James Lipton

Lipton was born on September 19, 1926, in Detroit, Michigan, the only child of Betty (née Weinberg), a teacher and librarian,[3] 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.[4][5] Lawrence was a Polish Jewish emigrant (from Łódź), whose surname was originally "Lipschitz".[6] Betty's parents were Russian Jews.[7][8] His parents divorced when Lipton was six,[3] and his father abandoned the family.[9]

Lipton's family struggled financially, and he started to work at age 13.[9] 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.[3][9] 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 Air Force.[3] In the 1950s, Lipton worked as a pimp when he was living in Paris.[10]

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.[3][11][12] He wrote for several soap operas: Another World, The Edge of Night, Guiding Light, The Best of Everything, Return to Peyton Place and Capitol. He also acted for over ten years on The Guiding Light.[11] Lipton studied for two and half years with Stella Adler, four years with Harold Clurman, and two years with Robert Lewis.[3] He also started studying voice and dance (including modern dance and classical ballet), and choreographed a ballet for the American Ballet Theatre.[3]

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 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 over 30 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.[13][14]

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.[15] 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.

In 1983, Lipton published his novel, Mirrors, about dancers' lives. He later wrote and produced it as a made-for-television movie.[11] 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).[11]

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.[16]

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. Kedakai was known as the model playing Miss Scarlett on the cover of the boardgame Clue.[5] 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 revealed that he was an atheist. He also revealed that, during the 1950s, he had been a procurer of prostitutes in Paris.[9]

Lipton stated in interviews that he was a pilot, certified in Airplane Single Engine Land planes.[20][21] 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.[22]

He was portrayed by Will Sasso and Paul C. Vogt on MadTV, by Will Ferrell on Saturday Night Live, and by Arrested Development co-star David Cross on Mr. Show with Bob and David.

In The Simpsons episode entitled "The Sweetest Apu", Lipton briefly parodied himself in an interview with the fictional Rainer Wolfcastle.

In the opening host segment of Mystery Science Theater 3000 episode 904 Werewolf, Mike trips and hits his head, causing him to believe he is James Lipton. Sporting a fake beard and note cards, he proceeds to interview Crow and Servo after mistaking them for Ray Liotta and William Katt, respectively. A blow from a large ‘clown hammer’ by Crow returns Mike to normal.

• Lipton, James (1968). An Exaltation of Larks. Viking USA. ISBN 978-0670300440.
• Lipton, James (1981). Mirrors. St Martins Press. ISBN 978-0312534387.
• Lipton, James (2007). Inside Inside. Dutton. ISBN 978-0525950356.

• List of awards and nominations received by James Lipton

Wikimedia Commons has media related to James Lipton.

• Bravo biography
• James Lipton at IMDb
• James Lipton discography at Discogs
• James Lipton at The Interviews: An Oral History of Television