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8:31 am PST 01/26/2021
by
Mike Barnes
The father of the late Bruno Kirby, he also played District Attorney Bruce Rogoff in “LA Law”.
Bruce Kirby, the veteran character actor perhaps best known for playing the gullible Sgt. George Kramer on the long-running NBC series Columbo, is dead. He was 95 years old.
Kirby, who excelled at playing authority figures during his more than five decades in show business, died at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles on Sunday, his son John reported.
His eldest son, actor Bruno Kirby (The Godfather: Part II, When Harry meets Sally …, City slickers), who died in August 2006 of leukemia at the age of 57.
Elder Kirby also portrayed District Attorney Bruce Rogoff on NBC’s LA law, and early in his career, he was one of the wacky cops in fiction 53rd City in the Bronx seen at the start 60’s sitcom Car 54, where are you?
At Rob Reiner Support me (1986), Kirby played market owner Mr. Quidacioluo, who tells Gordie (Want to Wheaton) that he looks like his deceased older brother. He was also a detective in Throw mom off a train (1987), and in the Oscar for best film 2006 crash, he appeared as Pop Ryan, the father of cop John Ryan (Matt Dillon).
A native of New York who studied with Lee Strasberg, Kirby (real name: Bruno Giovanni) also returned as Sgt. Al Vine on Kojak then played the role of a San Francisco cop opposite Kojak co-starring Kevin Dobson in another CBS crime drama, Shannon.
Sure Columbo, his without imagination Sgt. Kramer constantly fell in love with the killer’s alibi, took the clues at face value, and thought Peter Falk’s character was crazy. Kirby has appeared in nine episodes of the series spanning over two decades.
He played another cop for laughs in the wacky and fleeting sitcom 1976-1977 Holmes and Yo-yo.
Kirby played the role of legendary TV broadcaster Arthur Godfrey in the 1985 film Sweet Dreams, starring Jessica Lange as Patsy Cline, and appeared on the big screen in Catch-22 (1970), Don Knots‘ How to frame a Figg (1971), Armed and dangerous (1986), Another time, another place (1992) and Mr. wonderful (1993).
After Arthur Miller saw him as Alfieri in a Los Angeles production A view from the bridge, the playwright brought him to Broadway and chose him as Uncle Ben opposite Dustin Hoffman in Death of a seller in 1984. (Kirby made his Broadway debut in 1965 in Diamond orchid.)
In addition to John Kirby, an interim trainer, survivors include his wife, Roz.
He wrote to his son: “Thank you dad for everything you have taught me about theater and how to have such a strong work ethic while sharing your love for the arts and crafts of it all. Glad you did be up there with Bruno and so many of our loved ones. “
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