I'm not sure what to write about comedian Charles Elmer "Rip" Taylor Jr., who died today at the age of 84. He made a lot of people laugh including, at times, me…but that was on TV. Our paths crossed often, including one time when I directed him doing voices in a cartoon. The Rip Taylor I met in person was sad, suspicious of people, shy, withdrawn and I probably should throw the word "brooding" in here somewhere.
A mutual friend of ours said, "When Rip's not working, he's miserable because he figures no one wants him, no one loves him, no one will ever want him again. And when he is working, he's miserable because he knows that sooner or later, that job will end and he'll be back to not working."
He wasn't the crazy, loud, confetti-throwing extrovert off-stage and at least around me, people were sometimes noticeably disappointed that he wasn't That Guy. I may be dead wrong about this but my theory is that he couldn't be That Guy because he was so depressed…and he was depressed because people he met were so disappointed in him not being That Guy. (There's a logic in this theory somewhere but you may have to study it carefully to understand what I'm getting at.)
But he was wonderful to his friends. He really loved the people who didn't expect him to be his manic on-screen self and he cared very, very deeply about the people who cared about him. He could go on and on endlessly about how wonderful this friend of his was on her TV show or that friend of his was in that new play — and he really meant it. The man loved show business. He loved people in show business. He loved entertaining people when he had that opportunity. And he was very, very humble and genuinely moved when people appreciated him. An awful lot of people did.