Julius ‘Nipsey’ Russell was known as ‘The Poet Laureate of TV’ for the humorous 4-line poems that he narrated during his shows. He began his comedy routines at drive-ins and nightclubs, followed by stage-acts, with comedian Mantan Moreland.
Russell’s first screen appearance came in ‘Rock & Roll Review’ and ‘Rhythm & Blues Revue’ (1955). He got his break in 1957 on ‘The Ed Sullivan Show’ and continued to appear on the show till 1967. Subsequently, he appeared on various variety and talk-shows, including ‘The Tonight Show’ (1962) and ‘The Tonight Show starring Jack Paar’ (1961-1962).
In 1961, Russell was cast as ‘Officer Anderson’ in the TV series ‘Car 54, Where Are You?’ (1961-1962); in the 1994 film version, he reprised the role as ‘Capt. Anderson.’ He was a co-host of TV shows, ‘The Les Crane Show’ (1965) and ‘Nightlife’ (1965), and appeared on ‘The Jackie Gleason Show’ (1969), and ‘Personality’ (1967-1969). He hosted some episodes of ‘The Joey Bishop Show (1968-1969) as well.
Russell starred as ‘Honey Robinson’ on the sitcom ‘Barefoot in the Park’ (1970) with predominantly African-American cast, and appeared on the TV series ‘Captain Kangaroo’ (1977), ‘Policewoman’ (1977) and others. Further, he appeared on several other TV shows, including ‘The Merv Griffith Show’ (1965-1970), ‘The Tonight Show starring Johnny Carson’ (1963-1973), ‘The Bob Hope Show’ (1969-1973), ‘The Dean Martin Show’ (1972-1974) and several episodes of ‘Dean Martin Celebrity Roast’ (1974-1975).
During the 1970s, Russell was the first African-American regular panelist on several game shows, such as ‘Missing Links’ (1964), ‘What’s My Line?’ (1968), featured panelist on ‘To Tell the Truth’ (1971-1978), followed by ‘The Match Game’ (1963-1969, 1973-1979) as Team Captain, ‘Password’ (1979-1981), ‘Hollywood Squares’ (1984), and also revivals of many of these shows. He was part of the series ‘Rhyme & Reason’ (1975-1976), based on poetry and rhymes. He was also a contestant on various ‘Pyramid’ series. He became the first African-American to host a game show, ‘Your Number’s Up’ (1985). He regularly livened up these shows with his witty short poems.
In 1978, Russell played the lead as ‘Tin-man’ in the musical adventure fantasy film ‘The Wiz’ and appeared in the TV movie ‘Fame’ and the short film ‘Wiz on Down the Road.’ He made guest-appearances in the TV series ‘Flying High,’ ‘The Love Boat,’ and ‘Spin City.’ He also made guest appearances in movies like ‘Dream One’ (1984), ‘Wildcat’ (1986), and ‘Posse’ (1993). He often appeared on comedy sketches of ‘Late Night with Conan O’Brien’ (1995).
Wiz on Down the Road is a short film which was made as a promotional on the making of the 1978 fantasy adventure film ‘The Wiz’.
Wildcats is a sports comedy film which tells the story of Molly, who decides to quit her teaching job, and take up a new position as a football coach. However, the job is not going to be as easy as she expects.
The Wiz is a fantasy adventure film which revolves around a shy 24 year old schoolteacher named Dorothy, who is magically transported to the urban fantasy Land of Oz. She soon befriends a Scarecrow, a Tin Man and a Cowardly Lion, and they embark on a quest together to look for a way to send her back home.
When Nemo’s parents go off to the opera, he finds himself in a magical world, filled with unique beings, where he also meets a beautiful princess.
Gunther Toody and Francis Muldoon, two cops, are assigned to guard Herbert Hortz, a witness who is due to testify in an organized crime case, since he has valuable information about a dangerous mobster. Meanwhile, the officers are also forced to deal with their overbearing spouses, common criminals as well as their boss.
