James Lipton was born on September 19, 1926 in Detroit, Michigan. He is an American writer, poet, and dean emeritus of the Actors Studio Drama School in New York City.

In Detroit, on radio's The Lone Ranger, Lipton portrayed the Lone Ranger's nephew, Dan Reid, during the early 1940s. Moving to New York, he was a writer for several soap operas, Another World, The Edge of Night, Guiding Light and Capitol, as well as acting for over ten years on Guiding Light.

Lipton was the book writer and lyricist for the 1967 Broadway musical Sherry! based on the Moss Hart and George S. Kaufman play The Man Who Came to Dinner. The score and orchestrations were lost for over 30 years, and the original cast was never recorded. In 2003 a studio cast recording renewed interest in the show.

His book of terms of venery, An Exaltation of Larks, was published in 1968.

He starred in in a number of humorous television commercials for DC Shoes including "Cold Squad", "Arrested Development" and "Inner Sanctum".

Filmography

• "Arrested Development" (4 episodes, 2004-2005)
• "Cold Squad" (2 episodes, 2005)
• "Inner Sanctum" (1 episode, 1954)
• The Big Break (1953)
• "The Guiding Light" (1952) TV Series (1952-1962)
• "Armstrong Circle Theatre" (1 episode, 1951)