Bruce Kirby

One of those hard-working supporting actors whose face you know but whose name might not ring any bells. Italian-American 'Bruce Kirby' (qv) (real name Bruno Giovanni Quidaciolu) was steadily employed -- primarily on the small screen -- to play a gallery of often likeable, mainly unimposing characters in a career that spanned more than fifty years. He began at the Actor's Studio in New York, having studied under 'Lee Strasberg' (qv), debuting on stage in or around 1950. His television work commenced in 1955 with anthology dramas. Kirby had a recurring role as Officer Kissel in _Car 54, Where Are You? (1961)_ (qv) and was from then on frequently cast as police officers, notably in _Kojak (1973)_ (qv) (Sgt. Al Vine), _Columbo (1971)_ (qv) (perhaps best remembered, as the ineffectual, perennially bewildered Sgt. Kramer), _Holmes and Yoyo (1976)_ (qv) (Captain Harry Sedford) and in the short-lived crime series _Shannon (1981)_ (qv) (Det. George Schmidt). He enjoyed a lengthier run as District Attorney Bruce Rogoff in the multiple Emmy Award-winning legal drama _L.A. Law (1986)_ (qv). Kirby showed up in numerous guest spots on top-rating shows across diverse genres, including _Hogan's Heroes (1965)_ (qv), _Bonanza (1959)_ (qv), _Dr. med. Marcus Welby (1969)_ (qv), _The Streets of San Francisco (1972)_ (qv), _M*A*S*H (1972)_ (qv), _The Rockford Files (1974)_ (qv), _The West Wing (1999)_ (qv) and _The Sopranos (1999)_ (qv).Kirby appeared as Alfieri on stage in Los Angeles in A View from the Bridge (using his real name). He made his bow on Broadway in Diamond Orchid (1965) and was understudy to 'Dustin Hoffman' (qv) for the role of Willy Loman in a 1984 production of 'Arthur Miller' (qv)'s Death of A Salesman. He retired from acting in 2009. Kirby died on January 24, 2021 in Los Angeles.::I.S.Mowis