James Lipton, revered host and creator of “Inside the Actor’s Studio,” has died at age 93, according to several reports.
Lipton passed away early Monday at his Manhattan home from bladder cancer, his wife Kedakai Turner told The Hollywood Reporter.
Known for his thought-provoking questions and reserved demeanor, Lipton interviewed Will Smith, Meryl Streep and others during his show, which ran for 23 seasons on Bravo.
Lipton started his career as an actor, notably playing the nephew of the title star of the classic show “The Lone Ranger.C He also wrote for radio, television and Broadway. Born in Detroit on Sept. 19, 1926, Lipton’s first artistic endeavor was writing as a teenager for the Detroit Times. After high school, he entered the acting world, landing the role of Dan Reid on the radio program “The Lone Ranger.”
He would later enlist in the Air Force and become a lawyer, but he found his passion was acting.
"I'd better take some acting classes if I'm going to earn a living so I can be a lawyer,' " Lipton said in a 2013 interview. "Stella Adler accepted me for her [drama] class. About five years later, I said to myself, 'Stop kidding. You don't want to be a lawyer. This is what you want to do.' "
In 1994, Lipton, who had moved into academia, had the idea of producing some version of a master class for students attending the Actors Studio Drama School at The New School. His first guest, Oscar-winning actor Paul Newman, would be an indicator of the caliber of thespian Lipton would interview during the next 23 years, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
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During the run of the Bravo show, Lipton interviewed more than 300 subjects, many of whom were Emmy or Oscar winners. His in-depth style of questioning and serious demeanor would not waver based on the number of awards or level of acclaim of the actors.
His own show would become as heralded as the actors he interviewed. The show would reach more than 90 million homes and garner several Emmy nominations, Lipton told the Reporter in a 2016 interview.
“If you had put a gun to my head and said, ‘I will pull the trigger unless you predict that in 23 years, Inside the Actors Studio will be viewed in 94 million homes in America on Bravo and in 125 countries around the world, that it will have received 16 Emmy nominations, making it the fifth most-nominated series in the history of television, that it will have received an Emmy Award for outstanding informational series and that you will have received the Critics’ Choice Award for best reality series host — predict it or die,’ I would have said, ‘Pull the trigger.’ ”
Fans and celebrity friends responded to the loss of the celebrated host Monday. Some took note of Lipton’s popular question he posed to guests on his show, “If heaven exists, what would you like st. peter to say to you at the pearly gates?”
Others recalled how observing the actors and pondering Lipton’s thoughtful line of questioning helped them harbor a love of cinema and theater. Lipton did all the research for each subject of the show.
His work with the Actors Studio helped raised awareness about the program. With Lipton as its dean, The New School became the largest school of its kind in the U.S. Lipton called that feat “one of the prides” of his life.
The actor, writer and host was the recipient of three honorary Ph.Ds. In 2016, he received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Daytime Emmys and a Critics’ Choice Award for best reality show host.
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