James Lipton, the creator, executive producer and longtime host of Bravo’s interview series Inside the Actors Studio, died today of bladder cancer at his home in Manhattan. He was 93.
His wife, Kedakai Mercedes Lipton, announced his death.
From 1994 until his retirement last year, Lipton interviewed seemingly countless actors about their careers, training and the acting life on the Emmy-winning talk show. Known for his extensive research – detailed on the collection of index cards he kept at the ready – the genial, professorial and ever-curious Lipton was known for for the extensive pre-show research that would fill up the many blue cards he carried onto the set.
Lipton announced his retirement from the show in 2018, timed to coincide with the show’s 2019 move from its longstanding home on Bravo to Ovation TV. The latest incarnation of Inside The Actors Studio – part of the master’s degree program at the Actors Studio Drama School of Pace University – features a rotating roster of guest hosts.
Though his interviews were exhaustive, Lipton made a point of keeping the questions on the craft and study of acting, strictly avoiding anything remotely tabloid. “I made a vow early on that we would not deal in gossip — only in craft,” Lipton said upon his retirement announcement.
The Bravo run included more than 200 episodes and the series earned 20 Emmy nominations — its lone win came in 2013 for Outstanding Informational Series or Special. Lipton won a Critics’ Choice Award for hosting in 2016.