Lawrence Lipton

Lawrence Lipton (né Lipschitz; 1898 – July 9, 1975) was a Polish-born Jewish American journalist, writer, and Beat poet, as well as the father of James Lipton. He is also known for coining the term Disneyfication in 1959.

Early life Lipton was born in Łódź, Poland, in 1898, the son of Rose and Abraham Lipschitz. He immigrated to the United States in 1903 and settled in Chicago, Illinois.

Career Lipton began his career as a graphic artist and won an award for his illustration of a version of the Haggadah, the Passover seder liturgical text. He appeared in The Hypnotic Eye (1960) as "King of the Beatniks".

In April 1963, he was a panelist at the UCLA Arts Convention along with August Heckscher, Charles Eames, Richard Neutra, Aldous Huxley, Herbert Blau. It was hosted by the then-dean of the UCLA College of Fine Arts, William W. Melnitz.

In the episode "Swan Song" on the show Gilmore Girls, Rory is showing Jess her copy of The Holy Barbarians by Lipton, and says that he is "the father of the guy that does those Actors Studio interviews on TV", to which Jess responds "It's weird that a beatniky guy would have a conservative son like that."

The Holy Barbarians was also used as a band name for Holy Barbarians, a short-lived garage rock band from Liverpool, England, active from 1995 to 1997.

Personal life Lipton's first wife was Dorothy Omansky. He next married Betty Weinberg, a teacher; their son was Inside the Actors Studio host James Lipton.