Lipton died of bladder cancer at his New York home, his wife Kedakai Lipton told The Associated Press. He was 93. James Lipton, an actor-turned-drama-school-dean who got hundreds of Hollywood luminaries to open up about their life and art and became an unlikely celebrity himself as the longtime host of Inside the Actors Studio, died Monday.
He 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.
