James Lipton was born on September 19 1926 in Detroit, Michigan. His mother, Betty, was a teacher and librarian. His father was journalist, beat poet, and graphic designer Lawrence Lipton. His parents divorced when James Lipton was six. To help support his family, James Lipton went to work when he was a teenager as a copy boy at The Detroit Times. At the same time he acted at the Catholic Theatre of Detroit. He also worked in radio. It was following his graduation from high school that he played the role of The Lone Ranger's nephew, Dan Reid, on the hit radio show The Lone Ranger.
James Lipton enlisted in the United States Air Force during World War II. Following his service in the Air Force, he went to New York City in hopes of becoming a lawyer. To support his education, he continued acting. He studied acting under Stella Adler for two and a half years, under Harold Clurman for four years, and Robert Lewis for two years. Eventually he abandoned his plans for becoming a lawyer to concentrate on acting.
In the early Fifties Mr. Lipton continued to appear on radio in such shows as Now Hear This. In the Fifties he appeared on such television shows as Pulitzer Prize Playhouse, Armstrong Circle Theatre, The Guiding Light, You Are There, Inner Sanctum, The Goldbergs, and Kraft Television Theatre. He appeared in the movie The Big Break (2003). It was during the Fifties that he also began work as a writer. He was a writer on the soap opera The Guiding Light. He also wrote on the daily serial The Edge of Night and he wrote an episode of The United States Steel Hour. In 1952 he appeared on Broadway in The Autumn Garden.
In the Sixties James Lipton wrote the books and lyrics for the Broadway shows Nowhere to Go But Up and Sherry!. He wrote episodes of the soap opera Another World and he served as head writer on the soap opera The Best of Everything. His book, An Exaltation of Larks, was published in 1968.
In the Seventies James Lipton wrote for the soap opera The Doctors and was head writer on the soap opera Return to Peyton Place. He wrote for three Bob Hope television specials, Happy Birthday, Bob; All-Star Birthday Party for Bob Hope... at Sea; and Bob Hope on the Road to China. He produced the Broadway shows The Mighty Gents and Monteith & Rand.
In the Eighties he was the head writer on the soap opera Capitol. He wrote the TV movies Mirrors (based on his own novel) and Copacabana.
It was in the Nineties that James Lipton created Inside the Actors Studio. The show was originally conceived to be a master class in acting and soon became one of the most popular and successful shows on the cable channel Bravo. James Lipton served as the show's host, interviewer, writer, and executive producer. He remained with Inside the Actors Studio until 2018.
In the Naughts James Lipton continued on Inside the Actors Studio. He also guest starred on the TV shows Cold Squad and According to Jim. He played himself in the movie Bewitched (2005) and provided the voice of The Director in the animated film Bolt (2008). In the Teens he guest starred on the TV show Suburgatory and had a recurring role on Arrested Development. He retired from Inside the Actors Studio in 2018.
I honestly think that to say James Lipton was one of the greatest television writers, hosts, and interviewers of all time would not be an understatement. As a writer he was articulate and eloquent, a master of words who could make things simple and clear so that even those unfamiliar with acting techniques could understand what he was saying. As an interviewer he was gifted not only with considerable knowledge of the craft of acting, but the ability to put his subjects at ease so that they would open up to him. James Lipton was able to get actors to discuss things on Inside the Actors Studio that they had not or would not discuss anywhere else. Frances Berwick, President of NBCUniversal's Lifestyle Networks (of which Bravo is one), called Mr. Lipton, "...a titan of the film and entertainment industry..." That he certainly was.
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