Variety reports that longtime actor Bruce Kirby died on Sunday in Los Angeles. He was 95 years old.
Born Bruno Giovanni Quidaciolu in New York City in 1925, Kirby started studying with Lee Strasberg at Actor’s Studio in New York. He had just turned 30 when he made his small screen debut at The Goodyear Playhouse in 1955. A veteran character actor, he followed that appearance with several special roles, in everything from The Phil Silvers Show for I dream about jeannie for Mission Impossible. The charm of Kirby’s discreet common man seemed particularly make it suitable for police or detective roles, in series like Car 54, where are you?, Chico and the man, Kojak, and Barney Miller.
Without a doubt, his most famous role was that of Sergeant George Kramer in the legendary detective series Columbus. Size was Peter Falk’s charisma and the series of high-profile guest stars who, besides the overcoat, car and basset hound, Kirby was the closest thing the show had to a recurring cast member besides the title character. Sergeant Kramer used to be both confused and impressed by Columbo’s unconventional investigative methods. Kirby appeared in nine episodes overall, not just as Kramer, but also a lab assistant and TV technician. In the 1980s, Kirby made an equally remarkable impression as a public prosecutor in 13 episodes of LA Law.
Over the decades, the actor’s pace never seemed to slow down, as he appeared in Matlock, Murphy Brown, and Murder, she wrote. In more recent years, he was invited to Days of our lives, The West Wing, and The Sopranos. His last TV appearance was in a 2007 episode of Scrubs.
His screen appearances were less frequent, but Kirby appeared in films like Catch-22, The Muppet Movie, Beat, Sweet dreams, The Big Picture, and played a character named after him, Mr. Quidaciolu inside Stay with me, as the store owner who tells Gordy that he looks like his deceased brother, Denny. He finally retired from acting in 2009.
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Kirby was the father of actor Bruno Kirby, who also worked hard, and died of leukemia in 2006 at the age of 57.
Bruce Kirby’s survivors include his son John, an acting coach, and his wife Roz, whom he married in 1976.