Linda Doucett recalls working with the "volatile" Rip Torn on The Larry Sanders Show: "He was a really good bad boy"

The Hollywood Reporter

"I was never afraid of him — he was the kindest, sweetest man — but there were all these crazy stories about him, like how he once smashed (Norman0 Mailer with a ball-peen hammer or how he got in a big fight with Dennis Hopper," Doucett tells The Hollywood Reporter. "But there was never anything like that on our set. He was never a bad guy. I will say, though, that as the show got more and more critically acclaimed, Rip started counting lines. Clint Black was on the show at one point and they kept adding songs and Rip kept getting cut. Being a film actor, he wasn’t used to that and it really upset him. One day, we were in the writing room and the A.D. comes in and says, 'Garry, Rip’s going crazy, he’s smashing stuff and has a gun!' Garry pauses and then says, 'OK, send Linda in.' Everyone starts laughing, but he’s like, 'Send Linda in, he won’t shoot her. We’ve got a show to tape.' So, I go in to talk Rip down and he’s the sweetest guy. He’s like, 'Oh, sweetheart, of course I wouldn't shoot you.'" ALSO: Rip Torn as Artie was like a comedy version of the stereotypical Tony Robbins motivational guru.