Rip Taylor, King of Camp and Confetti comedy host, dies at 84

LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) — Rip Taylor, one of television's most flamboyant personalities known as The Crying Comedian and The King of Camp and Confetti, died Sunday in Beverly Hills, publicist Harlan Boll confirmed. He was 84.

Taylor, whose high-energy personality and confetti-throwing antics quickly made him a mainstay on television, made appearances on everything from sitcoms to talk shows, including The Gong Show, Password, The Merv Griffin Show, The Mike Douglas Show, The Tonight Show, Late Night with David Letterman in addition to a hosting stint for The $1.98 Beauty Show — a parody of beauty contests whose big prize was a bouquet of rotten vegetables. He also appeared as himself in the movie Wayne's World 2.

Taylor saw even more success outside of game shows and late-night TV, headlining Las Vegas' The Flamingo Hotel's Rockettes Extravaganza — where he won Entertainer of the Year three consecutive times — and touring the country in lead roles for productions such as Sugar Babies, Anything Goes, Oliver, Peter Pan and A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum.

Taylor also made appearances in several popular spoof films including Reposessed, with Linda Blair and Leslie Nielsen, and The Silence of the Hams in addition to other appearances in The Monkees and The Bradys.

Taylor is survived by his longtime partner, Robert Fortney. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Thalians.