David Edwin Birney (April 23, 1939 – April 27, 2022) was an American actor and director whose career included performances in both contemporary and classical roles in theatre, film, and television. He is noted for having played the title role in the television series '' Serpico''. He also starred in '' Bridget Loves Bernie'', an early 1970s TV series about an interfaith marriage that also starred Meredith Baxter, whom he married after the series ended. He also portrayed Dr. Ben Samuels in '' St. Elsewhere'' from 1982 until 1983.

Early life

Birney was born to an Irish Catholic family in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, on April 23, 1939. His father, Edwin, worked as a special agent for the

FBI The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and Federal law enforcement in the United States, its principal federal law enforcement ag ...

; his mother, Jeanne (née McGee), was a housewife before becoming a real estate agent. Birney attended schools in

Brooklyn, Ohio Brooklyn is a city in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, United States. The population was 11,359 at the 2020 census. A suburb of Cleveland, it is a part of the Cleveland metropolitan area. History Brooklyn was home to the first seat belt law in 1966 an ...

, and graduated from West High School in

Cleveland Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–U.S. maritime border and approximately west of the Ohio-Pennsylvania st ...

. Named to the National Honor Society, he lettered in basketball, football, and track. He held a B.A. degree from

Dartmouth College Dartmouth College ( ) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Hanover, New Hampshire, United States. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, Dartmouth is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the America ...

with "High Distinction" in English literature, English Honors. At the

University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school the ...

, Birney earned an M.A. in theatre arts, acting and directing, studying with Ralph Freud and William Melnitz. He held a teaching assistant fellowship and was awarded an honorary Ph.D. in Humanities from Southern Utah University.

Career

Stage

While in the U.S. Army, Birney won an All Army Entertainment contest and received the " Barter Theatre Award" in 1965. Since the award was an equity contract with the Company for an entire season, he consequently spent the next season with the Barter Theatre, the State Theatre of Virginia, starring or appearing in fifteen shows, directing two others. In the following two years he went on to perform with a range of companies and productions,

off-Broadway An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer tha ...

and in several regional repertory theatres. His New York debut was with Joe Papp's New York Shakespeare Festival as Antipholus of Syracuse in

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

’s '' The Comedy of Errors''. Birney worked continually in the theatre performing leading roles with some of the most important theatres in the country. His stage credits included starring roles on Broadway in '' Amadeus'', '' Benefactors'', and '' Man and Superman''. He also had major roles at the American Shakespeare Festival, New York's Lincoln Center Repertory Theatre, the New York Shakespeare Festival, Los Angeles' Mark Taper Forum, Washington, D.C.'s Shakespeare Theatre, Princeton's McCarter Theatre, the Great Lakes Shakespeare Festival, and numerous regional theatres around the country. Representative roles included:

Prince Hamlet Prince Hamlet is the title character and protagonist of William Shakespeare's tragedy ''Hamlet'' (1599–1601). He is the Prince of Denmark, nephew of the usurping King Claudius, Claudius, and son of King Hamlet, the previous King of Denmark. At ...

Macbeth ''The Tragedy of Macbeth'', often shortened to ''Macbeth'' (), is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, estimated to have been first performed in 1606. It dramatises the physically violent and damaging psychological effects of political ambiti ...

, Romeo and Mercutio in ''

Romeo and Juliet ''The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet'', often shortened to ''Romeo and Juliet'', is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare about the romance between two young Italians from feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's ...

'', Richard II,

Richard III Richard III (2 October 1452 – 22 August 1485) was King of England from 26 June 1483 until his death in 1485. He was the last king of the Plantagenet dynasty and its cadet branch the House of York. His defeat and death at the Battle of Boswor ...

, Benedick in ''

Much Ado About Nothing ''Much Ado About Nothing'' is a Shakespearean comedy, comedy by William Shakespeare thought to have been written in 1598 and 1599.See textual notes to ''Much Ado About Nothing'' in ''The Norton Shakespeare'' (W. W. Norton & Company, 1997 ) p. ...

'', Shylock in '' The Merchant of Venice'', Orsino in ''

Twelfth Night ''Twelfth Night, or What You Will'' is a romantic comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written around 1601–1602 as a Twelfth Night entertainment for the close of the Christmas season. The play centres on the twins Viola an ...

'', Atticus Finch in ''

To Kill a Mockingbird ''To Kill a Mockingbird'' is a 1960 Southern Gothic novel by American author Harper Lee. It became instantly successful after its release; in the United States, it is widely read in high schools and middle schools. ''To Kill a Mockingbird'' ...

'', Jack Tanner in ''Man and Superman'', Christy Mahon in '' The Playboy of the Western World'', Young Man in ''Summertree'', Cusins in ''

Major Barbara ''Major Barbara'' is a three-act English play by George Bernard Shaw, written and premiered in 1905 and first published in 1907. The story concerns an idealistic young woman, Barbara Undershaft, who is engaged in helping the poor as a Major in ...

'', Jerry in '' The Zoo Story'', Algernon in ''

The Importance of Being Earnest ''The Importance of Being Earnest, a Trivial Comedy for Serious People'' is a play by Oscar Wilde, the last of his four drawing-room plays, following ''Lady Windermere's Fan'' (1892), ''A Woman of No Importance'' (1893) and ''An Ideal Husban ...

'', Arthur in '' Camelot'', Higgins in ''

My Fair Lady ''My Fair Lady'' is a musical theatre, musical with a book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner and music by Frederick Loewe. The story, based on George Bernard Shaw's 1913 play ''Pygmalion (play), Pygmalion'' and on the Pygmalion (1938 film), 1938 film ...

'', Matt Friedman in '' Talley's Folly'', David in ''

Social Security Welfare spending is a type of government support intended to ensure that members of a society can meet basic human needs such as food and shelter. Social security may either be synonymous with welfare, or refer specifically to social insurance ...

'', Andrew in '' Love Letters'', Jamie in '' A Moon for the Misbegotten'', Victor in '' The Price'', Jaques in ''

As You Like It ''As You Like It'' is a pastoral Shakespearean comedy, comedy by William Shakespeare believed to have been written in 1599 and first published in the First Folio in 1623. The play's first performance is uncertain, though a performance at Wil ...

'', the Dauphin in '' King John'', and Shaw i
''Dear Liar''

Audiobooks

Birney recorded numerous

audiobook An audiobook (or a talking book) is a recording of a book or other work being read out loud. A reading of the complete text is described as "unabridged", while readings of shorter versions are abridgements. Spoken audio has been available in sch ...

bestsellers, including works by

Dean Koontz Dean Ray Koontz (born July 9, 1945) is an American author. His novels are billed as thriller (genre), suspense thrillers, but frequently incorporate elements of horror fiction, horror, fantasy, science fiction, Mystery fiction, mystery, and sati ...

Paul Theroux Paul Edward Theroux ( ; born April 10, 1941) is an American novelist and travel writer who has written numerous books, including the travelogue '' The Great Railway Bazaar'' (1975). Some of his works of fiction have been adapted as feature films ...

Annie Dillard Annie Dillard (née Doak; born April 30, 1945) is an American author, best known for her narrative prose in both fiction and nonfiction. She has published works of poetry, essays, prose, and literary criticism, as well as two novels and one memo ...

, and

Orson Scott Card Orson Scott Card (born August 24, 1951) is an American writer known best for his science fiction works. , he is the only person to have won a Hugo Award for Best Novel, Hugo Award and a Nebula Award for Best Novel, Nebula Award in List of joint ...

. He was conferred the Audie Award for his reading of Julie Salomon's ''The Christmas Tree'', and was also bestowed several ''AudioFile Magazine'' Earphone Awards. He played

Anakin Skywalker Darth Vader () is a fictional character in the ''Star Wars'' franchise. He was first introduced in the Star Wars original trilogy, original film trilogy as the primary Antagonist, antagonist and one of the leaders of the Galactic Empire (Star W ...

in the radio adaptation of ''

Return of the Jedi ''Return of the Jedi'' (also known as ''Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi'' is a 1983 American epic space opera film directed by Richard Marquand from a screenplay by Lawrence Kasdan and George Lucas. The sequel to '' The Empire ...

''.

Television

Aside from his title role in ''Bridget Loves Bernie'', Birney appeared frequently on television, building a career in TV movies, regular series and

miniseries In the United States, a miniseries or mini-series is a television show or series that tells a story in a predetermined, limited number of episodes. Many miniseries can also be referred to, and shown, as a television film. " Limited series" is ...

. He starred in such series as '' Live Shot'', ''

Cannon A cannon is a large-caliber gun classified as a type of artillery, which usually launches a projectile using explosive chemical propellant. Gunpowder ("black powder") was the primary propellant before the invention of smokeless powder during th ...

'', '' St. Elsewhere'', '' The Adams Chronicles'', ''

Glitter Glitter is an assortment of flat, small, reflective particles that are precision cut and come in a variety of shapes, sizes, and colors. Glitter particles resemble confetti, sparkles and sequins, but somewhat smaller. Since prehistoric times ...

'', ''Serpico'', '' Fantasy Island'', '' Hawaii Five-O'', '' McMillan & Wife'', '' The F.B.I.'', and ''

Murder, She Wrote ''Murder, She Wrote'' is an American crime drama television series, created by Peter S. Fischer, Richard Levinson and William Link, starring Angela Lansbury, and produced and distributed by Universal Television for the CBS network. The series f ...

''. He also starred in the episode "The Nomads" from the 1977 series ''

Quinn Martin's Tales of the Unexpected ''Quinn Martins Tales of the Unexpected'' is an American Horror film, horror and Science fiction film, science fiction Anthology series#Television, anthology television series produced by Quinn Martin, and hosted and narrated by William Conrad. ...

'', known in the United Kingdom as ''Twist in the Tale''. His miniseries credits include '' Testimony of Two Men'', '' Valley of the Dolls'', '' Night of the Fox'', and '' Master of the Game''. He also appeared in the TV series the Love Boat with his wife where he played an Italian escort to an American woman whose friend arranged the encounter. Birney also appeared in leading roles in many television films, including '' Long Journey Home'' and '' The Deadly Game''. He also appeared in the soap operas '' The Best of Everything'' and '' Love Is a Many Splendored Thing''.

Writing and directing

Birney edited and adapted for the stage a two-character play based on some of

Mark Twain Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30, 1835 – April 21, 1910), known by the pen name Mark Twain, was an American writer, humorist, and essayist. He was praised as the "greatest humorist the United States has produced," with William Fau ...

’s shorter works and letters. The piece, ''Mark Twain's The Diaries of Adam and Eve'', was presented on the PBS series ''

American Playhouse ''American Playhouse'' is an American anthology television series periodically broadcast by Public Broadcasting Service (PBS). It premiered on January 12, 1982, with ''The Shady Hill Kidnapping'', written and narrated by John Cheever and direc ...

''. Developing the play subsequently for the stage, Birney directed and starred in productions for regional theatres such as the Hartford Stage (opening the Mark Twain Festival in Hartford), the Capital Repertory Theatre, and on tour in performing arts centers across the country. A second play, ''A Christmas Pudding'', a Christmas collage of song, story and poetry of the season was published by Samuel French, Inc.

Professional associations

Birney served on the Large Theatre Panel of the

National Endowment for the Arts The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created in 1965 as an independent agency of the feder ...

and was a board member of the Foundation for Biomedical Research. He also served on the Theatre and Dance Panel of the Jacob Javits Fellowship Foundation. For Dartmouth College he served as a member of the Board of Overseers for the

Hopkins Center for the Arts Hopkins Center for the Arts at Dartmouth College is located at 4 East Wheelock Street in Hanover, New Hampshire. The center, which was designed by Wallace Harrison and foreshadows his later design of Manhattan's Lincoln Center, is the college's ...

. He initiated and chaired the Class of '61 Legacy: The American Tradition in Performance, helping to create a substantial endowment dedicated to live performance at the Hopkins Center at Dartmouth College. For five years, Birney co-chaired the

American Diabetes Association The American Diabetes Association (ADA) is a United States-based nonprofit that seeks to educate the public about diabetes and to help those affected by it through funding research to manage, cure and prevent diabetes, including type 1 diabetes ...

, speaking and fund raising for the Association. He was an advisor for the Children’s Rights Council, a national nonprofit organization advocating access to both parents after divorce or separation. His contribution to classical theatre was recognized with Washington's Shakespeare Theatre's Millennium Award.

Personal life

Birney married actress Meredith Baxter in 1974. They had starred together in the 1972–73 TV series '' Bridget Loves Bernie''. During their marriage, she was known as Meredith Baxter Birney. Together, they had three children: Kate, Mollie, and Peter. They divorced in 1989. In 2011, she said Birney emotionally and physically abused her during their marriage. He published a lengthy statement on his website disputing the allegations. In the December 2017 edition of the ''Wide Wide World'' newsletter for

class of 1961 alumni, it was disclosed that Birney had been diagnosed with

Alzheimer's disease Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease and the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in remembering recent events. As the disease advances, symptoms can include problems wit ...

. Birney died on April 27, 2022, four days after his birthday, at his home in

Santa Monica, California Santa Monica (; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Santa Mónica'') is a city in Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County, situated along Santa Monica Bay on California's South Coast (California), South Coast. Santa Monica's 2020 United Sta ...

, at the age of 83. At the time of his death, he was in a domestic partnership with Michele Roberge.

Filmography

Film

*''

Caravan to Vaccarès ''Caravan to Vaccarès'' is a novel by author Alistair MacLean, originally published in 1970. This novel is set in the Provence region of southern France. The novel was originally written as a screenplay for producer Elliot Kastner. Plot From a ...

'' (1974) - Bowman *'' Trial by Combat'' (1976) - Sir John Gifford *'' Bye, See You Monday'' (1979) - Frank *'' Oh, God! Book II'' (1980) - Don Richards *'' Prettykill'' (1987) - Larry Turner *'' Nightfall'' (1988) - Aton *'' The Naked Truth'' (1992) - Fed. #2 *''The Comedy of Errors'' (2000) - The Duke

Films for television

*'' Ghost Story'' (1972 pilot) - John Travis *'' Someone's Watching Me!'' (1978) - Paul Winkless *'' OHMS'' (1980) - Jack Coker *''

ABC Afterschool Special ''ABC Afterschool Special'' is an American anthology television series that aired on ABC from October 4, 1972, to January 23, 1997, usually in the late afternoon on weekdays. Most episodes were dramatically presented situations, often controve ...

'' (1981, Episode: "I Think I'm Having a Baby") - Mr. Fenning *'' The Long Journey Home'' (1987) - Carter Wells *'' Night of the Fox'' (1990) - Hugh Kelso *'' Always Remember I Love You'' (1990) - Philip Mendham *''Keeping Secrets'' (1991) - Alan

TV Mini Series

*'' The Adams Chronicles'' (1976) - John Quincy Adams *''Testimony of Two Men'' (1977) - Jonathan 'Jon' Ferrier *'' Jacqueline Susann's Valley of the Dolls'' (1981) - Lyon Burke *'' Master of the Game'' (1984) - David Blackwell

References

External links

* * * *
The Papers of David E. Birney
at Dartmouth College Library {{DEFAULTSORT:Birney, David 1939 births 2022 deaths 20th-century American male actors 21st-century American male actors American male film actors American male radio actors American male television actors Dartmouth College alumni Deaths from Alzheimer's disease in California Male actors from Cleveland Male actors from Washington, D.C. Deaths from dementia in California UCLA Film School alumni University of California, Los Angeles alumni