Bruce Kirby(1925-2021)

One of those hard-working supporting actors whose face you know but whose name might not ring any bells. Italian-American Bruce Kirby (real name Bruno Giovanni Quidaciolu) was steadily employed--primarily on the small screen--to play a gallery of often likeable, mainly unimposing characters in a career that spanned more than 50 years. He began at the Actor's Studio in New York, having studied under Lee Strasberg, debuting on stage in or around 1950. His television work commenced in 1955 with anthology dramas. Kirby had a recurring role as Officer Kissel in Car 54, Where Are You? (1961) and was from then on frequently cast as police officers, notably in Kojak (1973) (Sgt. Al Vine), Columbo (1971) (perhaps best remembered as the ineffectual, perennially-bewildered Sgt. Kramer), Holmes & Yoyo (1976) (Captain Harry Sedford), and in the short-lived crime series Shannon (1981) (Det. George Schmidt). He enjoyed a lengthier run as District Attorney Bruce Rogoff in the multiple Emmy Award-winning legal drama L.A. Law (1986). Kirby showed up in numerous guest spots on top-rating shows across diverse genres, including Hogan's Heroes (1965), Bonanza (1959), Marcus Welby, M.D. (1969), The Streets of San Francisco (1972), M*A*S*H (1972), The Rockford Files (1974), The West Wing (1999) and The Sopranos (1999).

Kirby appeared as Alfieri on stage in Los Angeles in A View from the Bridge, using his real name. He made his bow on Broadway in Diamond Orchid (1965) and was understudy to Dustin Hoffman for the role of Willy Loman in a 1984 production of Arthur Miller's Death of A Salesman. He retired from acting in 2009. Kirby died on January 24, 2021 in Los Angeles.