Earlier today, the world lost a treasure when we lost James Lipton at age 93 after a bout with bladder cancer. Lipton was widely known as the host of Inside The Actors Studio, wherein he would interview key Hollywood players with a literal stack of questions. The show began in 1994, and he retired from the program in 2018.
Let’s take a look at the contributions he made to the world of Disney.
Bolt (2008) – In Walt Disney Animation Studios’ 48th Full-Length animated feature, Lipton took on the role of antagonistic Director who is dead set on making sure that Bolt doesn’t realize he is the star of his own TV Show. He sees Bolt as a tool of expressing emotion, believing that if Bolt believes that everything he does is real, so does the audience, and all that is ruined when a boom mic gets in the shot.
Arrested Development (2004) – When the Walt Disney Company acquired 20th Century Fox in 2019, they also acquired the Fox library, including the critically acclaimed series, Arrested Development. In its second season, Lipton played the role of Orange County prison warden, Warden Gentles, the aspiring screenwriter who wrongfully incarcerated Oscar Bluth thus losing his promotion and taking a $2300 hit.
The Simpsons and Family Guy – Again, thanks to the acquisition of the Fox library, Disney has acquired every episode of the long-running series Family Guy, and the even longer-running series, The Simpsons, where James Lipton did a few guest spots on both shows as himself. In fact, one of the more famous episodes of Inside The Actors Studio was on where he interviewed the entire cast of The Simpsons while they were both in and out of character.
We are aware that there are so many more contributions that James Lipton has given to Hollywood, and this only scratches the surface. We would also like to pass on our most sincere condolences to his family and friends in this difficult time.