The early life of Rip Taylor was traumatic. This is a common theme among comedians' lives, and Taylor's life was no different. He was born as Charles Elmer Taylor Jr on January 13, 1931. He was born in the capital of the United States, Washington, D.C.
As he describes on stage, Taylor grew up in foster care. During that time, he was molested. Along with being molested, he had to endure being bullied at school. Despite all of this, Taylor went on to use his pain to make others laugh for decades, and he never shied away from his truth.
Charles Elmer Taylor Jr. was born in Washington, D.C. He was the son of a waitress named Elizabeth, and a musician named Charles Elmer Taylor Sr. Rip had a very disturbing and traumatic childhood in which he was molested while he was in foster care. He was also the victim of frequent bullying during his school years.
As a young man, Taylor worked as a congressional page before serving in the Korean war while in the United States Army Signal Corps. Taylor's career in show business began after he joined the United States Army, where he started performing stand-up in clubs and restaurants abroad. Many of his jokes were stolen from what he witnessed in USO shows. His signature piece would be pretending to cry.