Born in Jackson, Michigan, Lipscomb moved to California with his parents in 1920, where the family settled in Los Angeles.

After attending the University of Southern California and Woodbury College (now in Burbank), he became an accountant.

That year he won a special election to the U.S. House to replace Norris Poulson (who had been elected mayor of Los Angeles), representing California's twenty-fourth district.

He died of cancer at Bethesda Naval Hospital at the age of 54 on February 1, 1970[7] and was interred at Forest Lawn Memorial Park-Hollywood Hills.

[8] He was married to Virginia Sognalian Lipscomb, a classmate at Belmont High.