RIP Nipsey Russell

Well, this happened a few days ago but we lost another comedy great.

Nipsey Russell, TV star, comedian

By Myrna Oliver

Los Angeles Times


Nipsey Russell, a stand-up comedian who became a national television personality through his frequent appearances on variety, talk and game shows, has died. He was 80.

Mr. Russell died Sunday at New York's Lenox Hill Hospital, a hospital spokesman confirmed Monday. According to WCBS-TV in New York, Russell's manager, Joseph Rapp, said the comedian died of cancer.

A witty raconteur, Mr. Russell delighted audiences with his funny but topical poems. They prompted Ed McMahon to dub him ``the poet laureate of television.''

One of his typical four-line verses, for example, was:

``The opposite of pro is con;

That fact is clearly seen;

If progress means move forward,

Then what does Congress mean?''

``I've always had the ability to manipulate words and communicate ideas and thoughts,'' Mr. Russell told the Philadelphia Tribune in 1997, adding that he earned a degree in English at the University of Cincinnati and originally planned to teach English.

Writing poems, Mr. Russell told the Los Angeles Times in 1993, ``is very simple to do. . . . I start with the joke line and write backward.''

Mr. Russell made his breakthrough in the late 1950s with an appearance on ``The Ed Sullivan Show'' and a series of erudite, entertaining chats with Jack Parr on ``The Tonight Show.'' The appearances earned Mr. Russell a regular role in the 1961-63 television sitcom ``Car 54, Where Are You?''

Mr. Russell became a popular guest on such variety shows as ``The Jackie Gleason Show,'' ``Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In'' and ``The Dean Martin Show.'' He often hosted ``Dean Martin Roasts'' television specials. Younger generations remember Mr. Russell best as a glib panelist on such game shows as ``To Tell the Truth,'' ``The Match Game,'' ``Masquerade Party,'' ``Missing Link,'' ``Rhyme and Reason'' and ``Juvenile Jury.''

In 1985, Mr. Russell became one of the first black game-show hosts with NBC's ``Your Number's Up.''

In 1993, Mr. Russell was featured in the HBO documentary ``Mo' Funny: Black Comedy in America.''

Mr. Russell, who told the Times in 1993 that he was ``the very first and the only'' black regular on game shows, said he broke into the genre when he entertained at a party for producer Mark Goodson. Impressed with his cleverness, the Goodson group tested him as a game show participant.

Born in Atlanta on Oct. 13, 1924, he tap danced with the Ragamuffins of Rhythm, which helped prepare him for his later stints in musicals.

As adept at singing and dancing as talking, Mr. Russell appeared in Broadway musicals including ``A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum'' and ``Hello Dolly!''

Although Mr. Russell appeared in few motion pictures, he did make a memorable Tin Man in the 1978 film version of the all-black musical ``The Wiz.''

http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/12821581.htm

 

Who?

 

Kids these days

[image=http://www.spun.com/amgcover/dvd/full/t0/24/t02471rvwbq.jpg]

 

I recognize the name, but I can't place him.

 

That is so sad he was such a good actor.Oil,oil.

 

Nipsey Russell, do the hustle... no more.

 

RIP Tinman.