Rip Taylor

Charles Elmer "Rip" Taylor Jr. (January 13, 1931 – October 6, 2019) was an American actor and comedian, known for his exuberance and flamboyant personality, including his wild moustache, toupee, and his habit of showering himself (and others) with confetti. The Hollywood Reporter called him "a television and nightclub mainstay for more than six decades" who made thousands of nightclub and television appearances. a waitress and former government clerk, and Charles Elmer Taylor (died 1933), a musician. His father died when he was two years old. As described in his 2010 one-man show It Ain't All Confetti, Taylor had a tough childhood, which included being molested while in foster care and dealing with bullies in school. Although assigned to the Corps, he was sent to Special Services, the entertainment wing of the military, where he performed for the troops in Tokyo and Korea.

Television and film In addition to the Ed Sullivan Show, Taylor appeared on The Jackie Gleason Show in several guest appearances during the 1963–1964 season as "the crying comedian". Taylor's signature confetti tossing gag came from an appearance in the 1960s The Merv Griffin Show where he was bombing as a stand-up comedian. He continued to work as a voice performer in the 1970s cartoon series Here Comes the Grump as the title character, and in the second edition of The Addams Family cartoon series in 1992 as the voice of Uncle Fester.

Throughout the 1970s, Taylor was a frequent celebrity guest panelist on television game shows such as Hollywood Squares, To Tell the Truth, and The Gong Show, and substituted for Charles Nelson Reilly on Match Game. He became a regular on Sid and Marty Krofft's Sigmund and the Sea Monsters, playing Sheldon, a sea-genie who lived in a conch shell. In addition, Taylor was also a regular on The Brady Bunch Hour, Taylor appeared as a celebrity on the 1990 version of Match Game. In 1979, he was the voice of C.J. from the Hanna-Barbera television movie Scooby Goes Hollywood. Taylor's other appearances also include The Kids in the Hall, where he was referred to as Uncle Rip by Buddy Cole, the show's most flamboyantly gay character. He also appeared as himself in the movie Wayne's World 2, one of the special guests invited to "WayneStock" after being visited in a dream by Jim Morrison. Taylor made "dozens of mayhem-filled appearances" on both The Tonight Show and The Mike Douglas Show.

In 1997, Taylor appeared in a segment on the show Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction. He played the role of Elmo Middleton in the segment "The Man in the Model T". Also in 1997, he appeared as himself on the sitcom Brotherly Love in the episode "Easy Come Easy Go". He also portrayed Chief Undersecretary Wartle in the graphical adventure game Zork: Grand Inquisitor in 1997. In 2003, Taylor also appeared as himself on Will & Grace. In 2005, he appeared as himself on an episode of George Lopez. Taylor guest-starred as chef "Rappin' Rip" in four episodes of Life with Bonnie. He is also in some episodes of The Emperor's New School as the voice of the Royal Record Keeper. He was also in the Jetix animated series Super Robot Monkey Team Hyperforce Go!. He made a special guest appearance at the end of the 1,000th episode of G4's video game review show X-Play. He made a guest appearance on a 2012 episode of The Aquabats! Super Show!, where he played a genie reminiscent of his character on Sigmund and the Sea Monsters.

In 1995, Taylor performed the intro for the Bloodhound Gang's Use Your Fingers album. In the early 2000s, Johnny Knoxville asked Taylor to be in the film Jackass: The Movie (2002) and in the final scene, he wielded a pistol that, when fired, released a sign that read "The End." He did the same thing at the ending of Jackass Number Two, and Jackass 3D. In the credits of the 2005 remake of The Dukes of Hazzard, Taylor appears in the blooper reel.

Taylor made occasional appearances in movies, usually in broad comedies like The Happy Hooker Goes to Washington (1977) and the R-rated Deep Throat parody Chatterbox (1977). In Cheech & Chong's Things Are Tough All Over (1982), he picks them up in the middle of nowhere driving a convertible full of props. He then proceeds to drive them to Las Vegas and telling jokes the whole way and moving Chong to tears from laughter (and, later, tears because he won't stop). In Amazon Women on the Moon (1987) a funeral service turns into a celebrity roast when guest Rip Taylor shows up to "honor" the deceased. In 1992, Taylor voiced Captain Kiddie in Tom and Jerry: The Movie. In 1993's Indecent Proposal, he appeared as Demi Moore's boss, Mr. Langford.

Live theatre In 1981, Taylor appeared on Broadway when he replaced Mickey Rooney in the burlesque-themed musical comedy Sugar Babies. He was a frequent co-star with Debbie Reynolds in her live shows in Las Vegas; Reno, Nevada; and Lake Tahoe. Taylor performed frequently in Atlantic City as well. When Taylor had been referred to as "openly gay" in a 2009 interview for "Ask the Flying Monkey", Brent Hartinger recalled receiving an email from Taylor stating, "You don’t know me to summarize that I am openly gay. I don’t know that you’re not an openly heroin user. You see how that works? Think before you write." Taylor was married for a number of years to Las Vegas showgirl Rusty Rowe, whom he divorced in the early 1960s.

Taylor was a close friend of entertainer Liberace. Taylor cut the ribbon at the Las Vegas estate auction of Liberace's belongings and personal effects in 1988.

According to his publicist, at the time of Taylor's death he was in a long-term relationship with Robert Fortney.

Taylor died on October 6, 2019, at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, having been hospitalized for a seizure the week prior. His death certificate listed heart failure as a contributing cause. While Taylor often gave his birth year as 1934 or 1935, his death certificate and census records confirm he was born in 1931. His ashes were scattered at sea in Hawaii.

Filmography

Television Year Title Roles Notes 1967 The Monkees Manager S2:E14, "Monkees on the Wheel" 1968 Glick S2:E26, "Mijacogeo" 1969–1970 Here Comes the Grump The Grump 34 episodes1973–1975 Sigmund and the Sea Monsters Sheldon The Sea Genie 13 episodes 1977 The Brady Bunch Hour Jack Merrill 8 episodes 1978–1980 The $1.98 Beauty Show MC 78 episodes 1984–1987 Down to Earth Stanley McCloud 1992–1993 The Addams Family Uncle Fester 21 episodes 1993 Bonkers Wacky Weasel S4:E11, "Get Wacky" 2002–2003 Whatever Happened to... Robot Jones? Mr. McMcMc, Guy in Car 7 episodes 2004 Will & Grace Himself S7:E9, "Saving Grace, Again: Part 2" 2005 The Life and Times of Juniper Lee Horrifying Monster S1:E4, "New Trickster in Town" George Lopez Himself S4:E17, "George Buys a Vow" 2006 The Suite Life of Zack & Cody Leo S2:E25, "Loosely Ballroom" 2006–2008 The Emperor's New School The Royal Judge 17 episodes 2010 Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D-List Himself S6:E8, "Maggie, the Musical"

Film