 13 years old. Lipton had initially intended to become an attorney. On the Today show, Lipton clarified that he had worked as a beneficent maquereau in the regulated prostitution business.

Career Shortly after graduating high school, Lipton portrayed Dan Reid, the Lone Ranger's nephew, on WXYZ Radio's The Lone Ranger. He initially studied to be a lawyer in New York City, and turned to acting to finance his education. From 1952 to 1962, Lipton starred in The Guiding Light, playing the role of Dr. Dick Grant and eventually becoming head writer. He wrote for several soap operas: Another World, The Edge of Night, The Best of Everything, Return to Peyton Place and Capitol. Lipton studied for two and a half years with Stella Adler, four years with Harold Clurman, and two years with Robert Lewis. The show opened in New York on November 10, 1962, at the Winter Garden, to generally unfavorable reviews. John Chapman wrote in the NY Daily News that the show "is delicious bathtub gin. . . . This is a happy show." But Howard Taubman said in The New York Times: "Don't let anyone tell you that 'Nowhere to Go but Up' is a little horror. Because it's a big one." As a result, Kermit Bloomgarden, the producer, decided to close the show on November 17, 1962, after nine performances. A group of 234 small investors tried to keep the show from closing by parading in front of the theater and sought an injunction, but the NY Supreme Court ruled in favor of the producer.

He was the librettist and lyricist for the short-lived 1967 Broadway musical Sherry!, based on the Moss Hart and George S. Kaufman play The Man Who Came to Dinner, with music by his childhood friend Laurence Rosenthal. The score and orchestrations were lost for more than thirty years, and the original cast was never recorded. In 2003, a studio cast recording (with Nathan Lane, Bernadette Peters, Carol Burnett, Tommy Tune, Mike Myers and others) renewed interest in the show.

His book, An Exaltation of Larks, was first published in 1968, and has been in print and revised several times since then, including a 1993 Penguin Books edition. The book is a collection of "terms of venery", both real and created by Lipton himself. The dust jacket biography for the first edition of Exaltation said his activities included fencing, swimming, and equestrian pursuits and that he had written two Broadway productions.

Lipton was a writer and producer of The Stars Salute Israel at 30, an ABC 1978 television special celebrating the 30th anniversary of the state of Israel. In 1981, Lipton published his novel, Mirrors, about dancers' lives. He later wrote and produced it as a made-for-television movie. Lipton hosted the show and conducted the main interview. He was awarded France's Ordre des Arts et des Lettres in 2014 for his work on the show.

Personal life He first married Shirley Blanc in 1947.

Between 1954 and 1959, Lipton was married to actress Nina Foch.

He was married to Kedakai Turner Lipton, a model and real estate broker, from 1970 until his death. Turner was known as the model playing Miss Scarlet on the cover of an edition of the boardgame Clue. He had been flying since 1980 and learned in a Cessna 152 and 172, at Van Nuys Airport. As of 2013, he had logged more than 1,000 hours of flight time. Lipton was a member of the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association.

Death Lipton died of bladder cancer at his home in Manhattan on March 2, 2020, at the age of 93.

Filmography

Films Year Title Role Notes 1953 The Big Break Marty 2005 BewitchedHimself 2008 IgorVoice Bolt The Director

Television Year Title Role Notes 1951 Pulitzer Prize Playhouse Himself Episode: "The Silver Cord" Armstrong Circle Theatre Episode: "Mountain Song" 1952 CBS Television Workshop Episode: "My Eyes Have a Cold Nose"1952–1962 The Web young fugitive Episode: "The Boy in the Front Row" You Are There Michelangelo Episode: "The Recognition of Michelangelo" 1953 Guiding Light Dr. Dick Grant 3 episodes1954 Inner Sanctum Tony Episode: "Guilty Secret" The Goldbergs Lotzi Episode: "August 10, 1954" 1994–2018 Inside the Actors Studio Himself Creator, writer, Executive Producer, Host 2002, 2011 The Simpsons 2 episodes 2004–2005, 2013, 2019 Arrested Development Warden Stefan Gentles 6 episodes, (final appearance) 2005 Cold Squad Uniform Cop Episode: "Borders" 2006 Joey Himself Episode: "Joey and the Actors Studio " 2008 According to Jim Devil Episode: "The Devil Went Down to Oak Park"2009 Family Guy Himself Episode: "Spies Reminiscent of Us" Saturday Night Live Episode: "Bradley Cooper/TV on the Radio"2012 Celebrity Apprentice Episode: "Getting Medieval" Glee Episode: "Goodbye" Suburgatory Dr. Richard Rohl Episode: "Down Time"

As producer

As writer

Published works