# Who knew Rip Taylor is still alive? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 13, 2017, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-knew-rip-taylor-is-still-alive/801558 "2017-11-13T22:16:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2017, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-knew-rip-taylor-is-still-alive/801558/1 "2017-11-13T22:16:01Z")
Something reminded me of Rip Taylor, so I thought I’d see when he died. As of this posting, he hasn’t. Who knew? ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2017, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-knew-rip-taylor-is-still-alive/801558/2 "2017-11-13T22:28:50Z")
He appears at the end of each _Jackass_ movie, so I knew he was alive at least as of 2010. I honestly don’t even know what he’s famous for. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2017, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-knew-rip-taylor-is-still-alive/801558/3 "2017-11-13T22:35:40Z")
> [@DCnDC](#): > > I honestly don’t even know what he’s famous for. I know him from _Sigmond & The Sea Monsters_. Also for [‘Holy mackerel!’](https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-OTxVDsMd_D4/WFyB5CtHExI/AAAAAAAAWcE/YXw7VE6ucF4CbgGCjkukPpApoahlPVF8gCLcB/s1600/holy%2Bmackerel.png) ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2017, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-knew-rip-taylor-is-still-alive/801558/4 "2017-11-13T23:21:33Z")
He was some kind of stand-up comedian; on Carson frequently, and Dean Martin roasts. He would come down the main aisle–after his introduction–with a bag full of confetti and shower the audience with it; when the bag was empty, he’d jam it on someone’s head. His routine seemed Gallagher-esque. Didn’t know he was still alive. ---
**Author:** ![Hypno-Toad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b2d939/32.png) [@Hypno-Toad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypno-Toad)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2017, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-knew-rip-taylor-is-still-alive/801558/5 "2017-11-13T23:48:30Z")
His career apparently didn’t know. ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2017, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-knew-rip-taylor-is-still-alive/801558/6 "2017-11-14T00:49:30Z")
Wasn’t he on the Gong Show a lot? Yeah, I had no idea he was still around. ---
**Author:** ![not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/not_what_you_d_expect/32/3246_2.png) [@not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/not_what_you_d_expect)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2017, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-knew-rip-taylor-is-still-alive/801558/7 "2017-11-14T01:13:52Z")
I didn’t know he was still alive, but I was just thinking about the other Rip (Torn) yesterday and wondering if he was still alive. He is! ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2017, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-knew-rip-taylor-is-still-alive/801558/8 "2017-11-14T02:12:33Z")
I keep getting Rip Torn and Rip Taylor confused, because ‘Rip Torn’ sounds so much more like a wild comedian’s name than a serious-to-comicly-serious actor. (I did know both of them were still alive, though.) ---
**Author:** ![GreysonCarlisle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a87d85/32.png) [@GreysonCarlisle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreysonCarlisle)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2017, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-knew-rip-taylor-is-still-alive/801558/9 "2017-11-14T02:28:31Z")
Someone needs to [check his apartment](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sz91DSXCkGY). ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2017, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-knew-rip-taylor-is-still-alive/801558/10 "2017-11-14T02:40:56Z")
> [@Shoeless](#): > > Wasn’t he on the Gong Show a lot? Y And the “$1.98 Beauty Contest”! ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2017, 5:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-knew-rip-taylor-is-still-alive/801558/11 "2017-11-14T05:36:56Z")
I remember Rip best from Steve Allen’s syndicated show back in the late '60s. If he didn’t have a bag of confetti, he had a large bottle of seltzer that he’d spray the audience with. He would also, on occasion, take a towel and use it to polish his pate, without taking his toupee off first (a verbal description does not do this justice). He also got bleeped once for telling the “What’s brown and lies in a meadow?”\* joke. The only times I laughed harder and longer watching Steve’s show was when Professor Irwin Corey would run through the studio and physically attack the cameras. \*“Winnie’s pooh.” ---
**Author:** ![Quimby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/22d042/32.png) [@Quimby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quimby)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2017, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-knew-rip-taylor-is-still-alive/801558/12 "2017-11-14T16:03:49Z")
> [@Kamino\_Neko](#): > > I keep getting Rip Torn and Rip Taylor confused, because ‘Rip Torn’ sounds so much more like a wild comedian’s name than a serious-to-comicly-serious actor. (I did know both of them were still alive, though.) I came in here to post this with roughly the same logic. ---
**Author:** ![Mr\_Shine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mr_shine/32/464_2.png) [@Mr\_Shine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr_Shine)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2017, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-knew-rip-taylor-is-still-alive/801558/13 "2017-11-14T16:07:23Z")
I have absolutely no idea who he is other than the guy John Oliver wanted to be the “Hitler replacement” in Thailand. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2017, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-knew-rip-taylor-is-still-alive/801558/14 "2017-11-14T17:01:00Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > Professor Irwin Corey… He died early this year. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2017, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-knew-rip-taylor-is-still-alive/801558/15 "2017-11-14T17:48:38Z")
I remember when Corey died. As with Rip, I was astonished that he’d managed to hold on for so long! ---
**Author:** ![Telperion](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telperion/32/509_2.png) [@Telperion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telperion)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2017, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-knew-rip-taylor-is-still-alive/801558/16 "2017-11-14T18:16:50Z")
> [@not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](#): > > I didn’t know he was still alive, but I was just thinking about the other Rip (Torn) yesterday and wondering if he was still alive. He is! I actually knew that, but only because he got caught trying to break into a bank a few years back and was released due to being about 100 years old and having thought it was his home. ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2017, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-knew-rip-taylor-is-still-alive/801558/17 "2017-11-16T00:59:51Z")
> [@Telperion](#): > > I actually knew that, but only because he got caught trying to break into a bank a few years back and was released due to being about 100 years old and having thought it was his home. The mistake wasn’t age related - he was drunk off his ass. He also wasn’t released due to his age (74, at the time, FTR) - he was released on bail, then given a suspended sentence, after pleading guilty. Also, that happened 7 years ago. ---
**Author:** ![Jim\_s\_Son](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19adc/32.png) [@Jim\_s\_Son](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jim_s_Son)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2017, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-knew-rip-taylor-is-still-alive/801558/18 "2017-11-16T15:10:47Z")
Didn’t know he was alive; was also surprised that Chuck McCann is alive (he’s a year older). George Carlin once noted that because they let their feelings out in laughter, comedians live longer although Freddie Prinze Sr depressed the life expectancy a little. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2017, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-knew-rip-taylor-is-still-alive/801558/19 "2017-11-16T18:50:44Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > He would also, on occasion, take a towel and use it to polish his pate I read this as “take a bowel”, which would be good for laughs, but ecch. ---
**Author:** ![drad\_dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@drad\_dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drad_dog)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2017, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-knew-rip-taylor-is-still-alive/801558/20 "2017-11-16T19:46:14Z")
Rip Taylor was “The” prop comic, of all time.