James Lipton Has Died At 93
James Lipton, famed 50s whore house pimp and creator/host of Inside The Actors Studio, is now in the afterworld, asking actor angels what their favorite curse word is. Or maybe being a bordello pimp was his favorite job and he’s doing that in heaven. I don’t know, but sadly, James Lipton died from bladder cancer today at his home in Manhattan. He was 93.
James’ wife of 50 years Kedakai Mercedes Lipton confirmed the news to The New York Times, and she also said this about him to TMZ:
“There are so many James Lipton stories but I’m sure he would like to be remembered as someone who loved what he did and had tremendous respect for all the people he worked with.”
No, James was not an heir to the Lipton empire. He actually grew up pretty poor. His mother Betty Lipton was a teacher and librarian, and his father Lawrence Lipton was a journalist and beat poet. After graduating high school, James went to Wayne State University for one year before joining the Air Force and going to the war. After the war, James found himself in 1950s Paris, and after becoming good friends with one prostitute, he became her pimp and then managed several French pussy peddlers. He said this to Parade in 2013.
“Yes, a whole bordello. I represented them all, but her especially. I did a roaring business, and I was able to live for a year. The French mecs didn’t exploit women. They represented them, like agents. And they took a cut. That’s how I lived. I was going through my rites of passage, no question about it. It was a great year of my life.”
Even though James worked as manager of coozé (that’s French for cooze, obviously), he said in that same interview that he believes prostitution shouldn’t exist, because if “you can’t earn it on your own, then you don’t deserve it.” After getting out of the pimp game, James decided to step down the ladder of respectability by studying to be a lawyer (my lawyer Larry H. Parker is probably going to drop me for that one). And to pay for his law studies, he took up acting on the side and that led to him taking on acting full-time. James’ acting credits throughout the years included: The Autumn Garden on Broadway, Arrested Development, Suburgatory, According to Jim, and Guiding Light.
On top of acting, James was a writer and wrote scripts for Guiding Light, Another World, and The Doctors. And he wrote the lyrics for the 1967 Broadway musical Sherry!. And he also wrote a novel, and produced several Bob Hope television specials. Yes, pimp, law student, actor, producer, director, and writer. James Lipton did it all!
And in the 90s, he decided to add “acting teacher” to his resume. James got the Actors Studio to join forces with the New School University in NYC to create the Actors Studio Drama School (which left the New School and became The Actors Studio Drama School at Pace University in 2006). In 1994, James created a program at the Actors Studio called Inside The Actors Studio where successful directors and actors dropped in to take questions from students. Inside The Actors Studio was filmed and aired on Bravo in 1994 when Bravo was still trying to be a fancy, respectable bitch.
James interviewed EVERYONE on Inside The Actors Studio. It ran on Bravo for 22 seasons before leaving for Ovation. They probably moved because James Lipton refused to take Andy Cohen’s advice of throwing champagne at his guest face’s or asking them to talk shit about a co-star. And that was the opposite of James’ style. James got made fun of a lot, because his lips touched more actor ass than a lipo machine. James knew this and proved he was the best of sports by happily making fun of himself on The Simpsons.
James left Inside The Actors Studio in 2018. The show is still on and uses a rotating panel of hosts.
He was married to Dutch American actress Nina Foch from 1954 to 1959. And in 1970, he married Kedakai Turner, one of the most glamorous women in history. And I say that because she was the face of Miss Scarlett on the 1972 board game cover of Clue.
James Lipton ended each interview by asking, “If heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the pearly gates?” I don’t know what James Lipton wanted to hear, but my guess is that God really said to him: “You seriously had Marky Mark on Inside The Actors Studio?!!!”
Rest in peace, James Lipton.
Pic: Wenn.com