Interviewer of the stars
‘Actors Studio’ host Lipton dies at 93
“Inside the Actors Studio” host James Lipton died of bladder cancer at his Manhattan home Monday. He was 93.
Lipton launched his career as a soap opera writer and actor on “The Guiding Light,” where he worked for a decade. He was best known for launching the interview series “Inside the Actors Studio” at the New School in Greenwich Village.
That program was initially intended as a class at the Actors Studio Drama School, where, in 1994, Lipton began taping interviews with actors, directors and writers, beginning with Paul Newman.
Over the years, Lipton hosted a bevy of Hollywood A-listers, including Meryl Streep, Tom Hanks, Barbra Streisand, Al Pacino, Martin Scorsese, Steven Spielberg and Bradley Cooper, who once sat in the audience as a student.
“For decades, I was asked what guest do you want the most?” Lipton told Steve Adubato during a 2016 interview. “You know what my answer was? The night that one of our graduated students has achieved so much that he comes back to our stage and sits next to me as my guest. And Bradley was the one.”
Praised for his deep understanding of acting and actors, Lipton hosted memorable interviews with Hollywood’s finest, like Jack Lemmon and Melanie Griffith, who both revealed struggles with substance abuse during their episodes.
“Inside the Actors Studio” earned 20 Emmy nominations during its nearly quarter century run on Bravo. It was honored with the award for outstanding informational series or special in 2013.
Lipton stepped down as host in September 2018, just before Ovation TV took over the broadcast and introduced a rotating panel of guest hosts.
“It’s very gratifying to see the legacy of ‘Inside the Actors Studio’ being carried forward for a new generation to appreciate and enjoy,” he said in a statement at the time. “I’m excited to see the new hosts engage with the guests and students and continue to entertain viewers in the U.S. and around the world.”
In a statement to the Daily
News, Ovation TV honored Lipton’s career.
“We celebrate and honor the great legacy of James Lipton,” a spokesman said. “James is beloved around the world for his passion, insight and dedication to the craft of acting. With ‘Inside the Actors Studio,’ James has created a long-lasting impact on the acting world. Ovation mourns his loss and offers deepest condolences to his family, friends and fans.”
Over the years, Lipton made or voiced cameo appearances on TV shows including “The Simpsons,” “Family Guy,” “Saturday Night Live” and “Glee.”
He also wrote the lyrics for the 1962 Broadway musical “Nowhere to Go but Up” and the 1967 musical “Sherry!,” based on Moss Hart and George S. Kaufman’s play “The Man Who Came to Dinner.” In 1968, he published “An Exaltation of Larks,” a book about nouns and, in 1981, “Mirrors,” a novel later turned into an NBC TV movie starring Tim Daly.
“James Lipton was a warm, meticulous man with a great appreciation of the arts and wicked sense of humor,” “Watch What Happens Live” host Andy Cohen tweeted. “He was the face of Bravo who delivered us one-of-a-kind interviews with a breadth of superstars.”
Lipton continued on at Pace University, where he served as the dean of the Actors Studio program from 1994 to 2004, and became dean emeritus in 2005.