Bruno Kirby

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Bruno Kirby

Kirby in City Slickers, 1991
Born Bruno Giovanni Quidaciolu, Jr.
April 28, 1949(1949-04-28)
New York City, New York, U.S.
Died August 14, 2006 (aged 57)
Los Angeles, California
Other name(s) Bruce Kirby, Jr.
B. Kirby, Jr.
Years active 1971-2006

Bruno Kirby (April 28, 1949 – August 14, 2006) was an American film and television actor. He was perhaps best known for his roles in the Hollywood films City Slickers and When Harry Met Sally....

Contents

[edit] Biography

[edit] Early life

Kirby was born Bruno Giovanni Quidaciolu, Jr. in New York City, New York. His father was actor Bruce Kirby (born Bruno Giovanni Quidaciolu). His brother, John Kirby, was a notable acting coach.

[edit] Career

Kirby was a popular character actor through the late 1980s and early '90s, although the frequency of his film appearances waned. Kirby's film debut was in the little-seen The Young Graduates (1971). Early television appearances included the series Room 222 and The Super, but it was his role in The Godfather Part II, as the young Pete Clemenza, that raised his profile in Hollywood. He can be glimpsed in the pilot episode of M*A*S*H, playing the character Boone, though he has no lines. In The Super, Kirby portrayed Richard Castellano's son. Coincidentally, Castellano appeared in The Godfather (1972) as hefty Pete Clemenza, a prominent member of the Corleone crime family, and Kirby subsequently played a younger version of Clemenza in the sequel, The Godfather Part II.

Described by film critic Leonard Maltin as "the quintessential New Yorker or cranky straight man", Kirby displayed his talents in a series of comedies, typically playing fast-talking, belligerent, yet strangely likeable characters. His most well-known roles include a fellow colleague to Albert Brooks' film editor in Modern Romance, a talkative limo driver in This Is Spinal Tap (1984), the jealous, comedically-impaired U.S. Army officer Lt. Hauk in Good Morning, Vietnam (1987) and a shifty assistant to Marlon Brando — a parody of his Godfather role — in The Freshman (1990). Kirby balanced comedies with dramatic roles in Donnie Brasco as a double dealing mobster.

On television, Kirby was memorable as Garry Shandling's agent Brad Brillnick in seasons three and four of the comedy cult classic It's Garry Shandling's Show.

Kirby and comedian Billy Crystal made a popular screen team in When Harry Met Sally... (1989) and City Slickers (1991). Both featured Kirby's character as the opinionated best friend to Crystal's character. However, Kirby refused to sign on for the sequel City Slickers II: The Legend of Curly's Gold unless script changes were made. Crystal replaced him with Jon Lovitz, and the film was widely panned.

In 1991, Kirby made his Broadway debut to great critical acclaim when he replaced Kevin Spacey in Neil Simon's Tony Award and Pulitzer Prize winning play Lost in Yonkers. In the last decade of his life, Kirby (and his unforgettable voice) had a last great success in the animated children's classic Stuart Little (1999), and was increasingly working on television. He starred as Barry Scheck in a 2000 CBS drama American Tragedy about the O.J. Simpson case. He played a paroled convict out for revenge in an episode of Homicide: Life on the Street. More recently, he played Phil Rubenstein in the HBO series Entourage.

In The Larry Sanders Show, Kirby (as himself) gets 'bumped' in the last episode. The final episode of season 3, part 1 of Entourage (entitled: "Sorry, Ari") is dedicated to Kirby's memory.

[edit] Personal life and death

Kirby married actress Lynn Sellers in 2004. He died on August 14, 2006, at age 57 in Los Angeles from complications related to leukemia. According to the Associated Press and other news reports, his widow stated that he had only recently been diagnosed with the disease.

Kirby, like his character in This Is Spinal Tap, was a fanatical fan of Frank Sinatra.[1] He was also very allergic to horses, and needed daily allergy shots on the set of City Slickers.

In 2006, less than six months before his death, Kirby was invited to be a member of The Actors Studio.

[edit] Filmography

[edit] References

  1. ^ Revealed in an interview on Bob Costas' Later show

[edit] External links