The son of veteran character actor Bruce Kirby, affable, nasal-voiced Bruno followed in his father's footsteps by providing solid support to a string of A-listers. Boasting ethnic looks and a blue-collar vibe, he initially found work in TV guest spots and as a regular on the short-lived 1972 sitcom
The Super, playing the nasty child of star Richard S. Castellano. (Two years later, he played the younger version of Castellano's
Godfather character in
The Godfather: Part II.) Although he kept busy throughout the '70s and '80s, effortlessly alternating between the big and small screens, comedies and dramas, his breakthrough came as a humorless military man (and Robin Williams' foil) in 1987's
Good Morning, Vietnam. Kirby hit his stride playing the cheery second banana to another star, Billy Crystal, in
When Harry Met Sally and
City Slickers. In the '90s, Kirby continued to embody diverse characters, but by the end of the decade, his career had dramatically slowed. He appeared in only occasional projects until his premature death from complications related to leukemia in August 2006.
Bruno Kirby Fast Facts:
- As a child, his dad took him to acting classes taught by Lee Strasberg.
- Worked as an usher at Radio City Music Hall.
- Appeared in the 1972 pilot for M*A*S*H.
- During the filming of The Freshman (1990), he introduced costar Marlon Brando to real-life "godfather" John Gotti.
- Made his Broadway debut in 1991 when he replaced Kevin Spacey in Neil Simon's Pulitzer Prize-winning play Lost in Yonkers.
- Bruno Kirby Relationships:
- Brad Sullivan - Stepbrother
- Bruce Kirby - Father
- Jennifer Jason Leigh - Ex-significant Other
- John Kirby - Brother
- Lynn Sellers - Wife
- Roz Kirby - Stepmother
- College:
- Attended Los Angeles City College, Los Angeles, CA
