March 28th, 2010
DC Rip
Washington, DC is the place to be if you’re somebody famous, or maybe it’s a good place to be from if you’re famous. It certainly has its share of celebrities, and not all of them have gone on to play in the game of politics, although it’s impossible not to get somewhat enmeshed in the system here. That’s one of the dangers of participatory democracy, perhaps, that sooner or later, everyone needs to participate.
But if you’re Rip Taylor , the confetti-throwing comedian who makes people laugh all over the world, you can get it over with early. He was born here in the 30s, and worked as a page, before getting out and finding his way in show business. For him, finding the way is probably not as correct as actually forging it, because it’s pretty clear that his path is one only he could walk. This is an original, all right, and there may be some influences from the past, but he’s more likely to inspire imitators than he is likely to promote a particular school of performing.
It’s hard to find him in DC since he left after the senate page days, but he was the grand mayor of the Capital Pride parade in 2006. But if one is looking for his footsteps here, it’s always a good idea to book a hotel and come to town to absorb the atmosphere.
People know Rip best, perhaps, for his crazy antics on celebrity game shows of the 70s, like Match Game and Hollywood Squares. But he also had quite a career on shows like the Monkees, and doing cartoon voice-overs. He’s mostly known, however, for performing the persona of Rip Taylor, like the famous scene where Cheech and Chong meet him in the middle of the desert. This is an interesting twist in an interesting life, where the ironic performance of self enters into the world and becomes its own center, leaving us to wonder, who is the real Rip Taylor? and then wondering if it might not matter a bit, because what’s here is simply genius.
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