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Quick Facts
- NAME: Nipsey Russell
- OCCUPATION: Actor, Comedian
- BIRTH DATE: September 15, 1918
- DEATH DATE: October 02, 2005
- EDUCATION: University of Cincinnati
- PLACE OF BIRTH: Atlanta, Georgia
- PLACE OF DEATH: New York City, New York
- Originally: Julius Russell
Best Known For
Nipsey Russell was best known for his comic rhymes and his appearances on TV game shows.
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Play NowNipsey Russell. (2013). The Biography Channel website. Retrieved 04:07, May 19, 2013, from http://www.biography.com/people/nipsey-russell-20632459.
Nipsey Russell. [Internet]. 2013. The Biography Channel website. Available from: http://www.biography.com/people/nipsey-russell-20632459 [Accessed 19 May 2013].
"Nipsey Russell." 2013. The Biography Channel website. May 19 2013, 04:07 http://www.biography.com/people/nipsey-russell-20632459.
"Nipsey Russell," The Biography Channel website, 2013, http://www.biography.com/people/nipsey-russell-20632459 [accessed May 19, 2013].
"Nipsey Russell," The Biography Channel website, http://www.biography.com/people/nipsey-russell-20632459 (accessed May 19, 2013).
Nipsey Russell [Internet]. The Biography Channel website; 2013 [cited 2013 May 19] Available from: http://www.biography.com/people/nipsey-russell-20632459.
Nipsey Russell, http://www.biography.com/people/nipsey-russell-20632459 (last visited May 19, 2013).
Nipsey Russell. The Biography Channel website. 2013. Available at: http://www.biography.com/people/nipsey-russell-20632459. Accessed May 19, 2013.
During the 1960s and 1970s, Russell capitalized on his success as a stage performer to become a fixture on television comedy shows. He appeared frequently on The Tonight Show, Missing Links, The Ed Sullivan Show, What's My Line and The Jackie Gleason Show. It was on Missing Links with Ed McMahon in 1964 that Russell first began incorporating into his routines the brief,
Contents
rhymed poems that would become his trademark and earn him the title "The Poet Laureate of Television." A typical example of one of his humorous poems went: "Before we lose our autonomy/ And our economy crumbles into dust/ We should attack Japan, lose the war/ And let Japan take care of us."
Acting
In addition to his comedy routines, Russell also enjoyed a successful acting career. He landed his first major acting role as police officer in the sitcom Car 54, Where Are You? and went on to roles in Barefoot in the Park (1970) and The Red Skelton Hour (1967-1968). Russel's most acclaimed acting performance came as the Tin Man in The Wiz, an all-black remake of The Wizard of Oz costarring Diana Ross, Michael Jackson and Richard Pryor. While continuing to perform live shows in New York City and Las Vegas, in his later years Russell became a staple of daytime television with long-running roles on The $20,000 Pyramid, Password Plus and Hollywood Squares.
Legacy
Nipsey Russell was never married and did not have any children. He often joked, "I have enough trouble living with myself, how could I ever live with anyone else?" Russell passed away in New York City on October 2, 2005 after a yearlong struggle with cancer.
With his beaming smile, intelligent wit and endless supply of clever rhymes, Nipsey Russell brought laughter to generations of club-goers and television-watchers, both black and white, while helping to break down the racial barriers that had long plagued the American entertainment industry. He was an entertainer who both reflected and helped bring about the increasingly multicultural makeup of American society. Extolling American diversity in characteristically humorous fashion, Russell once quipped, "America is the only place in the world where you can work in an Arab home in a Scandinavian neighborhood and find a Puerto Rican baby eating matzo balls with chopsticks."
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