Julius "Nipsey" Russell was an American actor, comedian, poet, and dancer best known for his appearances as a panelist on game shows from the 1960s through the 1990s, including Match Game, Password, Hollywood Squares, To Tell the Truth, and Pyramid.
22 Facts About Nipsey Russell
2.
Nipsey Russell's appearances were often distinguished by short, humorous poems he recited during the broadcast, which led to his nickname "the poet laureate of television".
3.
Nipsey Russell had one of the leading roles in the film version of The Wiz as the Tin Man.
4.
Nipsey Russell was a frequent guest on the Dean Martin Celebrity Roast series and often appeared on Late Night with Conan O'Brien during the program's early years.
5.
Nipsey Russell's birthdate is unclear; according to one report his birth certificate was lost.
6.
Nipsey Russell acquired the nickname "Nipsey" from his mother, who liked the way it sounded.
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Nipsey Russell went to Booker T Washington High School in Atlanta, then moved to Cincinnati to live with an aunt during his senior year so that he could establish residency to attend the University of Cincinnati tuition-free.
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Nipsey Russell attended the University of Cincinnati for one semester in 1936, which is consistent with a birthdate of 1918, as he would have been 18 and not merely 11 or 12, as he would have been if he had been born in 1924 or 1925.
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Nipsey Russell served as a medic in the United States Army during World War II, enlisting as a private on June 27,1941, and returning from Europe in 1945 as a second lieutenant.
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Nipsey Russell got his start as a comedian in the 1940s as a carhop at the Atlanta drive-in The Varsity, where he increased the tips he earned by making customers laugh.
11.
Nipsey Russell was discovered after he began performing in nightclubs in the 1950s.
12.
Nipsey Russell subsequently made many "party albums", which were essentially compilations of his stand-up routines.
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In 1952, Nipsey Russell joined with film comedian Mantan Moreland for a stage act, replacing Ben Carter as Moreland's dapper straight man.
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In 1965, Nipsey Russell became a co-host of ABC's Les Crane Show.
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Nipsey Russell appeared frequently in Las Vegas, including a series of appearances with Sergio Franchi at the Frontier Hotel in 1978 and 1979, and with Franchi in 1979 at the Sands Hotel Copa Room.
16.
Nipsey Russell performed at Kutsher's Country Club in Monticello, New York, on January 1,1977.
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Nipsey Russell became the first black performer to become a regular panelist on a daily network game show when he joined ABC's Missing Links in 1964.
18.
Nipsey Russell hosted two revivals of Jack Barry and Dan Enright's Juvenile Jury for BET from 1983 to 1984, then again for syndication from 1989 to 1991.
19.
In 1983, Nipsey Russell hosted a pilot game show on CBS called Star Words.
20.
Nipsey Russell often appeared during comedy sketches between scheduled guests and delivered his trademark rhymes.
21.
Nipsey Russell died on October 2,2005, at the age 87 in New York City, of cancer.
22.
Nipsey Russell was cremated and his ashes were scattered in the Atlantic Ocean.