'Inside The Actors Studio' Host James Lipton Dead At Age 93
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) - James Lipton, the longtime former host of Inside The Actors Studio has died.
Lipton passed away at his Manhattan home at the age of 93.
For more than two decades, Lipton got actors, musicians and other celebrities to talk about what makes them tick. He hosted Inside the Actors Studio from 1994 to 2018, spending hours talking to celebrities about their craft, not the gossip.
Known for his thorough research, Lipton used a stack of note cards to refer to when he talked extensively with famous people. During a 2007 interview for CBS Sunday Morning, Lipton said preparation was the key to a great interview.
"And from the very beginning, it was my hope that when people watched Inside The Actors Studio, they would have the feeling that they were eavesdropping on me and my guest in their living room, or in mine, talking about something that means the most to us: Craft," he said.
Lipton conducted interviews in a unique setting. As Dean of The Actors Studio, first in front of Pace University students and then later at The New School, one of his hallmarks was to listen and learn.
"The way the guests and I have thought about it sometimes, it's a circus tent. On one side is a rope ladder, on the other side another. I go up one, the guest goes up the other, and we meet up at the top on a high wire with no net for 4-5 hours. That will force you to listen and respond, which is, after all, what a conversation is," Lipton said.
In 2013, he won an Emmy for Outstanding Informational Series, and a lifetime achievement award from the daytime Emmys in 2007.
The show was even satirized on Family Guy.
Lipton's death was announced by his wife.
James Lipton was 93 years old.
"We deeply mourn the passing of our brilliant colleague, Jim Lipton, former Dean of The Actors Studio Drama School, as well as the creator, writer, producer and erudite host of Inside The Actors Studio which was seen in 94 million American households and in 125 countries around the world during his 23 years at the helm. Jim has made an enormous contribution to The Actors Studio. We celebrate his memory with gratitude, respect, and love," The Actors Studio co-presidents Ellen Burstyn, Alec Baldwin and Al Pacino said in a statement.
Lipton often said his only requirement for a guest was whether they had something to teach his students. His first guest, Paul Newman, set a standard for stardom for those that would follow, including Meryl Streep, Robert de Niro, Glenn Close, Steven Spielberg and Barbra Streisand.
