OBIT: There once was a TV poet...

[David Paleg]

'The Wiz' Actor Nipsey Russell Dies at 80
Oct 3, 11:28 PM (ET)


(AP) Nipsey Russell poses for photographers at the New York premiere of the film "The Aviator" Tuesday...

NEW YORK (AP) - 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."

[cgarison]

I had no clue Nipsy Russell was that old....

[David Paleg]

Here is one of Nipsey's from an old Match Game episode:

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.

[Dave Allen]

But Nipsy is still dead, right? Because if he isn't....well that just changes everything.

[David Paleg]

Yeah, he is still dead. The episode was from the 70's. Unless he came back to life like Bobby Ewing, Mr. Spock, and Raymond Caine Sr.

[genlock]

I thought he died years ago.