comment #1

L.B. says ...

Very sad. I was always glad to see him pop up in things. He was on an ENTOURAGE episode a couple weekends back. Too young.

comment #2

Stephe96 says ...

Damn. Kirby was hilarious as the Sinatra-obsessed limo driver in "This Is Spinal Tap."

"Excuse me...but are you reading 'Yes I Can' by Sammy Davis Jr? You know what the title should be? 'Yes I Can But Only If Frank Sinatra Says It's OK."

comment #3

rstaehling says ...

Kirby's best turn was on TV in the The Gas Man, the third season closer of Homicide: Life on the Street in 1995.
He's a plumber's assistant released from the slammer after doing time for the negligent deaths of a family in a gas explosion and spends much of the hour driving around Baltimore in a rage with buddy Richard Edson riding shotgun. Barry Levinson directed and gave BK--with his small-guy intensity and priceless accent--plenty of room.

comment #4

MagillaOrangutang says ...

I will NEVER love that stupid wagon-wheel coffee table. Thanks, Bruno!

comment #5

le corbeau says ...

"Clahrk. Do you know how BIG that is? The baci di tutti baci, the kiss of all kisses!"

That's the first thing that comes to mind for me when Bruno Kirby comes up. The Freshman.

comment #6

berg says ...

BK was The Duck in Between the Lines, very, very funny ...

comment #7

JTag says ...

I'll always love him from "When Harry Met Sally..
Not a Pictionary/Cranium game goes by without someone screaming out "Baby Fish Lips!" in honor of him.

comment #8

JTag says ...

or rather....Baby Fish Mouth

comment #9

Dixon Steele says ...

A truly great character actor, always memorable

RIP BK...

comment #10

Hallick says ...

God...this is too sad. If I were ever asked for a list of my favorite character actors, Bruno Kirby would never have crossed my mind; but hearing he's died is like losing a piece of my childhood because he was just one of my favorite people in movies, and I plain took him for granted. When I first started falling in love with movies, it was around the same time as his career peak (When Harry Met Sally, Good Morning Vietnam, City Slickers, etc). He was one of my constants. I've been wondering what ever happened to him and why his career's been stuck in low gear for so long.

I've never forgotten his appearance on "Later with Bob Costas", especially the loving way he talked about his dad and how when he was little, his dad would come home and wake him up in the middle of the night just to take him out to see a great foreign film.

Thanks for reminding me of "The Gas Man", stephe96. I think I'll go look for that tape tonight, along with the Costas interview (If MSNBC gave a toss, they'd pull that one out and show it as a memorial).

comment #11

Dave Polands Gut says ...

RIp Clemenza.

comment #12

Patrick says ...

I loved him in 1997's 'Donnie Brasco'

comment #13

NYCBusybody says ...

"but hearing he's died is like losing a piece of my childhood"

Amen, Dixon. I was 9 when City Slickers came out, and it was one of my favorite movies, largely for Bruno's great performance.

I'm so nostalgic for that time when I think of City Slickers and Bruno Kirby. RIP, you'll be missed.

comment #14

addison says ...

Yes, he really gave City Slickers heart. The whole best day/worst day speech gets me.

:-(

comment #15

Spacesheik says ...

Bruno Kirby will be missed.

In my opinion his best roles were in TIN MEN and GOOD MORNING VIETNAM.

comment #16

JoeGreenia says ...

Definitely a Hall of Fame character actor. Nice life.

comment #17

Mike Schaefer says ...

"I was 9 when City Slickers came out..."

Damn, NYCBB, you're 25? We all assumed you were, like, 50. :-)

comment #18

jeffmcm says ...

Praising Kirby for "doing a good job with a fairly sizable role" sounds incredibly patronizing.

comment #19

The Hoyk says ...

When Billy Crystal was stumping for THROW MOMMA FROM THE TRAIN on "LATE NIGHT WITH DAVID LETTERMAN," he told an amusing story of Bruno calling him from a pay phone near a N.Y. theatre where the opening day business was great; Billy suggested talking to a random patron, and when the patron was less than ebullient about the movie, Bruno apparently said, "Hey sorry Billy, I grabbed the wrong guy." It was funny to hear Billy try to approximate Bruno's voice, and you could tell how much he liked him.

Bruno Kirby in a movie was a nice plus. It's always sad to lose good guys like him.

comment #20

NYCBusybody says ...

Oops, just saw that the movie was 1991, not 1989, so I was 11, not 9. I'm 27 now.

But who cares. RIP, Mr. Kirby.

comment #21

indianajmb says ...

A close friend of mine is related to Mr Kirby and he was told that he died from a staph infection from having a blood transfusion, just 2 weeks after being diagnosed.

comment #22

chris says ...

I heard an interview one time, abouot how when he was filming "Good Moning Vietnam," he told to Barry Levinson that he'd come up with some stuff for his character. Levinson (as I remember the story) didn't want to read it, just told him to do it. That was the whole "Frenchie" skit that he did on the air. Now, Levinson sometimes likes to keep the cameras rolling after the scene ends, and after Kirby was done with the "skit," there was no "cut" so he leans back in his chair, looks around the room and ad-libs that line "I think some appologies are in order." Now THAT is good acting! Never missed a beat, it was truthful for his character, and it was funny as hell! I watch that movie now, and it's Bruno Kirby that makes me laugh more than Robin Williams.
He'll be missed.

comment #23

nemo says ...

I remember Bruno Kirby in the Freshman. He was the very first person Matthew Broderick meets when he arrives in NYC to begin college. Kirby offers to help him carry his luggage, then immediately takes off down the street as if he's stealing the luggage.

As Broderick chases him down the street, shouting, the grin Kirby throws back over his shoulder just cracked me up. I watched that scene over and over for that grin. His grin says, hey man, isn't this the most fun you've had in a long time?

It sums up Kirby's character for the whole rest of the movie. Broderick is always off balance, never sure whether Kirby is a friend, or a con man and a thief.

comment #24

SomeCallMe...Tim says ...

My favorite Bruno Kirby story was one he told about working with Brando on The Freshman. Apparently, Brando arrived late on his first day and apologized profusely to each individual on the set. Kirby interpreted this as Brando's way of making everybody feel at ease with working with A Legend. Now, Brando may have just been late and hadn't really planned any of this, but I always liked how Kirby interpreted his actions. He would tell the story with such awe and respect for Brando that you could just tell that no other actor had as much fun making a film as Kirby did on The Freshman. Kirby may be gone, but damn, at least he got to live out his dreams.