Actor and comedian Nipsey Russell, who died of cancer on Sunday, scored his biggest roles playing the Tinman in the 1978 musical The Wiz, alongside Diana Ross and Michael Jackson, and as a police officer on the series Car 54 Where Are You?, but he sustained a decades-long career on stage and screen mostly by just being himself. Russell’s smart comic stylings, often presented in rhyme form, landed him regular appearances on The Tonight Show, Toast of the Town, The Dean Martin Show, The $50,000 Pyramid, and To Tell the Truth, among other series, and earned him the title ”poet laureate of television.” The Seattle Times printed one of the Russell’s verses today, to accompany its obituary of the comedian, and it bears repeating here:
The opposite of pro is con;
That fact is clearly seen;
If progress means move forward,
Then what does Congress mean?
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I always enjoyed him, I think he was so perennially popular on game and talk shows because he was just fun to have around and could light up a room a thousand different ways, even his name was upbeat and fun!
Comic Strip mayhem characters “Milk and Cheese” once went on a rampage because they could not get enough Nipsey Russell.
My personal fave with him though is the role he played in Goldie Hawn’s “Wildcats”.
I still remember Nipsy easing on down the road as the Tin Man. Will be missed.
I remember Nipsey in the 1970s as a staple of the game shows. He seemed to radiate benignness. I imagine him in rerun heaven, tossing rhymes with Fred Berry and Bob Denver.
Nipsey was a delight to watch on popular TV game shows especially The $50,000 Pyramid. He was like Ali the champ, but was a knock out poet and comedian. His clean comedy style will be missed by all ages.
Oh man—first Buddy Hackett dies and now Nipsey Russell? Those two were this couch potato’s favourite comedians back in the 70s. I used to live for Nipsey on Match Game and Pyramid, and then Buddy would show up on the Tonight Show (sometimes drunk) and make me laugh until I cried. I’m sure heaven is a much funnier place now. Rest in peace, Nipsey.