Variety reports old actor Bruce Kirby died in Los Angeles on Sunday. He was 95.
Born Bruno Giovanni Quidaciolu in New York City in 1925, Kirby began studying with Lee Strasberg at the Actor’s Studio in New York. He had just turned 30 when he made his small screen debut The Goodyear Playhouse in 1955. He was a seasoned actor and followed that appearance with several guest roles, in all of The Phil Silvers Show to I dream of Jeannie to Mission Impossible. Kirby’s subdued everyone’s charm seemed special to me make it great for police officers or detectives, in series like Car 54, where are you?, Chico and the man, Kojak, and Barney Miller.
His most famous role was undoubtedly that of Sergeant George Kramer in the legendary detective series Columbo. Such was the charisma of Peter Falk and the series of high-profile guest stars of the show that, Other than the signature trench coat, car, and basset hound, Kirby was the closest thing to a recurring cast member, save for the title character. Sergeant Kramer was mostly confused and impressed by Columbo’s unconventional sleuth methods at the same time. Kirby appeared in nine episodes in total, not just as Kramer, but also a lab clerk and a TV repairman. In the ’80s, Kirby made as notable an impression as DA in 13 episodes of LA Law.
Over the decades, the actor’s pace never seemed to slow down as he appeared Matlock, Murphy Brown, and She wrote murder. In more recent years he has been a guest at Days of our lives, The West Wing, and The Sopranos. His last TV appearance was in an episode of 2007 Scrubs.
His appearances on the big screen were less frequent, but Kirby appeared in such films as Catch-22, The Muppet Movie, Crash, Sweet Dreams, The Big Picture, and played a character named after him, Mr. Quidaciolu in Stay with me, as the shop owner who tells Gordy that he looks like his late brother Denny. He finally retired from acting in 2009.
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Kirby was the father of the equally hardworking actor Bruno Kirby, who died of leukemia in 2006 at the age of 57.
Bruce Kirby’s survivors include his son John, an acting coach, and wife Roz, whom he married in 1976.