Comedian Rip Taylor Dies at 84

Former The $1.98 Beauty Show host and funnyman Rip Taylor has passed away at the age of 84. Known [...]

By Adam Barnhardt

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(Photo: Kevin Winter/Getty Images)

Former The $1.98 Beauty Show host and funnyman Rip Taylor has passed away at the age of 84. Known for his prop-involved comedic shticks, Taylor described himself as the "King of Confetti," after dousing fans with pieces of colored paper at nearly all performances throughout his career. After a decades-long career, some of the comedian's most recent credits came during the first three Jackass movies for MTV.

In a 2011 interview, Taylor admitted he stumbled upon his confetti-throwing shtick accidentally during an appearance on The Merv Griffin Show.

"Then I did props and I was "The Prop Comedian." I was dying like hell on Merv Griffin's show," Taylor told Classic Television Showbiz blogger Kliph Nesteroff. "The jokes were dumb and I tore the 5x8 cards, threw them up in the air and it became confetti. I knocked over his desk, walked up the aisle, went to Sardi's and said, 'Well, that's the end of my television career.' I went home that night. Their switchboard had lit up. They said, 'Get the guy that went crazy!'And that... is how the confetti started."

Throughout his career, Taylor tallied over 2,000 television credits, including several dozen spots on The Tonight Show. He was also a frequent guest on various Hollywood-based gameshows include The Hollywood Squares. Taylor's movie credits include DuckTales the Movie and Wayne's World 2.

Born Charles Elmer Taylor Jr. on January 13, 1935, Taylor grew up in Washington D.C., eventually serving as a congressional page as a teen. He then entered the United States Army before being assigned to special services, which allowed him to entertain troops stationed abroad.

Fans quickly took to Twitter to pay tribute to the late comedian.

Taylor is survived by his longtime partner Robert Fortney.

Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images

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