Bruce Kirby, the longtime character actor whose many TV roles included regular turns on Columbo and L.A. Law, died Sunday in Los Angeles. Kirby, the father of late actor Bruno Kirby, was 95.
His son, acting coach John Kirby, announced the death in a Facebook post. A cause of death was not specified, but John Kirby noted that his father “passed away peacefully” at Cedars in Los Angeles.
Beginning his acting career in the 1950s with appearances in Golden Age anthology programs such as Omnibus and Goodyear Playhouse, Kirby became a familiar presence on episodic TV in the 1960s, with roles on Car 54, Where Are You?, The Patty Duke Show, I Dream of Jeannie and The Defenders.
His TV career continued through the 1970s and ’80s with roles on sitcoms and dramas, specializing in playing cops and detectives on such series as Medical Center, Toma, Kojak, Shannon, Lou Grant, Hunter and In The Heat Of The Night.
Kirby played several roles in the long-running Peter Falk series Columbo, most notably his run as the show’s Sgt. Kramer. From 1986 to 1991, Kirby recurred on L.A. Law as D.A. Bruce Rogoff, and in the early 1980s he was cast as Officer Schmidt in the San Francisco-based crime drama Shannon.
Other TV credits include The Rockford Files, Matlock, Hill Street Blues, The Golden Girls, Chicago Hope and, in the 2000s, The Sopranos, The West Wing and, in two of his final appearances, Numb3rs and Scrubs.
Though TV roles dominated his career, Kirby also made appearances in such feature films as the 1971 Don Knotts vehicle How To Frame A Figg, the 1985 Patsy Cline biopic Sweet Dreams (in which he played TV personality Arthur Godfrey), 1986’s Stand By Me and, in 1993, the Matt Dillon comedy Mr. Wonderful.
In 2004, Kirby reteamed with Dillon for one of his most memorable big-screen roles, playing the father of Dillon’s shady cop in the Oscar-winning Crash.
On Broadway, Kirby was featured in the replacement cast of 1984’s Death of a Salesman starring Dustin Hoffman. Kirby played the role of Uncle Ben.
Bruno Kirby, who died of leukemia in 2006 at age 57, followed his father into acting, with roles in The Godfather: Part II, When Harry Me Sally…, City Slickers, The Larry Sanders Show, This Is Spinal Tap, Good Morning Vietnam and many others. Like his father, he made appearances on Mash, Columbo, Kojak, Room 222 and Hill St. Blues.
On his Facebook tribute, John Kirby wrote, “My father loved acting and aside from his extraordinary professional career in television, film & theater, he never stopped working on it from his early years in New York on scholarship with Lee Strasberg for 9 years, LA’s Theatre East & The Actors Studio. It was very painful for him when he no longer could perform. I am so glad his wonderful work will live on…
“He was a great father who loved Bruno and me and as a family he made it his business for us to tour in these professional Summer Stock packages, something we would all look forward to every summer…I’m glad you’re up there with Bruno and so many of our loved ones.”
In addition to son John, Kirby is survived by wife Rosalyn.
His son, acting coach John Kirby, announced the death in a Facebook post. A cause of death was not specified, but John Kirby noted that his father “passed away peacefully” at Cedars in Los Angeles.
Beginning his acting career in the 1950s with appearances in Golden Age anthology programs such as Omnibus and Goodyear Playhouse, Kirby became a familiar presence on episodic TV in the 1960s, with roles on Car 54, Where Are You?, The Patty Duke Show, I Dream of Jeannie and The Defenders.
His TV career continued through the 1970s and ’80s with roles on sitcoms and dramas, specializing in playing cops and detectives on such series as Medical Center, Toma, Kojak, Shannon, Lou Grant, Hunter and In The Heat Of The Night.
Kirby played several roles in the long-running Peter Falk series Columbo, most notably his run as the show’s Sgt. Kramer. From 1986 to 1991, Kirby recurred on L.A. Law as D.A. Bruce Rogoff, and in the early 1980s he was cast as Officer Schmidt in the San Francisco-based crime drama Shannon.
Other TV credits include The Rockford Files, Matlock, Hill Street Blues, The Golden Girls, Chicago Hope and, in the 2000s, The Sopranos, The West Wing and, in two of his final appearances, Numb3rs and Scrubs.
Though TV roles dominated his career, Kirby also made appearances in such feature films as the 1971 Don Knotts vehicle How To Frame A Figg, the 1985 Patsy Cline biopic Sweet Dreams (in which he played TV personality Arthur Godfrey), 1986’s Stand By Me and, in 1993, the Matt Dillon comedy Mr. Wonderful.
In 2004, Kirby reteamed with Dillon for one of his most memorable big-screen roles, playing the father of Dillon’s shady cop in the Oscar-winning Crash.
On Broadway, Kirby was featured in the replacement cast of 1984’s Death of a Salesman starring Dustin Hoffman. Kirby played the role of Uncle Ben.
Bruno Kirby, who died of leukemia in 2006 at age 57, followed his father into acting, with roles in The Godfather: Part II, When Harry Me Sally…, City Slickers, The Larry Sanders Show, This Is Spinal Tap, Good Morning Vietnam and many others. Like his father, he made appearances on Mash, Columbo, Kojak, Room 222 and Hill St. Blues.
On his Facebook tribute, John Kirby wrote, “My father loved acting and aside from his extraordinary professional career in television, film & theater, he never stopped working on it from his early years in New York on scholarship with Lee Strasberg for 9 years, LA’s Theatre East & The Actors Studio. It was very painful for him when he no longer could perform. I am so glad his wonderful work will live on…
“He was a great father who loved Bruno and me and as a family he made it his business for us to tour in these professional Summer Stock packages, something we would all look forward to every summer…I’m glad you’re up there with Bruno and so many of our loved ones.”
In addition to son John, Kirby is survived by wife Rosalyn.
- 1/26/2021
- by Greg Evans
- Deadline Film + TV
By Lee Pfeiffer
Actress Yvonne Craig, who specialized in playing perky and sexy characters in TV shows and feature films, has died after a long battle with breast cancer. She was 78 years old. Craig broke into the film and TV industry in the late 1950s, making her big screen debut in the exploitation film "Eighteen and Anxious". Before long, she was not only co-starring with Elvis Presley in "It Happened at the World's Fair" and "Kissin' Cousins", but also dating him as well. There was no shortage of work for the attractive Craig during the 1960s and she appeared on numerous TV series including "The Man From U.N.C.L.E." In fact, Craig filmed extra sequences for extended two-part episodes of the show that were released theatrically under the titles "One Spy Too Many" and "One of Our Spies is Missing". However, it was when producer William Dozier cast Craig as Batgirl...
Actress Yvonne Craig, who specialized in playing perky and sexy characters in TV shows and feature films, has died after a long battle with breast cancer. She was 78 years old. Craig broke into the film and TV industry in the late 1950s, making her big screen debut in the exploitation film "Eighteen and Anxious". Before long, she was not only co-starring with Elvis Presley in "It Happened at the World's Fair" and "Kissin' Cousins", but also dating him as well. There was no shortage of work for the attractive Craig during the 1960s and she appeared on numerous TV series including "The Man From U.N.C.L.E." In fact, Craig filmed extra sequences for extended two-part episodes of the show that were released theatrically under the titles "One Spy Too Many" and "One of Our Spies is Missing". However, it was when producer William Dozier cast Craig as Batgirl...
- 8/19/2015
- by nospam@example.com (Cinema Retro)
- Cinemaretro.com
Batgirl Yvonne Craig. Batgirl Yvonne Craig dead at 78: Also featured in 'Star Trek' episode, Elvis Presley movies Yvonne Craig, best known as Batgirl in the 1960s television series Batman, died of complications from breast cancer on Monday, Aug. 17, '15, at her home in Pacific Palisades, in the Los Angeles Westside. Craig (born May 16, 1937, in Taylorville, Illinois), who had been undergoing chemotherapy for two years, was 78. Beginning (and ending) in the final season of Batman (1967-1968), Yvonne Craig played both Commissioner Gordon's librarian daughter Barbara Gordon and her alter ego, the spunky Batgirl – armed with a laser-beaming electric make-up kit “which will destroy anything.” Unlike semi-villainess Catwoman (Julie Newmar), Batgirl was wholly on the side of Righteousness, infusing new blood into the series' increasingly anemic Dynamic Duo: Batman aka Bruce Wayne (Adam West) and Boy Wonder Robin aka Bruce Wayne's beloved pal Dick Grayson (Burt Ward). “They chose...
- 8/19/2015
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Rip our beloved Bat Beauty! A punch in the gut to Batfans. A first crush for men of a certain age, the beautiful Yvonne Craig has died at the age of 78.
Yvonne was born on the 16th of May 1937. In her early life before her television career she trained to be a ballet teacher. She gradually moved into acting during the 1950s. Before appearing on television she starred in a few films including; The Young Land, The Gene Krupa Story, Ski Party, and High Time. She even played alongside Elvis Presley in Kissin’ Cousins and briefly dated the King. During the mid-1960s Yvonne moved from film into television, where she appeared in many shows including Man With a Camera, Wagon Train, and The Man from U.N.C.L.E. More famously she played “Marta” (a green skinned Orion) in the third series Star Trek episode entitled “Whom Gods Destroy” in 1968.
1967 she was...
Yvonne was born on the 16th of May 1937. In her early life before her television career she trained to be a ballet teacher. She gradually moved into acting during the 1950s. Before appearing on television she starred in a few films including; The Young Land, The Gene Krupa Story, Ski Party, and High Time. She even played alongside Elvis Presley in Kissin’ Cousins and briefly dated the King. During the mid-1960s Yvonne moved from film into television, where she appeared in many shows including Man With a Camera, Wagon Train, and The Man from U.N.C.L.E. More famously she played “Marta” (a green skinned Orion) in the third series Star Trek episode entitled “Whom Gods Destroy” in 1968.
1967 she was...
- 8/19/2015
- by Tom Stockman
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Netflix giveth and Netflix taketh away.
While everyone's favorite subscription streaming service is adding a ton of awesome movies and TV shows in December, it's also yanking a huge list of popular titles from its library. Below is said list. I'm especially sad to see "Dirty Dancing" and "The Talented Mr. Ripley" go. Those movies are the sh...
Watch them while you can!
Movies Being Dropped by Netflix on December 1st
"1941" (1979)
"The Apostle" (1997)
"Audrey Rose" (1977)
"The Believers" (1987)
"Better than Chocolate" (1999)
"Blood & Chocolate" (2007)
"The Boy in the Striped Pajamas" (2008)
"Chaplin" (1992)
"The Choirboys" (1977)
"The Cockeyed Cowboys of Calico County" (1970)
"Coffee and Cigarettes" (2003)
"The Cold Light of Day" (1996)
"The Constant Gardener" (2005)
"Count Yorga, Vampire" (1970)
"Cry-Baby" (1990)
"Dirty Dancing" (1987)
"Double Indemnity" (1944)
"En la Cama" (2005)
"Event Horizon" (1997)
"Eye for an Eye" (1996)
"Fairy Tale: A True Story" (1997)
"First Knight" (1995)
"Five Easy Pieces" (1970)
"Foreign Student" (1994)
"Free Men" (2011)
"Funny Lady" (1975)
"The Ghost and Mrs Muir" (1947)
"The Girl from Petrovka...
While everyone's favorite subscription streaming service is adding a ton of awesome movies and TV shows in December, it's also yanking a huge list of popular titles from its library. Below is said list. I'm especially sad to see "Dirty Dancing" and "The Talented Mr. Ripley" go. Those movies are the sh...
Watch them while you can!
Movies Being Dropped by Netflix on December 1st
"1941" (1979)
"The Apostle" (1997)
"Audrey Rose" (1977)
"The Believers" (1987)
"Better than Chocolate" (1999)
"Blood & Chocolate" (2007)
"The Boy in the Striped Pajamas" (2008)
"Chaplin" (1992)
"The Choirboys" (1977)
"The Cockeyed Cowboys of Calico County" (1970)
"Coffee and Cigarettes" (2003)
"The Cold Light of Day" (1996)
"The Constant Gardener" (2005)
"Count Yorga, Vampire" (1970)
"Cry-Baby" (1990)
"Dirty Dancing" (1987)
"Double Indemnity" (1944)
"En la Cama" (2005)
"Event Horizon" (1997)
"Eye for an Eye" (1996)
"Fairy Tale: A True Story" (1997)
"First Knight" (1995)
"Five Easy Pieces" (1970)
"Foreign Student" (1994)
"Free Men" (2011)
"Funny Lady" (1975)
"The Ghost and Mrs Muir" (1947)
"The Girl from Petrovka...
- 11/28/2014
- by Tim Hayne
- Moviefone
Composer Vic Mizzy wrote the classic theme songs for the 1960s television comedy series The Addams Family and Green Acres. His best known work commenced with a “buh-buh-buh-bump” – two finger snaps – another “buh-buh-buh-bump”, and the opening verse “They’re creepy and they’re kooky, mysterious and spooky, they’re altogether ooky – the Addams family.” Mizzy sang, overdubbing his voice three times, and played the harpsichord himself for the theme. He also directed the title sequence where the actors who played the Addams clan where instructed to snap their fingers in a bored fashion. He also retained the publishing rights to the theme, which remained profitable throughout his life.
Mizzy was born in Brooklyn, New York, on January 9, 1916, and began playing musical instruments as a child. He began writing songs after serving in the U.S. Navy during World War II.
Mizzy began working in television in the late 1950s, scoring...
Mizzy was born in Brooklyn, New York, on January 9, 1916, and began playing musical instruments as a child. He began writing songs after serving in the U.S. Navy during World War II.
Mizzy began working in television in the late 1950s, scoring...
- 11/7/2009
- by Harris Lentz
- FamousMonsters of Filmland
By Variety
Vic Mizzy, who composed the indelible theme music for TV series "The Addams Family" and "Green Acres," died Saturday in Los Angeles. He was 93.
His film scores included five Don Knotts films: "The Ghost and Mr. Chicken," "The Shakiest Gun in the West," "The Reluctant Astronaut," "The Love God?" and "How to Frame a Figg."
Read more in Variety.
Vic Mizzy, who composed the indelible theme music for TV series "The Addams Family" and "Green Acres," died Saturday in Los Angeles. He was 93.
His film scores included five Don Knotts films: "The Ghost and Mr. Chicken," "The Shakiest Gun in the West," "The Reluctant Astronaut," "The Love God?" and "How to Frame a Figg."
Read more in Variety.
- 10/19/2009
- by Lisa Horowitz
- The Wrap
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