Nipsey Russell 1924-2005

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From Yahoo.com

NEW YORK - Nipsey Russell, who played the Tin Man alongside Diana Ross and Michael Jackson in "The Wiz" as part of a decades-long career in stage, television and film, has died. He was 80.

The actor, who had been suffering from cancer, died Sunday afternoon at Lenox Hill Hospital, said his longtime manager Joseph Rapp.

Born in Atlanta, Russell launched his television career as Officer Anderson in the 1961 television series "Car 54, Where are You?" He also appeared in the 1994 film version.

He became a fixture on popular television game and talk shows, where he was welcomed for his poetic delivery that earned him the moniker the "poet laureate of television." He also took his signature four-line poetry on the road for readings and performances.

Russell also appeared in the films "Nemo" in 1984, "Wildcats" in 1986 and "Posse" in 1993.

He settled in New York after graduating from the University of Cincinnati and serving as an Army captain in Europe during World War II, Rapp said.

Russell never married. "He always said, 'I have trouble living with myself, how could I live with anyone else,'" Rapp said. "But he was a wonderful guy, very quiet, never bragged."
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When I still had Game Show Network, I used to watch him on the 70's version of Match Game, where he was one of the best people on there at the time. The entertainment world has truly lost a legend.
 
When I still had Game Show Network, I used to watch him on the 70's version of Match Game, where he was one of the best people on there at the time. The entertainment world has truly lost a legend.
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I remember seeing those on GSN too. :( I agree with you, he definitely was a legend in the entertainment industry.
 
From the mouth of Nipsey Russell:

"Spring has sprung
Fall has fell
Summer is here
It's hotter than... usual."

"The girl that I would marry
Need not be young and fair
She should be a nymphomaniac
And be a millionaire."

"Of this job,
I don't think so highly,
But hey -- it beats hangin' out
With Charles Nelson Reilly."

"If you make sweet love with a school teacher
You'll have an amazing night,
She'll do it and do it and do it again
Until you get it right."

R.I.P. Nipsey
 
Just heard this from Nipsey on an old Match Game rerun from the 70's:

I have found the girl I’ve been looking for
The best one in the nation
She is ugly, old, and out of shape
But she owns a filling station.
 
I just copied the report from Yahoo News. They might be right or wrong. From other websites:

September 15, 1918: Imdb.com, Wikipedia, DeadOrAliveInfo.com.

October 13, 1924: TV.com, San Francisco Chronicle, NPR, Answers.com, CBS/AP.

From the Washington Post: "Mr. Russell didn't have a birth certificate, so his age couldn't officially be confirmed, said Joseph Rapp, Mr. Russell's manager for nearly 40 years."
 
I always enjoyed his sarcastic caustic humor, he was funny :lol: RIP for sure, he was one of a kind!
 
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