HOLLYWOOD (CelebrityAccess) – Actor and comedian Rip Taylor passed away Sunday in Beverly Hills at the age of 84.
Taylor, who was known as both “The Crying Comedian” and “The King of Camp and Confetti,” was hospitalized at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles in the intensive care unit after suffering a seizure last week, his publicist Harlan Boll said in a statement.
Born Charles Elmer Taylor in Washington, D.C., Rip’s high-energy personality, wacky costumes and props, handlebar mustache and confetti tossing antics made him a mainstay on television in the 1970s. He was a frequent guest on everything from sitcoms to talk shows, including “The Gong Show,” “Password,” “The Merv Griffin Show,” “The Mike Douglas Show,” “The Tonight Show,” “Late Night with David Letterman” in addition to a hosting stint for “The $1.98 Beauty Show” — a parody of beauty contests whose big prize was a bouquet of rotten vegetables.
Outside of game shows and late-night TV, Taylor found success headlining Las Vegas’ The Flamingo Hotel’s Rockettes Extravaganza and touring the country in lead roles for broadway productions such as “Sugar Babies,” “Anything Goes, Oliver,” “Peter Pan” and “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum.”
His voice could also be heard in animated films, including “DuckTales the Movie: Treasure of the Lost Lamp,” “Tom and Jerry: The Movie,” and “Scooby-Doo and the Monster of Mexico.”
Taylor is survived by his longtime partner, Robert Fortney. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Thalians.
