James Lipton—actor, television writer, and host of the Bravo series Inside the Actors Studio—died on Monday morning at age 93 from bladder cancer, his wife confirmed. “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,” his wife, Kedakai Turner, told TMZ. Inside the Actors Studio, which Lipton launched in 1994 and hosted for 23 seasons, was a joint master class for students at the Actor Studio Drama School and The New School University. He interviewed hundreds of famous celebrities and actors such as Paul Newman, Alec Baldwin, Bradley Cooper, and Morgan Freeman. Lipton was also featured as an actor on the comedy sitcom Arrested Development as well as films such as Bewitched, Guiding Light, and the Disney movie Bolt.
Lipton was the subject of playful television mockery, as well. Most notably, was impersonated by Will Ferrell several times on Saturday Night Life and he was made into a cartoon character, who was eventually murdered, on The Simpsons.
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