James Lipton

James Lipton has passed away, at the age of 93. Lipton had a storied career, most famous I suppose for his work as host of the long running series Inside the Actor's Studio.

But he was also an actor, scriptwriter, choreographer, lyricist, author, producer, pimp, soap opera star and talented writer. He even played the part of the Lone Ranger's nephew on the radio. A more extensive bio here.

Lipton was an ace wordsmith. I became acquainted with the man through his incredible book An exaltation of larks, the classic 1968 compendium of venery. Retha once gave me a copy of the book and I could not put it down, it is a stunningly brilliant and eloquent work. He gave the world a cowardice of curs and a passel of brats along with many other beautiful snippets.

Talk about a life well lived.