James Lipton, host and creator of the long-running Bravo series Inside the Actors Studio, has passed away at the age of 93.
A beloved television personality who launched the popular programme in 1994, Mr Lipton died from bladder cancer on Monday, according to his wipe, Kedakai Mercedes Lipton.
In a statement to The Hollywood Reporter, Ms Lipton said her husband “lived each day as if it were his last”.
"His work was his passion,” she added, saying her husband “loved what he did and all the people he worked with. He empowered people to do their best, and hopefully his spirit, curiosity and passion will live on."
Mr Lipton often said his only requirement for a guest was whether they had something to teach his students. His first guest, Paul Newman, set a standard of stardom for those that would follow, including Meryl Streep, Robert De Niro, Glenn Close, Steven Spielberg and Barbra Streisand.
He was known, and often parodied, for his highbrow and sometimes worshipful tone with his subjects, and for his intensive preparation, represented by a stack of blue notecards that held his meticulously researched questions. When Will Ferrell played Mr Lipton on “Saturday Night Live” the stack of cards was nearly a foot thick.
Many otherwise media-shy actors were willing to appear on Inside the Actors Studio because Mr Lipton focused on their art and not the usual celebrity chatter or project promotion.
“People do not come on to sell a movie and you never hear the words, ‘I’m opening in Vegas in two weeks,’ ” Mr Lipton told The Associated Press in 1996, when the show was in its second season. “That’s what most talk shows depend upon, and that’s fine, but with us we’re getting together to dig as deep as we can.”
He was not afraid to get personal, and often stunned those he interviewed with things he had learned about their childhood or private life.
Despite a guest list of nearly every A-list actor of recent decades, Mr Lipton never got the guest he wanted most, Marlon Brando.
“He was reclusive in the last years of his life,” he told Parade in 2013.
Mr Lipton added: “He said, ‘I’m never going to do your show. The studio’s always taking credit for me. I was trained by Stella Adler.’ I said, ‘So was I. Come on. We’ll talk about Stella.’ I’ve had a pretty good roster of guests without Marlon.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report
