Bruce Kirby (actor)

Bruce Kirby (born Bruno Giovanni Quidaciolu; April 28, 1925 – January 24, 2021) was an American character actor.[1]

For other people with the same name, see Bruce Kirby (disambiguation).
Bruce Kirby
Born
Bruno Giovanni Quidaciolu

(1925-04-28)April 28, 1925
New York City, U.S.
DiedJanuary 24, 2021(2021-01-24) (aged 95)
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
OccupationActor
Years active1950–2009
Spouse(s)
  • Lucille Garibaldi
    ​
    ​
    (m. 1948; div. 1973)​
  • Rosalyn Heischuber
    ​
    (m. 1976)​
Children2, including Bruno

Life and career

Bruce Kirby started his television career in the 1950s with appearances in Goodyear Television Playhouse. During the 1960s, he appeared in I Dream of Jeannie, The Nurses, The Defenders, Car 54, Where Are You? (in 9 episodes), Hogan's Heroes (in 3 episodes), and The Patty Duke Show among others. He played in Bonanza (in 3 episodes), Ironside (in 3 episodes), Barney Miller (in 3 episodes), The Rockford Files (in 3 episodes), The Marcus-Nelson Murders, Kojak (in 6 episodes), M*A*S*H and Alice during the 1970s. In the 1980s, he appeared in Remington Steele, Hunter (in 5 episodes), Night Court, Matlock, Hill Street Blues, Lou Grant and Punky Brewster. His 1990s television credits include The Golden Girls, L.A. Law, In the Heat of the Night, Murphy Brown, Murder, She Wrote (in 2 episodes) and Chicago Hope. During 1999-2000 he appeared in 8 episodes of the soap opera Days of Our Lives. During the 2000s, he appeared in The Sopranos, The Agency, Scrubs and The West Wing.

Kirby appeared a total of 9 times in the long-running series Columbo, most notably in the role as the gullible Sergeant Kramer in 6 episodes.[2] In 1981–1982, he appeared as San Francisco police officer Schmidt in the crime drama Shannon. He played the part of District Attorney Bruce Rogoff in 13 episodes of L.A. Law from 1986 until 1991. He also played minor roles in some films, including the film classics Catch-22 (1970) and Stand by Me (1986). He also appeared in the 1971 movie called How to Frame a Figg with Don Knotts and the 1972 comedy Another Nice Mess with Rich Little. A notable later appearance was as Pop Ryan, father of Officer John Ryan (played by Matt Dillon) in the 2005 film Crash. Bruce Kirby was also active as an actor on New York's Broadway, appearing in Diamond Orchid (1965) and Death of a Salesman (1984).[3]

Personal

Kirby had two sons, Bruno Kirby (1949–2006) who was also an actor, his other son John Kirby, is an acting coach.[4]

Kirby died at age 95 in Los Angeles on January 24, 2021.[5]

Filmography

References
  1. Bruce Kirby at Allmovie
  2. Bruce Kirby at the Columbo Site
  3. IBDB
  4. Jason Kirby at IMDb
  5. Barnes, Mike. "Bruce Kirby, Veteran Character Actor and 'Columbo' Cop, Dies at 95". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved January 26, 2021.
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