fiction.wikisort.org - Actor

Charles Kimbrough (born May 23, 1936) is an American actor, best known for his role as the straight-faced anchorman Jim Dial on Murphy Brown. In 1990, his performance in the role earned him a nomination for an Emmy Award for "Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series".[1]

Charles Kimbrough
Kimbrough at the 1989 Emmy Awards
Born	(1936-05-23) May 23, 1936 (age 86) St. Paul, Minnesota, U.S.
Occupation	Actor, voice actor
Years active	1951–present
Spouse(s)	Mary Jane Wilson ​ ​ (m. 1961⁠–⁠1991)​ Beth Howland ​ ​ (m. 2002; died 2015)​

Biography

Born in St. Paul, Minnesota, Kimbrough has extensive stage experience. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, Kimbrough and his first wife Mary Jane were part of the resident company of the Milwaukee Repertory Theatre where they appeared in such plays as Georges Feydeau's Cat Among the Pigeons and Jules Feiffer's The White House Murder Case. In 1971, he was nominated for a Tony for best featured actor in a musical as Harry in Stephen Sondheim's Company. In 1984, he performed in the original Broadway cast of Sondheim's Sunday in the Park with George. He starred in the original Off-Broadway production of A.R. Gurney's comedy Sylvia in 1985.[2]

Around 1976–1977, he appeared in a Chef Boyardee Spaghetti & Meatballs commercial.

In 1988, Kimbrough was cast as Jim Dial, a veteran network news anchor with the integrity and experience of an Edward R. Murrow or Walter Cronkite, on the CBS sitcom Murphy Brown. The series ran for 247 episodes over ten seasons, scoring 17 Emmy Awards and three Golden Globes. Mr. Kimbrough was nominated for an Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series in 1990.

He was married to actress and fellow Company castmate Beth Howland, known for her television work as Vera Louise Gorman-Novak on the sitcom Alice. He studied theater and drama at Indiana University Bloomington, and graduated in 1958. He earned a Masters of Fine Arts degree at Yale University's School of Drama. To younger audiences, he is probably best known for supplying the voice of Victor, the most mature gargoyle in Disney's 1996 animated feature The Hunchback of Notre Dame, a role he reprised in its direct-to-video sequel, The Hunchback of Notre Dame II and Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance.[3]

Kimbrough was part of the cast of the Roundabout Theater Company's 2012 Broadway revival of Mary Chase's Pulitzer prize-winning play Harvey playing William R. Chumley, M.D., with Jim Parsons in the lead as Elwood P. Dowd. The show ran from June 14 to August 5, 2012, at New York's Studio 54 Theatre.[4]

Kimbrough's wife Beth Howland died of lung cancer in December 2015 at the age of 76. Her death was not reported to the media until May 24, 2016.[5] Kimbrough's son, John Kimbrough, founded, sang and played guitar for the St. Paul-based alternative rock band Walt Mink who were active from 1989–1997.

The 2018 revival of Murphy Brown had Kimbrough return playing a retired Jim Dial for a multi-episode arc.[6]

Filmography

Year	Television	Role	Notes
1975	Kojak	Rudy	Episode: "A Question of Answers"
	Great Performances	Dr. Spiga	Episode: "The Rules of the Game"
1976	Kojak	A.D.A. Greg Burton	2 episodes
1977	Great Performances	Benton Arrelsford	Episode: "Secret Service"
1981	For Ladies Only	Bob Merlis	Television movie
1983	Great Performances	Editor	Episode: "The Innocents Abroad"
1985	Tales of the Unexpected	Eric	Episode: "Scrimshaw"
1986	Spenser: For Hire	Louis Groton	Episode: "An Eye for an Eye"
	Another World	Dr. Abbott	Unknown episodes
1988–1998, 2018	Murphy Brown	Jim Dial	250 episodes Nominated—Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series Nominated—Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series
1988	Spenser: For Hire	Roger Thornwood	Episode: "To the End of the Line"
	Hothouse	Mr. Austen	Episode: "Nancy: Part 1"
1992	Dinosaurs	Dr. Ficus	Episode: "Germ Warfare"
1994	Mighty Max	Dr. Bob	Episode: "Scorpio Rising"
1998	Pinky and the Brain	Sandy Dreckman	Episode: "You'll Never Eat Food Pellets in This Town Again!"
	Love Boat: The Next Wave	Rich	Episode: "Affairs to Remember"
2000	Family Guy	Jim Dial	Episode: "A Picture Is Worth $1,000 Bucks"
	The Angry Beavers	Narrator	Episode: "Canucks Amuck"
	Batman Beyond	Gordon	Episode: "Out of the Past"
2002	Ally McBeal	Charlie Fish	Episode: "What I'll Never Do for Love Again"
	The Zeta Project	Pat Jensen	Episode: "On the Wire"

Year	Film	Role	Notes
1976	The Front	Committee counselor
1977	The Sentinel	Hospital doctor	Uncredited
1979	The Seduction of Joe Tynan	Francis
	Starting Over	Salesman
1980	It's My Turn	Jerome
1987	Switching Channels	Governor Springfield
1988	The Good Mother	Uncle Orrie
1995	Whisper of the Heart	Additional Voices	(2006 Disney dub)
1996	The Hunchback of Notre Dame	Victor	Voice
2000	Buzz Lightyear of Star Command: The Adventure Begins	Brain Pod #29
	The Land Before Time VII: The Stone of Cold Fire	Rainbow Face #1
2001	The Wedding Planner	Mr. Donolly
	Recess: School's Out	Mort Chalk	Voice
2002	The Hunchback of Notre Dame II	Victor
2003	Marci X	Lane Strayfield

Video games

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1996	Disney's Animated Storybook: The Hunchback of Notre Dame	Victor	Voice-over
	The Hunchback of Notre Dame: Topsy Turvy Games
2012	Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance
2017	Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue

References

External links

• Charles Kimbrough at IMDb
• Charles Kimbrough at the Internet Broadway Database
• Charles Kimbrough at the Internet Off-Broadway Database

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