Skip E. Lowe

Before adopting his now familiar stage name, LaBella worked as a stand-up comic, impressionist and master of ceremonies. In 1958, he performed in a number of Pittsburgh venues,^[4][5] most notably Lenny Litman's Copa, where he opened for Lambert, Hendricks and Ross and Dakota Staton.^[6][7] The following summer saw a number of engagements in New York State, and it was in July 1959 that LaBella made his first appearance as Skip E. Lowe at Glen Casino in Williamsville, New York.^[8]

He appeared in the films Black Shampoo (1976), The World's Greatest Lover (1977), Cameron's Closet (1988), and A-List (2006). In 2001, Lowe wrote The Boy with the Betty Grable Legs: A Showbiz Memoir.^[9]

Beginning in 1978, he hosted Skip E. Lowe Looks at Hollywood, a weekly talk show for public-access cable television that aired in Los Angeles and New York City.^[10] It is estimated that Lowe conducted some 6,000 cable-television interviews from 1978 to 2014.^{[citation needed]}

He was openly gay.^[11][12]

Martin Short cited him as the inspiration for his character Jiminy Glick.^[13][14]

Lowe died in Los Angeles, at age 85, on September 22, 2014, from emphysema.^[13]

According to his former website, Lowe was cremated and had his ashes scattered at Ventura Pier on November 23, 2014.

• List of people from Los Angeles
• List of people from Mississippi
• List of talk show hosts