James Lipton
Template:Use American English Template:Short description Template:Use mdy dates Template:Infobox person 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.<ref name="actors_s06e12">Template:Cite episode</ref>
Early life
Louis James Lipton<ref name=koseluk_03022020/> was born on September 19, 1926, in Detroit, Michigan, the only child of Betty (née Weinberg), a teacher and librarian,<ref name="philly2002">Template:Cite web</ref> 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.<ref name="LawrenceLipton">Template:Cite encyclopedia Alt URL Template:Webarchive</ref><ref name="filmr">Template:Cite web</ref> Lawrence was a Polish Jewish emigrant (from Łódź), whose surname was originally Lipschitz.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Betty's parents were Russian Jews.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> His parents divorced when Lipton was six,<ref name="philly2002"/> and his father abandoned the family.<ref name="parade2013">Template:Cite web</ref>
Lipton's family struggled financially, and he started to work when he was 13 years old.<ref name="parade2013"/> He worked in high school as a newspaper copy boy for the Detroit Times and as an actor in the Catholic Theater of Detroit and in radio.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Lipton had initially intended to become an attorney.<ref name="philly2002"/><ref name="parade2013"/> After graduating from Central High School in Detroit, he attended Wayne State University for one year in the mid-1940s and enlisted in the United States Army Air Forces.<ref name="philly2002"/> In an interview with Vanity Fair, Lipton talked about his time in Paris in the 1950s, when he worked for about a year as a pimp.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> On the Today show, Lipton clarified that he had worked as a beneficent maque in the regulated prostitution business.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>"Inside, Inside," Lipton, J., Dutton (2007), Template:ISBN</ref>
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.<ref name="philly2002"/><ref name=actors/><ref name="mediabistro2012">Template:Cite web</ref> From 1952 to 1962, Lipton started in The Guiding Light, playing the role of Dr. Dick Grant and eventually becoming head writer.<ref name=actors>Template:Cite episode</ref> 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.<ref name="philly2002"/> He also started studying voice and dance (including modern dance and classical ballet), and choreographed a ballet for the American Ballet Theatre.<ref name="philly2002"/>
In 1951, he appeared in the Broadway play The Autumn Garden by Lillian Hellman. He portrayed a shipping clerk turned gang member in Joseph Strick's 1953 film, The Big Break, a crime drama.
He wrote the book and lyrics for the 1962 Broadway musical Nowhere To Go But Up. The show had its tryout in Philadelphia at the Shubert Theatre opening October 6, 1962, to mixed notices.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The show opened in New York on November 10, 1962, at the Winter Garden, to generally unfavorable reviews.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> John Chapman wrote in the NY Daily News that the show "is delicious bathtub gin. . . . This is a happy show."<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> 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."<ref> "The Theatre: 'Nowhere to Go but Up' ", The New York Times, November 12, 1962, p. 36.</ref> As a result, Kermit Bloomgarden, the producer, decided to close the show on November 17, 1962, after nine performances.<ref>"Play's 'Angels' Seek to Prevent Closing", The New York Times, November 16, 1962, p. 24.</ref> A group of 234 small investors tried to keep the show from closing by parading in front of the theater and sought an injunction,<ref>"Producer Ordered to Court As Backers Decry Closing", The New York Times, November 18, 1962, p. 49.</ref> 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.<ref>Miller, Marc."Uncorking Sherry!" Template:Webarchive theatermania.com, February 9, 2004</ref><ref>Buckley, Michael."James Lipton Chats About Sherry and "Inside the Actor's Studio", playbill.com, February 15, 2004.</ref>
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.<ref name="isbn0140170960">Template:Cite book</ref> The book is a collection of "terms of venery", both real and created by Lipton himself.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> 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.
In 1981, Lipton published his novel, Mirrors, about dancers' lives. He later wrote and produced it as a made-for-television movie.<ref name=actors/> For the genre of television, Lipton produced some two dozen specials including: twelve Bob Hope Birthday Specials; The Road to China, an NBC entertainment special produced in China; and the first televised presidential inaugural gala (for Jimmy Carter).<ref name=actors/>
In 2004, 2005, 2013, and 2019, Lipton appeared on several episodes of Arrested Development as Warden Stefan Gentles. In 2008, he provided the voice for the Director in the Disney animation film Bolt. He played "himself" as Brain Wash, interviewer of the monster Eva's acting teacher in the Paris-Vietnam animated film Igor. Lipton also appears twice in the same episode of Family Guy in cutaways where he simply says "Improv!" both times.
Inside the Actors Studio
Template:Main In the early 1990s, Lipton was inspired by Bernard Pivot and sought to create a three-year educational program for actors that would be a distillation of what he had learned in the 12 years of his own intensive studies.<ref name=actors/> In 1994, he arranged for the Actors Studio—the home base of "method acting" in the United States—to join with New York City's New School University and form the Actors Studio Drama School, a formal degree-granting program at the graduate level.<ref name=actors/> After ending its contract with the New School, the Actors Studio established the Actors Studio Drama School at Pace University in 2006.Template:Citation needed
Lipton created a project within the Actors Studio Drama School: a non-credit class called Inside the Actors Studio (1994), where successful and accomplished actors, directors and writers would be interviewed and would answer questions from acting students.<ref name=actors/> These sessions were also taped, edited, and broadcast on television for the general public to see. The episodes were viewed in 89 million homes throughout 125 countries.<ref name="BravoBio">Template:Cite web</ref> Lipton hosted the show and conducted the main interview.<ref name=actors/> In a 2008 interview, when asked if he had anticipated the show's success, Lipton responded, "Not in my wildest imaginations. It was a joint, arduous effort involving many people. At a point and time not too distant in the past, I had three lives. I was the dean of the Actors Studio, the writer of the series, its host and executive producer. I maintained a preposterous sixteen-hour schedule."<ref name="DansPapers">Template:Citation</ref> He was awarded France's Ordre des Arts et des Lettres in 2014 for his work on the show.<ref name="BravoBio" />
Lipton's last Inside the Actors Studio, an interview with Ted Danson, aired on January 11, 2018. In September 2018, Lipton stated that he was stepping down from the program after more than 24 years.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
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.<ref name="filmr"/> She was the book and illustration designer for Lipton's book, An Exaltation of Larks, The Ultimate Edition.
In the 200th episode of Inside the Actors Studio, Lipton stated that he was an atheist.
Lipton stated in interviews that he was a pilot, certified in Airplane Single Engine Land planes.<ref>Template:Cite webTemplate:Cbignore</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> 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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Death
Lipton died of bladder cancer at his home in Manhattan on March 2, 2020, at the age of 93.<ref name=koseluk_03022020>Template:Cite news</ref>
Filmography
Films
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | Template:Tooltip |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1953 | The Big Break | Marty | ||
| 2005 | Bewitched | Himself | ||
| 2008 | Igor | Voice | <ref>Template:Cite news</ref> | |
| Bolt | The Director | <ref>Template:Cite news</ref> |
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | Template:Tooltip |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 episodes | |
| 1954 | 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
| Year | Title | Role | Template:Tooltip |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1977 | Jimmy Carter's Inaugural Gala | Executive producer | |
| 1978 | Happy Birthday, Bob | ||
| 1979 | Bob Hope on the Road to China | Producer | |
| 1981 | American Dance Machine Presents a Celebration of Broadway Dance | Executive producer | |
| 1985 | Mirrors | Producer | |
| 1987 | Bob Hope Salutes the U.S.F. 40th Anniversary | Executive producer | |
| 1988 | Happy Birthday, Bob: 50 Stars Salute Your 50 Years with NBC | ||
| 1989 | Bob Hope's Birthday Spectacular in Paris | ||
| 1994–2018 | Inside the Actors Studio |
As writer
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | Template:Tooltip |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1952 | Guiding Light | Head writer | ||
| 1956 | The Edge of Night | Writer | ||
| 1960 | The United States Steel Hour | Episode: "The Charlie and the Kid" | ||
| 1963 | The Doctors | |||
| 1965 | Another World | Head writer | ||
| 1970 | The Best of Everything | |||
| 1972 | Return to Peyton Place | |||
| 1978 | Happy Birthday, Bob | Writer | ||
| 1979 | All-Star Birthday Party for Bob Hope... at Sea | |||
| 1982 | All-Star Birthday Party at Annapolis | |||
| 1985 | Mirrors | |||
| Copacabana | Writer | Teleplay story and teleplay | ||
| 1984–1987 | Capitol | Head writer | ||
| 1987 | Bob Hope Salutes the U.S.F. 40th Anniversary | Writer | ||
| 1989 | Bob Hope's Birthday Spectacular in Paris | |||
| 1994–2018 | Inside the Actors Studio |
Published works
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See also
References
External links
- 1926 births
- 2020 deaths
- 20th-century American Jews
- 20th-century American male actors
- 20th-century American male writers
- 20th-century American novelists
- 20th-century American poets
- 20th-century American screenwriters
- 21st-century American Jews
- 21st-century American male actors
- 21st-century American male writers
- 21st-century American novelists
- 21st-century American poets
- 21st-century American screenwriters
- American atheists
- American ballet choreographers
- American expatriates in France
- American librettists
- American male film actors
- American male novelists
- American male poets
- American male radio actors
- American male screenwriters
- American male soap opera actors
- American male television actors
- American male television writers
- American people of Polish-Jewish descent
- American people of Russian-Jewish descent
- American soap opera writers
- American television producers
- American television talk show hosts
- American university and college faculty deans
- Central High School (Detroit) alumni
- Chevaliers of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres
- Choreographers of American Ballet Theatre
- Deaths from bladder cancer in New York (state)
- Jewish American atheists
- Jewish American male actors
- Jewish American screenwriters
- Male actors from Detroit
- Military personnel from Detroit
- Novelists from Michigan
- Novelists from New York (state)
- Pace University faculty
- Screenwriters from Michigan
- Screenwriters from New York (state)
- United States Army Air Forces personnel of World War II
- Wayne State University people
- Writers from Detroit