Born in Chicago,[1] Kirby broke into show business in the 1940s at the Club DeLisa, a South Side establishment that employed a variety-show format and preferred to hire local singers, dancers, and comedians. His first recording was as a stand-up blues singer, performing "Ice Man Blues" on a Tom Archia session done in 1947 for Aristocrat Records.
In 1970, he was allowed to produce The George Kirby Show, a television special, to gauge whether he could attract an audience for a weekly series. It led to his hosting Half the George Kirby Comedy Hour, a sketch comedy and variety show, which lasted for 22 episodes in 1972; it was one of the actor-comedian Steve Martin's first credits in front of the camera. The series was in many ways an uneasy compromise between Kirby's natural gifts and what the public would accept of black actors at the time; a regular feature was a shaggy dog story entitled the "Funky Fable". He was also a regular in the ABC series The Kopykats, with other impressionists such as Rich Little, Charlie Callas, Marilyn Michaels, and Frank Gorshin.
Following the demise of his show, Kirby's career declined, especially as audiences began to look for more cutting-edge comedy. HBO did include him in their On Location With comedian series in the late 1970s, filming one of his many appearances at Grossinger's in the NY Catskills, a club he had played regularly since 1961.
Arrested in 1977 for selling cocaine and heroin to an undercover officer, Kirby served three and a half years in prison. After his release, he visited schools to tell students to stay off drugs.[2]
Death
Diagnosed with Parkinson's disease in his later years, Kirby made his last public appearance at an all-star benefit in May 1995 given by his friends for his mounting medical bills.[2]
On September 30, 1995, Kirby died of Parkinson's disease at a nursing home in Las Vegas. He was survived by his wife, Rosemary.[2]
References
^"George Kirby: Obituary". Chicago Tribune. October 3, 1995.
^ abc"George Kirby, 71, Comedian Who Was 'Copycat' of Yesteryear's Stars". Seattle Times. October 2, 1995.
george, kirby, other, uses, disambiguation, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, news, newspapers, books,. For other uses see George Kirby disambiguation This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources George Kirby news newspapers books scholar JSTOR March 2013 Learn how and when to remove this template message George Kirby June 8 1923 September 30 1995 was an American comedian singer and actor George KirbyKirby in 1964Born 1923 06 08 June 8 1923Chicago Illinois U S DiedSeptember 30 1995 1995 09 30 aged 72 Las Vegas Nevada U S SpouseRosemary 1960 1995 Contents 1 Career 2 Imprisonment 3 Death 4 References 5 External linksCareer EditBorn in Chicago 1 Kirby broke into show business in the 1940s at the Club DeLisa a South Side establishment that employed a variety show format and preferred to hire local singers dancers and comedians His first recording was as a stand up blues singer performing Ice Man Blues on a Tom Archia session done in 1947 for Aristocrat Records He was one of the first African American comedians to appeal to white as well as black audiences during the height of the Civil Rights era appearing between 1963 and 1972 on Perry Como s Kraft Music Hall The Ed Sullivan Show The Dean Martin Show The Jackie Gleason Show The Temptations Show Rowan and Martin s Laugh In and The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson As an impressionist he mimicked white celebrities such as John Wayne and Walter Brennan not solely black stars like Bill Cosby and Pearl Bailey something ostensibly provocative for the 1960s as Sammy Davis had broken ground doing in the mid 1950s A bebop piano player Kirby did song and vocal impressions of jazz greats Louis Armstrong Nat King Cole Ella Fitzgerald and Joe Williams Kirby did a profoundly believable female and child voice as well as an array of military and airline sound effects In 1970 he was allowed to produce The George Kirby Show a television special to gauge whether he could attract an audience for a weekly series It led to his hosting Half the George Kirby Comedy Hour a sketch comedy and variety show which lasted for 22 episodes in 1972 it was one of the actor comedian Steve Martin s first credits in front of the camera The series was in many ways an uneasy compromise between Kirby s natural gifts and what the public would accept of black actors at the time a regular feature was a shaggy dog story entitled the Funky Fable He was also a regular in the ABC series The Kopykats with other impressionists such as Rich Little Charlie Callas Marilyn Michaels and Frank Gorshin Following the demise of his show Kirby s career declined especially as audiences began to look for more cutting edge comedy HBO did include him in their On Location With comedian series in the late 1970s filming one of his many appearances at Grossinger s in the NY Catskills a club he had played regularly since 1961 His career never again reached its former heights but he did register featured guest appearances on Gimme a Break with Nell Carter What s Happening Now Crazy Like a Fox and 227 In 1983 he did a USO tour with Bob Hope to entertain the troops in Beirut Lebanon as part of the multinational peacekeeping force Imprisonment EditArrested in 1977 for selling cocaine and heroin to an undercover officer Kirby served three and a half years in prison After his release he visited schools to tell students to stay off drugs 2 Death EditDiagnosed with Parkinson s disease in his later years Kirby made his last public appearance at an all star benefit in May 1995 given by his friends for his mounting medical bills 2 On September 30 1995 Kirby died of Parkinson s disease at a nursing home in Las Vegas He was survived by his wife Rosemary 2 References Edit George Kirby Obituary Chicago Tribune October 3 1995 a b c George Kirby 71 Comedian Who Was Copycat of Yesteryear s Stars Seattle Times October 2 1995 External links Edit Biography portalGeorge Kirby at IMDb Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title George Kirby amp oldid 1126175118, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
