Bruce Kirby (actor)

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

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 nine episodes), '' Hogan's Heroes'' (in three episodes), and '' The Patty Duke Show'' among others. He played in ''Bonanza'' (in three episodes), '' Ironside'' (in three episodes), '' Barney Miller'' (in three episodes), '' The Rockford Files'' (in three episodes), '' The Marcus-Nelson Murders'', '' Kojak'' (in six episodes), '' M*A*S*H'' and '' Alice'' during the 1970s. In the 1980s, he appeared in '' Remington Steele'', '' Hunter'' (in five 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 two episodes) and '' Chicago Hope''. During 1999 to 2000, he appeared in eight 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 nine times in the long-running series '' Columbo'', most notably in the role as the Sergeant George Kramer in six episodes. 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 thirteen 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''. Kirby was also active as an actor on New York's Broadway, appearing in ''Diamond Orchid'' (1965) and ''Death of a Salesman'' (1984).

Personal life

Kirby had two sons, including Bruno Kirby (1949–2006) who was also an actor. Bruno appeared in one '' Columbo'' episode with his father, as Cadet Morgan (credited as B. Kirby, Jr.) in " By Dawn's Early Light".

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

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Kirby, Bruce
1925 births
2021 deaths
20th-century American male actors
21st-century American male actors
American male stage actors
American male film actors
American male television actors
American people of Italian descent
Male actors from New York City