Charles Kimbrough
Charles Mayberry Kimbrough (May 23, 1936 – January 11, 2023) was an American actor, best known for his role as the straight-faced anchorman Jim Dial on Murphy Brown. In 1990, his performance in the role earned him a nomination for an Emmy Award for "Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series".[1]
Charles Kimbrough | |
|---|---|
Kimbrough at the 1989 Emmy Awards | |
| Born | May 23, 1936 St. Paul, Minnesota, U.S. |
| Died | January 11, 2023 (aged 86) Culver City, California, U.S. |
| Occupation(s) | Actor, voice actor |
| Years active | 1950s-2018 |
| Spouse(s) | Mary Jane Wilson (m. 1961; div. 1991) |
| Children | 1 |
Biography
Born in St. Paul, Minnesota, Kimbrough had extensive stage experience. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, Kimbrough and his first wife Mary Jane were part of the resident company of the Milwaukee Repertory Theatre where they appeared in such plays as Georges Feydeau's Cat Among the Pigeons and Jules Feiffer's The White House Murder Case. In 1971, he was nominated for a Tony for best featured actor in a musical as Harry in Stephen Sondheim's Company. In 1984, he performed in the original Broadway cast of Sondheim's Sunday in the Park with George. He starred in the original Off-Broadway production of A.R. Gurney's comedy Sylvia in 1985.[2]
Around 1976–1977, he appeared in a Chef Boyardee Spaghetti & Meatballs commercial.
In 1988, Kimbrough was cast as Jim Dial, a veteran network news anchor with the integrity and experience of an Edward R. Murrow or Walter Cronkite, on the CBS sitcom Murphy Brown. The series ran for 247 episodes over ten seasons, scoring 17 Emmy Awards and three Golden Globes. Mr. Kimbrough was nominated for an Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series in 1990.
Kimbrough was married to actress and fellow Company castmate Beth Howland, known for her television work as Vera Louise Gorman-Novak on the sitcom Alice. He studied theater and drama at Indiana University Bloomington, and graduated in 1958. He earned a Masters of Fine Arts degree at Yale University's School of Drama. To younger audiences, he is probably best known for supplying the voice of Victor, the most mature gargoyle in Disney's 1996 animated feature The Hunchback of Notre Dame, a role he reprised in its direct-to-video sequel, The Hunchback of Notre Dame II and Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance.[3]
Kimbrough was part of the cast of the Roundabout Theater Company's 2012 Broadway revival of Mary Chase's Pulitzer prize-winning play Harvey playing William R. Chumley, M.D., with Jim Parsons in the lead as Elwood P. Dowd. The show ran from June 14 to August 5, 2012, at New York's Studio 54 Theatre.[4]
Kimbrough's wife Beth Howland died of lung cancer in December 2015 at the age of 76. Her death was not reported to the media until May 24, 2016.[5] Kimbrough's son, John Kimbrough, founded, sang and played guitar for the St. Paul-based alternative rock band Walt Mink who were active from 1989–1997.
The 2018 revival of Murphy Brown had Kimbrough return playing a retired Jim Dial for a multi-episode arc.[6]
Kimbrough died in Culver City, California, on January 11, 2023, at the age of 86.[7]
Filmography
| Year | Television | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1975 | Kojak | Rudy | Episode: "A Question of Answers" |
| Great Performances | Dr. Spiga | Episode: "The Rules of the Game" | |
| 1976 | Kojak | A.D.A. Greg Burton | 2 episodes |
| 1977 | Great Performances | Benton Arrelsford | Episode: "Secret Service" |
| 1981 | For Ladies Only | Bob Merlis | Television movie |
| 1983 | Great Performances | Editor | Episode: "The Innocents Abroad" |
| 1985 | Tales of the Unexpected | Eric | Episode: "Scrimshaw" |
| 1986 | Spenser: For Hire | Louis Groton | Episode: "An Eye for an Eye" |
| Another World | Dr. Abbott | Unknown episodes | |
| 1988–1998, 2018 | Murphy Brown | Jim Dial | 250 episodes Nominated—Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series Nominated—Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series |
| 1988 | Spenser: For Hire | Roger Thornwood | Episode: "To the End of the Line" |
| Hothouse | Mr. Austen | Episode: "Nancy: Part 1" | |
| 1992 | Dinosaurs | Dr. Ficus | Episode: "Germ Warfare" |
| 1994 | Mighty Max | Dr. Bob | Episode: "Scorpio Rising" |
| 1998 | Pinky and the Brain | Sandy Dreckman | Episode: "You'll Never Eat Food Pellets in This Town Again!" |
| Love Boat: The Next Wave | Rich | Episode: "Affairs to Remember" | |
| 2000 | Family Guy | Jim Dial | Episode: "A Picture Is Worth $1,000 Bucks" |
| The Angry Beavers | Narrator | Episode: "Canucks Amuck" | |
| Batman Beyond | Gordon | Episode: "Out of the Past" | |
| 2002 | Ally McBeal | Charlie Fish | Episode: "What I'll Never Do for Love Again" |
| The Zeta Project | Pat Jensen | Episode: "On the Wire" |
| Year | Film | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1976 | The Front | Committee counselor | |
| 1977 | The Sentinel | Hospital doctor | Uncredited |
| 1979 | The Seduction of Joe Tynan | Francis | |
| Starting Over | Salesman | ||
| 1980 | It's My Turn | Jerome | |
| 1987 | Switching Channels | Governor Springfield | |
| 1988 | The Good Mother | Uncle Orrie | |
| 1995 | Whisper of the Heart | Additional Voices | (2006 Disney dub) |
| 1996 | The Hunchback of Notre Dame | Victor | Voice |
| 2000 | Buzz Lightyear of Star Command: The Adventure Begins | Brain Pod #29 | |
| The Land Before Time VII: The Stone of Cold Fire | Rainbow Face #1 | ||
| 2001 | The Wedding Planner | Mr. Donolly | |
| Recess: School's Out | Mort Chalk | Voice | |
| 2002 | The Hunchback of Notre Dame II | Victor | |
| 2003 | Marci X | Lane Strayfield |
Video games
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | Disney's Animated Storybook: The Hunchback of Notre Dame | Victor | Voice-over |
| The Hunchback of Notre Dame: Topsy Turvy Games | |||
| 2012 | Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance | ||
| 2017 | Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue |
References
- ^ . Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times. 2008. Archived from the original on February 18, 2008.
- ^ Sylvia May 30, 2015, at the Wayback Machine Internet Off-Broadway Database, accessed August 1, 2015
- ^ Charles Kimbrough and Jason Alexander to debut Kingdom Hearts
- ^ Turgeon, Jessica (June 20, 2012). "'Harvey' hops its way to Broadway this summer". TicketNews. Retrieved October 18, 2021.
- ^ Grimes, William (May 24, 2016). "Beth Howland, accident prone waitress from the sitcom Alice dies at 74". The New York Times. Retrieved May 25, 2016.
- ^ Ausiello, Michael (August 5, 2018). "Murphy Brown Boss Focusing Revival 'Through Prism of the Press,' Reveals [Spoiler] Will Return for Arc". TVLine. Retrieved September 28, 2018.
- ^ Charles Kimbrough, Actor Best Known for ‘Murphy Brown,’ Dies at 86
External links
- Charles Kimbrough at IMDb
- Charles Kimbrough at the Internet Broadway Database
- Charles Kimbrough at the Internet Off-Broadway Database