Charles Elmer "Rip" Taylor Jr. (January 13, 1931 – October 6, 2019) was an American actor and comedian, known for his exuberance and flamboyant personality, including his wild moustache, toupee, and his habit of showering himself (and others) with confetti.

As described in his 2010 one-man show It Ain't All Confetti, Taylor had a tough childhood, which included being molested while in foster care and having to deal with bullies in school.

[1][6][7] Although assigned to the Corps, he was sent to Special Services, the entertainment wing of the military, where he performed for the troops in Tokyo and Korea.

"[3] In the mid-1950s he worked the strip clubs all along the Eastern coast of the U.S.[3] Although much of his material included jokes stolen from acts he saw in USO shows, his first signature piece would be to pretend to cry while begging the audience for laughs.

[9][10] Taylor's signature confetti tossing gag came from an appearance in the 1960s The Merv Griffin Show where he was bombing as a stand-up comedian.

[3] He was the opener for Eleanor Powell's dance-focused revue, and would go on to warm up audiences for headliners Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr., Ann-Margret, Debbie Reynolds, Frankie Laine, Judy Garland and The Kingston Trio.

He became a regular on Sid and Marty Krofft's Sigmund and the Sea Monsters, playing Sheldon, a sea-genie who lived in a conch shell.

[citation needed] Taylor's other appearances also include The Kids in the Hall, where he was referred to as Uncle Rip by Buddy Cole, the show's most flamboyantly gay character.

[citation needed] He also appeared as himself in the movie Wayne's World 2, one of the special guests invited to "WayneStock" after being visited in a dream by Jim Morrison.

[citation needed] He made a special guest appearance at the end of the 1,000th episode of G4's video game review show X-Play.

In the early 2000s, Johnny Knoxville asked Taylor to be in the film Jackass: The Movie (2002)[17][18] and in the final scene, he wielded a pistol that, when fired, released a sign that read "The End.

[citation needed] Taylor made occasional appearances in movies, usually in broad comedies like The Happy Hooker Goes to Washington (1977)[19] and the R-rated Deep Throat parody Chatterbox (1977).

[citation needed] In Amazon Women on the Moon (1987) a funeral service turns into a celebrity roast when guest Rip Taylor shows up to "honor" the deceased.

[23] He was a frequent co-star with Debbie Reynolds in her live shows in Las Vegas; Reno, Nevada; and Lake Tahoe.

[2] In 2010, he appeared in the one-man show It Ain't All Confetti in North Hollywood, where he shared personal stories about his life and career.

[29] Taylor cut the ribbon at the Las Vegas estate auction of Liberace's belongings and personal effects in 1988.

[31] Taylor died on October 6, 2019, at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, having been hospitalized for an epileptic seizure the week prior.