James Lipton, who created, hosted and executive produced the Bravo series Inside the Actors Studio and served as dean (and then dean emeritus) of the Actors Studio Drama School at New York City’s Pace University, passed away earlier this week. He was 93.
Lipton, who hosted in depth interviews with hundreds of Hollywood stars for more than 20 years, died at his home in New York of bladder cancer, his wife Kedakai Turner confirmed to The Hollywood Reporter (THR).
According to THR, the articulate wordsmith and theater academic James Lipton’s desire to give his acting students a greater insight into their art led to the popular series. “Conceived by Lipton in 1994, Inside the Actors Studio was created to serve as a thinly disguised master class for the students of the Actors Studio Drama School, a joint venture of the Actors Studio and The New School. With Paul Newman as its initial guest, each one-hour program featured a top performer in an intimate and in-depth one-on-one interview with Lipton,” noted THR.
