Nipsey Russell

Julius "Nipsey" Russell (September 15, 1918 – October 2, 2005) was an American actor, comedian, poet, and dancer best known for his appearances as a panelist on game shows from the 1960s through the 1990s, including Match Game, Password, Hollywood Squares, To Tell the Truth, and Pyramid. His appearances were often distinguished by short, humorous poems he recited during the broadcast, which led to his nickname "the poet laureate of television". He had one of the leading roles in the film version of The Wiz as the Tin Man. He was a frequent guest on the Dean Martin Celebrity Roast series and often appeared on Late Night with Conan O'Brien during the program's early years. Early life Julius Russell was born in Atlanta, Georgia. His birthdate is unclear; according to one report his birth certificate was lost. At the time of his 2005 death, friends said he was 80, and that was the age reported in his obituaries. That implies a birth year of 1924 or 1925; the New York Times obituary gave his birthdate as October 13, 1924. Federal records suggest that he was born in 1918: Census documents record a Julius Russell in Atlanta aged 1 year 4 months in 1920, consistent with a birthdate in late 1918. The Social Security Death Index lists his birthdate as September 15, 1918. He acquired the nickname "Nipsey" from his mother, who liked the way it sounded. He went to Booker T. Washington High School in Atlanta, then moved to Cincinnati to live with an aunt during his senior year so that he could establish residency to attend the University of Cincinnati tuition-free. He attended the University of Cincinnati for one semester in 1936, which is also consistent with a birthdate of 1918, as he would have been 18 and not merely 11 or 12, as he would have been if he had been born in 1924 or 1925. He served as a medic in the United States Army during World War II, enlisting as a private on June 27, 1941, and returning from Europe in 1945 as a second lieutenant.