WASHINGTON — The 84-year-old entertainer Rip Taylor died at his Beverly Hills home Sunday at 1:59 p.m. local time according to his publicist Harlan Boll.
Boll made the announcement on Facebook saying, "He will be missed so much more than can be verbalized."
Taylor's outrageous comedic style made him a legendary staple of American entertainment.
Taylor was often called the "King of Confetti," becoming famous for throwing buckets of the colored paper over his audiences.
Among the condolences sent out by fellow comedians Sunday on social media, David Alan Grier said, "Loved you, grew up watching you."
People of all walks of life remembered the famous comedian.
Weather Channel reporter Dave Malkoff shared these photos of the time he met Taylor years ago in Los Angeles.
In an email to TEGNA News, publicist Harlan Boll said, "The greatest joy Rip had in life was from the result of making others laugh. He didn't have an easy childhood. Abused and bullied, he said he discovered early, that they weren't hitting you if they were laughing."
Rip Taylor was born born Charles Elmer Taylor in Washington, D.C. on January 13th, 1935. As a teen Taylor joined the Congressional Page Program and later served in the U.S. armed forces during the Korean War, Boll tells TEGNA News. It was during his time in the military that Taylor discovered he had a knack for entertaining. Rip Taylor made over 2,000 television appearances, with audiences dubbing him the "crying comedian."
