Rip Taylor

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American actor and comedian, mostly seen in outrageous roles, known for his exuberance and flamboyant personality, including his wild walrus moustache, toupee, and his habit of showering himself (and others) with confetti. Taylor was the son of a waitress and a musician. As described in his 2010 one-man show It Ain't All Confetti, Taylor had a tough childhood, which included being molested while in foster care and having to deal with bullies in school. As a young man, Taylor worked as a congressional page before serving in the Korean War while in the U.S. Army Signal Corps. Taylor's career in show business began after he joined the U.S. Army, where he started performing stand-up in clubs and restaurants abroad. He got his big break when he landed a spot on The Ed Sullivan Show, making close to 20 appearances. Taylor appeared on The Jackie Gleason Show in several guest appearances during the 1963–1964 season as "the crying comedian." He worked as a voice performer in the 1970s cartoon series Here Comes the Grump (as the title character) and in the second The Addams Family cartoon series (as Uncle Fester). Throughout the 1970s, Taylor was a frequent celebrity guest panelist on TV game shows such as Hollywood Squares. He became a regular on Sid and Marty Krofft's Sigmund and the Sea Monsters, playing Sheldon, a sea-genie who lived in a conch shell. He also hosted a short-lived send-up of beauty pageants, The $1.98 Beauty Show. Taylor made occasional appearances in movies, usually in broad comedies like The Happy Hooker Goes to Washington (1977) and Cheech and Chong's Things Are Tough All Over (1982). Taylor was an accomplice of the Jackass crew. He appeared in the final scene of Jackass: The Movie (2002), wielding a pistol that, when fired, released a sign that read "The End." He did the same thing at the ending of Jackass Number Two (2006) and Jackass 3D (2010). Taylor's first big live show was in 1966, when he went on a tour with Judy Garland and Eleanor Powell in Las Vegas. He was a frequent co-star with Debbie Reynolds in her live shows. Taylor was a close personal friend of entertainer Liberace, spent time with him, and knew him well. In 2006, Taylor appeared as the grand marshal of the Washington, D.C. Capital Pride parade. Taylor, a bisexual, dated, and was happily married for a number of years to Las Vegas showgirl Rusty Rowe, though they later divorced. At the time of his death, he had been in a long-term relationship with Robert Fortney. Taylor died on 6 October 2019, aged 88, in Beverly Hills, California. Link to Wikipedia biography