Charles Kimbrough

Charles Kimbrough (born May 23, 1936) is an American actor known for having played 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 41st Annual Emmy Awards, September 17, 1989
Born (1936-05-23) May 23, 1936
St. Paul, Minnesota, U.S.
OccupationActor
Years active1951– present
Spouse(s)Beth Howland (2002–2015; her death)

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 74. 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
YearTelevisionRoleNotes
1975KojakRudyEpisode: "A Question of Answers"
1975Great PerformancesDr. SpigaEpisode: "The Rules of the Game"
1976KojakAssistant D.A. Greg Burton2 episodes
1977Great PerformancesBenton ArrelsfordEpisode: "Secret Service"
1981For Ladies OnlyBob MerlisTelevision movie
1983Great PerformancesEditorEpisode: "The Innocents Abroad"
1985Tales of the UnexpectedEricEpisode: "Scrimshaw"
1986Spenser: For HireLouis GrotonEpisode: "An Eye for an Eye"
1986Another WorldDr. Abbottunknown episodes
1988–1998, 2018Murphy BrownJim Dial123 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
1988Spenser: For HireRoger ThornwoodEpisode: "To the End of the Line"
1988HothouseMr. AustenEpisode: "Nancy: Part 1"
1992DinosaursDr. FicusEpisode: "Germ Warfare"
1994Mighty MaxDr. BobEpisode: "Scorpio Rising"
1998Pinky and the BrainSandy DreckmanEpisode: "You'll Never Eat Food Pellets in This Town Again!"
1998Love Boat: The Next WaveRichEpisode: "Affairs to Remember"
2000Family GuyJim DialEpisode: "A Picture Is Worth $1,000 Bucks"
2000The Angry BeaversNarratorEpisode: "Canucks Amuck"
2000Batman BeyondGordonEpisode: "Out of the Past"
2002Ally McBealCharlie FishEpisode: "What I'll Never Do for Love Again"
2002The Zeta ProjectPat JensenEpisode: "On the Wire"
YearFilmRoleNotes
1976The FrontCommittee counselor
1977The SentinelHospital doctorUncredited
1979The Seduction of Joe TynanFrancis
1979Starting OverSalesman
1980It's My TurnJerome
1987Switching ChannelsGovernor Springfield
1988The Good MotherUncle Orrie
1995Whisper of the HeartAdditional Voices(2006 Disney dub)
1996The Hunchback of Notre DameVictorVoice
2000Buzz Lightyear of Star Command: The Adventure BeginsBrain Pod #29Voice
2000The Land Before Time VII: The Stone of Cold FireRainbow Face #1Voice
2001The Wedding PlannerMr. Donolly
2001Recess: School's OutMort ChalkVoice
2002The Hunchback of Notre Dame IIVictorVoice
2003Marci XLane Strayfield

Video games
YearTitleRoleNotes
1996Disney's Animated Storybook: The Hunchback of Notre DameVictorVoice-over
1996The Hunchback of Notre Dame: Topsy Turvy GamesVictorVoice-over
2012Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop DistanceVictorVoice-over
2017Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8 Final Chapter PrologueVictorVoice-over

References
  1. "Charles Kimbrough". The New York Times.
  2. Sylvia Archived 2015-05-30 at the Wayback Machine Internet Off-Broadway Database, accessed August 1, 2015
  3. Charles Kimbrough and Jason Alexander to debut Kingdom Hearts
  4. "'Harvey' hops its way to Broadway this summer". ticketnews.com. 2012-06-20.
  5. Grimes, William (May 24, 2016). "Beth Howland, accident prone waitress from the sitcom Alice dies at 74". The New York Times. The New York Times Company. Retrieved May 25, 2016.
  6. Ausiello, Michael (August 5, 2018). "Murphy Brown Boss Focusing Revival 'Through Prism of the Press,' Reveals [Spoiler] Will Return for Arc". TVLine. Retrieved September 28, 2018.
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