James Lipton, longtime host of “Inside The Actors Studio,” has died at 93. “TMZ” reports Lipton passed away peacefully at his New York City home yesterday morning after a battle with bladder cancer.
“There are so many James Lipton stories,” his wife Kedakai Turner tells “TMZ.” “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.”
Lipton started “Inside The Actors Studio” in 1994, a show filmed in front of a live audience full of acting students – among them, future award-winning actor Bradley Cooper. Lipton has interviewed Ben Affleck, Halle Berry, Morgan Freeman, Al Pacino, Betty White, Eddie Murphy and many more before his retirement in 2018 after 22 seasons. And as per the one question he's always ask his guests: If heaven exists, what would you like God to say when you arrive at the pearly gates?
Ovation TV, the network that acquired the show after Lipton’s retirement, has shared a statement to Yahoo! Entertainment. “James is beloved around the world for his passion, insight, and dedication to the craft of acting,” the statement reads. “James has created a long-lasting impact on the worlds of acting, storytelling and the arts.”
Andy Cohen, who worked with Lipton when “Actors Studio” was still on Bravo, has paid tribute to the late legend on Twitter, calling him a “warm, meticulous man with a great appreciation of the arts and wicked sense of humor.”
Source: TMZ
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