As the host of an academic arts and culture interview show, Lipton wouldn't seem like someone who is likely to end up in the cultural zeitgeist, but his wonderfully wordy questions and erudite speech patterns helped him do just that. During his stint on Saturday Night Live comedian Will Ferrell frequently played Lipton in sketches poking fun of his Inside the Actors Studio interviews. Lipton saw the impression as flattering, playfully telling CNN in a 2012 interview, "He got me cold, the rat."
Around the time that Ferrell was playing him on SNL, Lipton saw a resurgence in his acting career, playing parts (often comedic versions of himself) in TV shows like Family Guy, Glee, The Simpsons. As recently as 2019 he was a recurring cast member on Arrested Development, playing the effete prison warden Stefan Gentles.
Lipton is survived by his wife of 49 years Kedakai Turner, who told TMZ that she knows Lipton would like to be remembered "as someone who loved what he did and had tremendous respect for all the people he worked with."
