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There were many, many sides to him, she says.
To know Jim was to constantly encounter more.
Do you remember the first time you met James Lipton?It was at the Actors Studio.
I was familiar with him already because I had his book on my shelf,An Exaltation of Larks.
Its a book that gives the plural word for groups of things.
Not one or two, but a whole group.
Like a murder of crows?Yes.
And for larks, its an exaltation.
Then Jim came to the Actors Studio to the playwrights and directors unit, and we met.
Then we filled out the board and invited Jim to be on it.
Now, you see, when [Actors Studio director] Lee Strasberg was around, he reallywasthe board.
If we wanted something and Lee said no, then it was a no.
But now we were.
Then Jim came up with the idea that we have a masters degree program.
Once we got it together, Jim became the dean of the program for the New School.
Somewhere along the way, somebody, probably Jim, said, I think we should be taping these.
And so,Inside the Actors Studiowas formed and sold to Bravo.
They loved bantering with Jim.
But more than that, they loved focusing on their craft.
That was the most important thing, dont you think?
It set him apart from everyone else who interviewed actors.
This show wasnt a gossip show.
It was actually about the craft of acting, a discussion of technique with trained actors.
And that was something that, until that point, hadnt had a national platform.
He was very funny, very droll, and very erudite.
He was knowledgeable not just about the theater but about a great many things.
I had originally brought him into the studio as a writer.
Then I discovered that he was an actor, too.
And then I found out he had studied dance and had even been a ballet dancer.
And then I found out he had been the producer of Jimmy Carters inauguration special.
He wrote another book, this one about the show, calledInside Inside.
And I said, Sure.
He was expert at so many things.
Did he ever talk to you about that experience?No.
But you also have to remember that Jim was a performer.
There were many, many sides to him.
To know Jim was to constantly encounter more.
Its so very different from just going into an interview with a list of facts about a person.
Doing your own research allows you to really go into a question and follow it up.
Whats your favorite interview that Jim did for the show?Its hard to choose.
Robin Williams, for sure.
I was in the audience for that one.
It was truly amazing.
How did it amaze you?First of all, Robin Williams was such an extraordinary talent.
That thing where he took the ladies stole, and he improvd with it?
How long was your interview?
That might be where the sense of shape came from.
The final product was shaped by Jim and expressed who he was.
The one thing he did get criticized for was being too chummy and flattering.
What do you think about that?
It might have closed them down.
He had a fabulous memory.
He said something to me once that sounded like a quote, and I said, what was that?
And he said, You said it.
It came from an interview that I had done ten, possibly 15 years before.
I had no idea how he could possibly know or remember something like that.
I never would have remembered had he not quoted it to me.
Bird songs in the morning and Rachmaninoff at night.How do you know that?
Research.Why did that phrase stick in your mind?
Because whenever Jim asked that question of his guests, they gave a single answer.
You gave two one for day, one for night.Interesting.
A lot of people make the mistake of assuming that its all about what you see the actor doing.
You go inside yourself.
Youre looking for something.
You may not know exactly why you did it.
Thats an intimidating place.
You have to have a reason to want to go down there.
The questions that are posed in therapy give you permission to go down there.
Thats where the richness is.
And in acting, thats where the surprising answers come from.
In what way were James Liptons interviews like therapy?He asked deep questions that got revelatory answers.
