Louis Lacy Clinton Kimbrough (March 8, 1933 – April 9, 1996) was an American actor.

Early life

Kimbrough was born in

Oklahoma City Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Oklahoma, most populous city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat ...

on March 8, 1933, to parents Fred and Lucinda (Yoakum) Kimbrough. After his birth, his family moved to

Allen, Oklahoma Allen is a town in Hughes and Pontotoc counties in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The population was 805 at the 2020 census. History The town was founded in 1883 by a group of white settlers who had arrived in Choctaw Nation, Indian Territory i ...

, where Kimbrough attended Allen High School (AHS), graduating in 1951. Kimbrough demonstrated theatrical ability while still at school. In 1948, as President of Allen's Teen Town, he helped produce the "Gay Nineties Ball". As a junior at AHS, he wrote, produced and directed the 1950 senior play, a full-length production entitled ''Broadway''. After graduating from AHS, Kimbrough enrolled for a year at

Oklahoma University The University of Oklahoma (OU) is a public research university in Norman, Oklahoma, United States. Founded in 1890, it had existed in Oklahoma Territory near Indian Territory for 17 years before the two territories became the state of Oklahoma. ...

.''Ada Evening News'', July 12, 1953 He then completed two years in the US Signal Corps, stationed in Korea, before he made his professional stage debut in

Brandon Thomas Brandon Thomas may refer to: *Brandon Thomas (playwright) (1848–1914), English actor and playwright who wrote the hit farce, ''Charley's Aunt'' * Brandon Thomas (musician) (born 1980), American rock band singer *Brandon Thomas (American football) ...

's play ''

Charley's Aunt ''Charley's Aunt'' is a farce in three acts written by Brandon Thomas. The story centres on Lord Fancourt Babberley, an undergraduate whose friends Jack and Charley persuade him to impersonate the latter's aunt. The complications of the plot in ...

'' in 1953 aged 20, billed as "Lewis Clinton Kimbrough".

American Academy of Dramatic Arts and the Actors Studio

Kimbrough subsequently enrolled in the

American Academy of Dramatic Arts The American Academy of Dramatic Arts (AADA) is a Private college, private drama school with two locations, one in New York City and one in Los Angeles. The academy offers an associate degree in occupational studies and teaches drama and related ...

in New York. Shortly thereafter, with the help of fellow Oklahoman

Lonny Chapman Lon Leonard Chapman (October 1, 1920 – October 12, 2007) was an American actor best known for his numerous guest star appearances on television drama series. Early years Chapman was the son of Elmer and Eunice Chapman, He was born on Oc ...

, Kimbrough joined

Lee Strasberg Lee Strasberg (born Israel Strassberg; November 17, 1901 – February 17, 1982) was an American acting coach and actor. He co-founded, with theatre directors Harold Clurman and Cheryl Crawford, the Group Theatre in 1931, which was hailed ...

Actors Studio The Actors Studio is a membership organization for professional actors, theatre directors and playwrights located on West 44th Street in Hell's Kitchen in New York City. The studio is best known for its work refining and teaching method actin ...

, an incubator for acting talent. Kimbrough gained a reputation for his ability to understand the character he was asked to play.Ada Evening News, December 22, 1957 His work with The Actors Studio resulted in his first film role, ''The Strange One'', which used a cast and crew entirely of Actors Studio personnel. An appearance in ''A Face in the Crowd'' followed, and Kimbrough established a working relationship with director

Elia Kazan Elias Kazantzoglou (, ; September 7, 1909 – September 28, 2003), known as Elia Kazan ( ), was a Greek-American film and theatre director, producer, screenwriter and actor, described by ''The New York Times'' as "one of the most honored and inf ...

that lasted ten years.

Theater

Kimbrough appeared in an 11-month Broadway run of

Thornton Wilder Thornton Niven Wilder (April 17, 1897 – December 7, 1975) was an American playwright and novelist. He won three Pulitzer Prizes, for the novel ''The Bridge of San Luis Rey'' and for the plays ''Our Town'' and ''The Skin of Our Teeth'', and a U. ...

's ''

Our Town ''Our Town'' is a three-act play written by American playwright Thornton Wilder in 1938. Described by Edward Albee as "the greatest American play ever written", it presents the fictional American town of Grover's Corners between 1901 and 1913 ...

'', directed by

José Quintero José Benjamín Quintero (15 October 1924 – 26 February 1999) was a Panamanian theatre director, producer, and pedagogue best known for his interpretations of the works of Eugene O'Neill. Biography Early years Quintero was born in Panama ...

. During the 1960s, Kimbrough worked in the theater and on Broadway, performing the works of Shakespeare,

Arthur Miller Arthur Asher Miller (October 17, 1915 – February 10, 2005) was an American playwright, essayist and screenwriter in the 20th-century American theater. Among his most popular plays are '' All My Sons'' (1947), '' Death of a Salesman'' (1 ...

Neil Simon Marvin Neil Simon (July 4, 1927 – August 26, 2018) was an American playwright, screenwriter and author. He wrote more than 30 plays and nearly the same number of movie screenplays, mostly film adaptations of his plays. He received three ...

Eugene O'Neill Eugene Gladstone O'Neill (October 16, 1888 – November 27, 1953) was an American playwright. His poetically titled plays were among the first to introduce into the U.S. the drama techniques of Realism (theatre), realism, earlier associated with ...

and

Tennessee Williams Thomas Lanier Williams III (March 26, 1911 – February 25, 1983), known by his pen name Tennessee Williams, was an American playwright and screenwriter. Along with contemporaries Eugene O'Neill and Arthur Miller, he is considered among the three ...

Television

In the late 1950s, Kimbrough appeared on

live television Live television is a television production broadcast in real-time, as events happen, in the present. In a secondary meaning, it may refer to streaming television where all viewers watch the same stream simultaneously, rather than watching vide ...

on numerous occasions, including weekly shows such as ''

Westinghouse Studio One ''Studio One'' is an American anthology drama television series that was adapted from a radio series. It was created in 1947 by Canadian director Fletcher Markle, who came to CBS from the CBC. It premiered on November 7, 1948, and ended on Se ...

'', '' G.E. Theater'' and '' U.S. Steel Hour''. He was in an NBC TV production of ''Our Town'', again directed by José Quintero.

Film

Kimbrough had a feature role in

Hal B. Wallis Harold B. Wallis (born Aaron Blum Wolowicz; October 19, 1898 – October 5, 1986) was an American film producer. He is best known for producing ''Casablanca'' (1942), ''The Adventures of Robin Hood'' (1938), and '' True Grit'' (1969), along wit ...

's 1958 '' Hot Spell''. He moved from New York to Hollywood in the late 1960s and developed an association with

Roger Corman Roger William Corman (April 5, 1926 – May 9, 2024) was an American film director, producer, and actor. Known under various monikers such as "The Pope of Pop Cinema", "The Spiritual Godfather of the New Hollywood", and "The King of Cult", he w ...

, known as "King of the B Movies", with roles in several 1970s film productions, such as ''

Von Richthofen and Brown ''Von Richthofen and Brown'', alternatively titled ''The Red Baron'', is a 1971 American war film directed by Roger Corman and starring John Phillip Law and Don Stroud as Manfred von Richthofen and Roy Brown (RAF officer), Roy Brown. Although na ...

'', ''

Bloody Mama ''Bloody Mama'' is a 1970 American exploitation crime film directed by Roger Corman, star ...

'', ''

Crazy Mama ''Crazy Mama'' is a 1975 American action comedy film, directed by Jonathan Demme, produced by Julie Corman and starring Cloris Leachman. It marked the film debuts of Bill Paxton and Dennis Quaid. The film focuses on a beauty parlor owner and h ...

'' and the ''Nurse'' movies.

Personal life and death

Kimbrough was at one time married to

Frances Doel Frances Margaret Doel (15 April 1942 – 26 May 2025) was a British writer and story editor, notable for her long association with Roger Corman. Doel was head of the script department at New World Pictures; Jon Davison said that at one stage Doe ...

, writer of ''

''. He died from pneumonia on April 9, 1996, at the age of 63.

Clint Kimbrough Film Festival

Since 2007, a

film festival A film festival is an organized, extended presentation of films in one or more movie theater, cinemas or screening venues, usually annually and in a single city or region. Some film festivals show films outdoors or online. Films may be of recent ...

has taken place in Allen, Oklahoma during the annual Alumni Weekend in June, aiming to acquaint the public with Kimbrough's career and work.

Performance history

* ''Broadway'' (March 10, 1950) – (play written, directed and produced by 17-year-old Kimbrough, a junior at Allen High School, staged at the AHS Gymnasium) * ''

'' (1953) – Brassett (Stage debut of "Lewis Clinton Kimbrough" as a member of the Gateway Stock Company of New York at

Gatlinburg, Tennessee Gatlinburg is a city in Sevier County, Tennessee, United States. It is located southeast of Knoxville, Tennessee, Knoxville and had a population of 3,577 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is a popular mountain resort town, as it ...

) * ''

Picnic A picnic is a meal taken outdoors (Al fresco dining, ''al fresco'') as part of an excursion, especially in scenic surroundings, such as a park, lakeside, or other place affording an interesting view, or else in conjunction with a public event su ...

'' (1955) - Bomber the paper boy (While studying at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts; opened at the Barbizon-Plaza Theatre in New York City on October 28, 1955)Picnic, American Academy of Dramatic Arts Program, October 28, 1955 * '' Dulcy'' (1956) – Tom Sterrett (As a senior at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts; Staged at the Coronet Theatre in New York City, March 29, 1956)Dulcy, American Academy of Dramatic Arts Program, March 29, 1956 * '' Mister Roberts'' (1956) – Payne (December 10, 1956, New York City Center production) * ''

South Pacific The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five Borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is ...

'' (1957) – uncredited sailor (Staged during the Spring 1957 season at the

New York City Center New York City Center (previously known as the Mecca Temple, City Center of Music and Drama, and the New York City Center 55th Street Theater) is a performing arts center at 131 West 55th Street (Manhattan), 55th Street between Sixth Avenue, Six ...

by the NYCC Light Opera Company)South Pacific, New York City Center Program, April 29, 1957 * ''

The Strange One ''The Strange One'' is a 1957 American film noir about students faced with an ethical dilemma in a military college in the Southern United States. It was directed by Jack Garfein, produced by Sam Spiegel, and was adapted from a novel and stag ...

'' (1957) (Kimbrough' first film performance, released by Columbia in April, 1957)Mister Roberts, New York City Center Program, December 16, 1965* ''

Arms and the Man ''Arms and the Man'' is a comedy by George Bernard Shaw, whose title comes from the opening words of Virgil's ''Aeneid'', in Latin: ''Arma virumque cano'' ("Of arms and the man I sing"). The play was first produced on 21 April 1894 at the Av ...

'' (1957) – (Stock production) * '' Studio One'': "The Weston Strain" (May 27, 1957) – Paul (Kimbrough's first television appearance) * ''Studio One'': "The Night America Trembled" (Season 10, Episode 1; September 9, 1957) – Bob * '' Hot Spell'' (1958) – Billy * '' U.S. Steel Hour'': "Trap for a Stranger" (February 25, 1959) – Elroy Hubbard * ''

Alfred Hitchcock Presents ''Alfred Hitchcock Presents'' is an American television anthology series created, hosted and produced by Alfred Hitchcock, airing on CBS and NBC, alternately, between 1955 and 1965. It features dramas, thrillers, and mysteries. Between 1962 ...

'' (October 11, 1959) (Season 5 Episode 3: "Appointment at Eleven") – David 'Davie' Logan * ''

'' (November 13, 1959) – George Gibbs (NBC production) * ''

General Electric Theater ''General Electric Theater'' is an American anthology series hosted by Ronald Reagan that was broadcast on CBS radio and television. The series was sponsored by General Electric's Department of Public Relations. Radio After an audition show ...

'': "The Last Dance" (November 22, 1959)Daily Oklahoman, November 15, 1959 * ''R.C.M.P. (

Royal Canadian Mounted Police The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP; , GRC) is the Law enforcement in Canada, national police service of Canada. The RCMP is an agency of the Government of Canada; it also provides police services under contract to 11 Provinces and terri ...

)'': "Target for the Law" (Season 1, Episode 25; May 4, 1960) – Mattice * '' Camino Real'' (1960) – Kilroy (Off-Broadway, St. Marks Playhouse production opening May 16, 1960) * '' Laurette'' (1960) – Jack (Opening at the Shubert Theatre in

New Haven, Connecticut New Haven is a city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound. With a population of 135,081 as determined by the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, New Haven is List ...

on September 30, 1960)Sunday Oklahoman, September 4, 1960 * '' U.S. Steel Hour'': "Summer Rhapsody" (Season 8, Episode 18; May 3, 1961) * '' Look, We’ve Come Through'' (1961) – (Premiered October 25, 1961 at the

Hudson Theatre The Hudson Theatre is a Broadway theater at 139–141 West 44th Street, between Seventh Avenue and Sixth Avenue, in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City, New York, U.S. One of the oldest surviving Broadway venues, the ...

) * ''

Time Remembered Time Remembered is a modal jazz standard composed by jazz pianist Bill Evans. Evans biographer Keith Shadwick says that it is "one of Evans's deeply-felt ballads, its strong melody arising from a very busy harmonic pattern, recalling music by Rac ...

'' (1963) – Prince Albert (Opened July 9, 1963 at the Peninsula Players Garden Theatre in Fish Creek, Wisconsin)Daily Northwestern, July 9, 1963 * '' Shot in the Dark'' (1963) – Young magistrate (Opened July 16, 1963 at the Peninsula Players Fish Creek Theater)Daily Northwestern, July 19, 1963 * ''

The Zoo Story ''The Zoo Story'' is a one-act play by American playwright Edward Albee. His first play, it was written in 1958 and completed in just three weeks. Productions Rejected by New York producers, the play premiered in West Berlin at the Schiller ...

'' (1963) – Young hoodlum (Production by the Peninsula Players of Fish Creek, Wisconsin)Appleton Post Crescent, July 24, 1963* ''

Come Blow Your Horn ''Come Blow Your Horn'' is Neil Simon's first play, which premiered on Broadway in 1961 and had a London production in 1962 at the Prince of Wales Theatre. Simon rewrote the script more than two dozen times over several years, resulting in a hit ...

'' (1963) – Elder brother (Opened August 20, 1963, performed by the Peninsula Players)Daily Northwestern, August 15, 1963 * '' But For Whom Charlie'' (1964) – Willard Prosper (By the Lincoln Center Repertory Co. under the direction of Elia Kazan) * '' The Changeling'' (1964) – Pedro (Production of the Lincoln Center Repertory Co. under the direction of Elia Kazan) * '' Incident at Vichy'' (1965) – Nazi Professor Hoffman (Production of the Lincoln Center Repertory Co. under the direction of Elia Kazan) * ''

Tartuffe ''Tartuffe, or The Impostor, or The Hypocrite'' (; , ), first performed in 1664, is a theatrical comedy (or more specifically, a farce) by Molière. The characters of Tartuffe, Elmire, and Orgon are considered among the greatest classical theat ...

'' (1965) – unnamed role (Ran January 14, 1965 to May 22, 1965, at the Repertory Theater of the Lincoln Center,

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

) * '' Saint Joan'' (1965) – Dunois (Opened a new season at the Milwaukee Repertory Theater on October 29, 1965)''Fond du Lac Commonwealth Reporter'', October 29, 1965 * ''

Diary of a Scoundrel ''Enough Stupidity in Every Wise Man'' (; Transliteration, translit. Na vsyakogo mudretsa dovolno prostoty), sometimes published in English under the title ''Too Clever By Half'', is a five-Act (drama), act Comedy (drama), comedy by Aleksand ...

'' (1965) – Gloumov (Opened November 18, 1965 at the Milwaukee Repertory Theater)Sunday Post Crescent, November 21, 1965 * ''

Henry IV, Part 1 ''Henry IV, Part 1'' (often written as ''1 Henry IV'') is a history play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written no later than 1597. The play dramatises part of the reign of King Henry IV of England, beginning with the Battle of H ...

'' (1966) – Prince Hal (Opened February 27, 1966 at the

Milwaukee Repertory Theater Milwaukee Repertory Theater ("Milwaukee Rep") is a theater company in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Founded as the Fred Miller Theatre Company, the group is housed in the Associated Bank Theater Center, which includes the Quadracci Powerhouse Theater, th ...

)Sunday Post Crescent, February 27, 1966 * ''

Marat/Sade ''The Persecution and Assassination of Jean-Paul Marat as Performed by the Inmates of the Asylum of Charenton Under the Direction of the Marquis de Sade'' (), usually shortened to ''Marat/Sade'' (), is a 1963 play by Peter Weiss. The work was firs ...

'' (1966) – Marat (Opened October 24, 1966 at Theatre Co. of Boston)The Harvard Crimson, October 29, 1966 * ''

'' (1970) - Daniel the father * ''

Bloody Mama ''Bloody Mama'' is a 1970 American exploitation crime film directed by Roger Corman, star ...

'' (1970) – Arthur Barker * ''

The Night Thoreau Spent in Jail ''The Night Thoreau Spent in Jail'' is a two-act American play by Robert E. Lee and Jerome Lawrence written in 1969. The play is based on the early life of the title character, Henry David Thoreau, leading up to his night spent in a jail in Co ...

'' (1971) –

Henry David Thoreau Henry David Thoreau (born David Henry Thoreau; July 12, 1817May 6, 1862) was an American naturalist, essayist, poet, and philosopher. A leading Transcendentalism, transcendentalist, he is best known for his book ''Walden'', a reflection upon sim ...

(Opened October 13, 1971 at the New Mexico State University Theater)Las Cruces Sun News, October 3, 1971 * ''

'' (1971) – German Major Von Hoeppner * ''

Magic Carpet A magic carpet, also called a flying carpet, is a legendary carpet and common trope in fantasy fiction. It is typically used as a form of transportation and can quickly or instantaneously carry its user(s) to their destination. In literature On ...

'' (November 6, 1972) – John Doolittle (Filmed on location and first broadcast by NBC as the unsuccessful pilot for a weekly TV series) * ''

The Crucible ''The Crucible'' is a 1953 play by the American playwright Arthur Miller. It is a dramatized and partially fictionalized story of the Salem witch trials that took place in the Province of Massachusetts Bay from 1692 to 1693. Miller wrote ...

'' (1972) – Jon Proctor (

New Mexico State University New Mexico State University (NMSU or NM State) is a public, land-grant, research university in Las Cruces, New Mexico, United States. Founded in 1888, it is the state's oldest public institution of higher education, and was the original land-g ...

production opening September 30, 1972)El Paso Herald Post, September 30, 1972 * ''

Night Call Nurses ''Night Call Nurses'' is a 1972 American sex comedy, sex comedy film directed by Jonathan Kaplan. It is the third in Roger Corman's "nurses" cycle of films, starting with ''The Student Nurses'' (1970). Quentin Tarantino called it "a sexy version ...

'' (1972) – Dr. Bramlett * ''

The Young Nurses ''The Young Nurses'' is a 1973 film directed by Clint Kimbrough. It was the fourth in the popular "nurses" cycle for New World Pictures, starting with ''The Student Nurses'' (1970). Plot Three sexy, female health care workers expose a drug ring ...

'' (1973) – (as Director)

References

External links

* *
Clint Kimbrough
at the

University of Wisconsin A university () is an institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars". Uni ...

'
Actors Studio audio collection
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kimbrough, Clint 1933 births 1996 deaths American male stage actors American male television actors Male actors from Oklahoma University of Oklahoma alumni 20th-century American male actors People from Allen, Oklahoma