Image: Wikimedia Commons

Nipsey Russell

American entertainer (1918–2005)

PersonDied aged 87humanQ708172

Also known as Julius Russell

Born: September 15, 1918
1
Sources
1.Stated in Find a GraveRetrieved 2017-10-09
View statement on Wikidata ↗
, October 13, 1924
1
Sources
1.nytimes.com/2005/10/04/arts/nipsey-russell-a-comic-with-a-gift-for-verse-dies-at-80.html
View statement on Wikidata ↗
Died: October 2, 2005
2
Sources
1.wcbstv.com/topstories/local_story_276141748.html
2.Stated in Find a GraveRetrieved 2017-10-09
View statement on Wikidata ↗
Birthplace: Atlanta
Place of death: New York City
Citizenship: United States
Occupation: poet
, stage actor
, television actor
+4 more
Education: University of Cincinnati
Languages spoken, written or signed: English

Overview

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia · Read full article · Text CC BY-SA 4.0

Julius "Nipsey" Russell was an American entertainer 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.

Overview

Appears in

3 linked to Nipsey Russell in Wikidata

Performed

2 linked to Nipsey Russell in Wikidata

All data

72 statements · 15% with external sources · numbers in brackets are citations

On other databases

37 identifiers linking Nipsey Russell across the web's reference databases

Data quality

statements

15%

externally sourced

Source last edited August 10, 2026. AIDB refreshes this page daily.

Suggest a fact or correction

Links

Use this data

curl https://aidb.si/api/v1/entities/Q708172

API docs, limits & keys

Cite this page

AIDB. (2026). Nipsey Russell (Q708172). Retrieved from https://aidb.si/e/nipsey-russell-Q708172