You guessed it! They're both pimps. At least Lipton used to be a pimp while living in Paris. According to Lipton:
"This was when I was very very young, living in Paris, penniless, unable to get any kind of working permit... I had a friend who worked in what is called the Milieu, which is that world and she suggested to me one night, `Look, you'll be my mec... We would translate it perhaps... as pimp.
"We were earning our living together, this young woman and I, we made a rather good living, I must say."
WTF??!! For reals?! Imagine hiring a prostitute and that guy is sitting on the edge of the bed. We wonder if he'd critique your performance, or ask about your motivation. Bravo, James Lipton. Bravo.