Rip Taylor | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Taylor in 2010 | |
| Born | Charles Elmer Taylor Jr. (1931-01-13)January 13, 1931 Washington, D.C., U.S. |
| Died | October 6, 2019(2019-10-06) (aged 88) Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Other names | Charles E. Taylor |
| Occupation(s) | Actor, comedian |
| Years active | 1950s–2019 |
| Spouse | Rusty Rowe (div.) |
| Partner | Robert Fortney |
| Website | riptaylor |
Charles Elmer "Rip"Taylor Jr. (January 13, 1931 – October 6, 2019) was an American actor and comedian, known for his exuberance and flamboyant personality, including his wild moustache, toupee, and his habit of showering himself (and others) withconfetti.[1][2]The Hollywood Reporter called him "a television and nightclub mainstay for more than six decades" who made thousands of nightclub and television appearances.[3]
Charles Elmer Taylor Jr. was born in Washington, D.C.,[3] on January 13, 1931, the son of Elizabeth Sue Evans (1911–2000),[4] a waitress and former government clerk, and Charles Elmer Taylor (died 1933), a musician.[5] His father died when he was two years old. As described in his 2010 one-man showIt Ain't All Confetti, Taylor had a tough childhood, which included being molested while infoster care and having to deal with bullies in school.[1] As a teenager he attended Capitol Page School.[3] Taylor worked as acongressional page before serving in theKorean War; he was in theU.S. ArmySignal Corps.[1][6][7] Although assigned to the Corps, he was sent toSpecial Services, the entertainment wing of the military, where he performed for the troops in Tokyo andKorea.[3]
Taylor's career in show business began when he joined the U.S. Army, where he started performing stand-up in clubs and restaurants abroad while also performing for the troops. After his military service, and back in the U.S., he focused on a nightclub career.[3] His mainstay material was "pantomiming records"; his favorites wereYiddish folk songs andSpike Jones tunes.[3] He said that ended one day when the record player broke, "I haven't shut up since."[3] In the mid-1950s he worked thestrip clubs all along the Eastern coast of the U.S.[3] Although much of his material included jokes stolen from acts he saw inUSO shows, his first signature piece would be to pretend to cry while begging the audience for laughs.[3] He found he could get a bigger response that way.[3] His bookings started to get more upscale and he played all overMiami Beach, Florida, which had become a winter destination for the wealthy.[3] Taylor was also a mainstay in the summer playground of the wealthy inthe Catskills Mountains.[3] A booking agent fromThe Ed Sullivan Show attended his show one night. Taylor would spend a week's salary on champagne to get the audience boisterous. He first appeared on the show in 1961 and made about twenty appearances.[3]Sullivan would forget his name, saying "Get me the crying comedian."[8]
In addition to theEd Sullivan Show, Taylor appeared onThe Jackie Gleason Show in several guest appearances during the 1963–1964 season as "the crying comedian".[9][10] Taylor's signatureconfetti tossing gag came from an appearance in the 1960sThe Merv Griffin Show where he was bombing as a stand-up comedian.[3] "I did props and I was 'TheProp comedian.' I was dying like hell on Merv Griffin's show. The jokes were dumb, and I tore the five by eight cards, threw them up in the air and it became confetti," he recalled. "I knocked over his desk, walked up the aisle, went toSardi's and said, 'Well, that's the end of my television career.' I went home that night. Their switchboard had lit up. They said, 'Get the guy that went crazy!'"[3]
Taylor became somewhat of a fixture inLas Vegas.[3] He was the opener forEleanor Powell's dance-focused revue, and would go on to warm up audiences for headlinersFrank Sinatra,Sammy Davis Jr.,Ann-Margret,Debbie Reynolds,Frankie Laine,Judy Garland andThe Kingston Trio.[3] In the 1970s he won Las Vegas Entertainer of the Year three times.[3]
He appeared in two 1968 episodes ofThe Monkees as well as having a cameo in their 1969 special33+1⁄3 Revolutions per Monkee.[11] He continued to work as avoice performer in the 1970s cartoon seriesHere Comes the Grump, as the title character,[12] and in the second edition ofThe Addams Family cartoon series in 1992, as the voice ofUncle Fester.[13]
Throughout the 1970s, Taylor was a frequent celebrity guest panelist on television game shows such asHollywood Squares,To Tell the Truth, andThe Gong Show, and substituted forCharles Nelson Reilly onMatch Game. He became a regular onSid and Marty Krofft'sSigmund and the Sea Monsters, playing Sheldon, a sea-genie who lived in a conch shell. In addition, Taylor was also a regular onThe Brady Bunch Hour,[1] playing the role of neighbor/performer Jack Merrill. He also hosted a short-lived send-up of beauty pageants titledThe $1.98 Beauty Show, created byChuck Barris, producer/host ofThe Gong Show, in 1978.[3] Taylor appeared as a celebrity on the 1990 version ofMatch Game.[citation needed] In 1979, he was the voice of C.J. from theHanna-Barbera television movieScooby Goes Hollywood.[citation needed] Taylor's other appearances also includeThe Kids in the Hall, where he was referred to as Uncle Rip byBuddy Cole, the show's most flamboyantly gay character.[citation needed] He also appeared as himself in the movieWayne's World 2, one of the special guests invited to "WayneStock" after being visited in a dream byJim Morrison.[3] Taylor made "dozens of mayhem-filled appearances" on bothThe Tonight Show andThe Mike Douglas Show.[3]
In 1990, he voiced the genie inDuckTales the Movie: Treasure of the Lost Lamp. Taylor appeared uncredited on a December 1994 edition ofWWF Monday Night Raw. He assisted another wrestler and they pushedJeff Jarrett.[14]
In 1997, Taylor appeared in a segment on the showBeyond Belief: Fact or Fiction. He played the role of Elmo Middleton in the segment "The Man in the Model T". Also in 1997, he appeared as himself on the sitcomBrotherly Love in the episode "Easy Come Easy Go". He also portrayed Chief Undersecretary Wartle in the graphical adventure gameZork: Grand Inquisitor in 1997.[15] In 2003, Taylor also appeared as himself onWill & Grace. In 2005, he appeared as himself on an episode ofGeorge Lopez.[citation needed] Taylor guest-starred as chef "Rappin' Rip" in four episodes ofLife with Bonnie.[3] He guest starred inThe Suite Life of Zack & Cody episode "Loosely Ballroom" as Leo.[16] He is also in some episodes ofThe Emperor's New School as the voice of the Royal Record Keeper.[citation needed] He was also in theJetix animated seriesSuper Robot Monkey Team Hyperforce Go!.[citation needed] He made a special guest appearance at the end of the 1,000th episode ofG4's video game review showX-Play.[citation needed] He made a guest appearance on a 2012 episode ofThe Aquabats! Super Show!, where he played a genie reminiscent of his character onSigmund and the Sea Monsters.[citation needed]
In 1995, Taylor performed the intro for theBloodhound Gang'sUse Your Fingers album. In the early 2000s,Johnny Knoxville asked Taylor to be in the filmJackass: The Movie (2002)[17][18] and in the final scene, he wielded a pistol that, when fired, released a sign that read "The End."[citation needed][a] He did the same thing at the ending ofJackass Number Two, andJackass 3D.[citation needed] In the credits of the2005 remake ofThe Dukes of Hazzard, Taylor shows up in the blooper reel.[citation needed]
Taylor made occasional appearances in movies, usually in broad comedies likeThe Happy Hooker Goes to Washington (1977)[19] and the R-ratedDeep Throat parodyChatterbox (1977).[20] InCheech & Chong'sThings Are Tough All Over (1982), he picks them up in the middle of nowhere driving a convertible full of props.[citation needed] He then proceeds to drive them to Las Vegas and telling jokes the whole way and moving Chong to tears from laughter (and, later, tears because he won't stop).[citation needed] InAmazon Women on the Moon (1987) a funeral service turns into acelebrity roast when guest Rip Taylor shows up to "honor" the deceased.[citation needed] In 1992, Taylor voiced Captain Kiddie inTom and Jerry: The Movie.[citation needed] In 1993'sIndecent Proposal, he appeared asDemi Moore's boss, Mr. Langford.[21][22]
In 1981, Taylor appeared on Broadway when he replacedMickey Rooney in the burlesque-themed musical comedySugar Babies.[23] He was a frequent co-star withDebbie Reynolds in her live shows in Las Vegas; Reno, Nevada; and Lake Tahoe. Taylor performed frequently in Atlantic City as well.[2] In 2010, he appeared in the one-man showIt Ain't All Confetti in North Hollywood, where he shared personal stories about his life and career.[1]
In 2005, Taylor appeared as the grand marshal of the Washington, D.C.,Capital Pride parade.[24] When Taylor had been referred to as "openly gay"[25] in a 2009 interview for "Ask the Flying Monkey",Brent Hartinger recalled receiving an email from Taylor stating, "You don't know me to surmise I am openly gay. I don't know you're not an open heroin user. You see how that works? Think before you write." Taylor was married for a number of years to Las Vegas showgirl Rusty Rowe, whom he divorced in the early 1960s.[26][27][28]
Taylor was a close friend of entertainerLiberace.[29] Taylor cut the ribbon at the Las Vegas estate auction of Liberace's belongings and personal effects in 1988.[30]
According to his publicist, at the time of Taylor's death he was in a long-term relationship with Robert Fortney.[31]
Taylor died on October 6, 2019, atCedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, having been hospitalized for anepileptic seizure the week prior.[31][32][33] His death certificate listed heart failure as a contributing cause.[34] While Taylor often gave his birth year as 1934 or 1935, his death certificate and census records confirm he was born in 1931.[35][34][36] His ashes were scattered at sea in Hawaii.[34]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1967 | The Monkees | Manager | S2:E14, "Monkees on the Wheel" |
| 1968 | Glick | S2:E26, "Mijacogeo" | |
| 1978-1980 | The $1.98 Beauty Show | MC | 78 episodes |
| 2006 | The Suite Life of Zack & Cody | Leo | S2:E25, "Loosely Ballroom" |
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