Wednesday, August 16, 2006

Bruno Kirby


Bruno Kirby has passed away from leukemia at the age of 57.

I was not expecting this. Kirby had just done an episode of "Entourage". He was still working. I also didn't know you could get leukemia so late. A kid in my high school had it and he didn't make it to senior year. To be diagnosed at 57 is unsettling, to say the least.

Bruno Kirby was a great character actor who made about 60 films. More than half of them are great. Two of them, Godfather: Part II and When Harry met Sally are perfect. They couldn't be more different but Bruno Kirby made his roles in each memorable. Thanks to his quirky energy and his squeaky yet melodic voice, you could never look away from a Kirby performance. He will be missed.

8 comments:

Cromely said...

I remember watching the Oscars, Emmys, etc wiht my parents. When the played the who dies segment, my parents would often react like with sadness or surprise at at people on the list. I always throught it was rather silly because I had never heard of them.

Now, however, I find that each year I recognize more and more names on the memorial segments and I find myself reacting the same way. I still don't recognize the off techincal person they throw in, like the pioneer of some cinematography technique in 1953, but still. There is a lot of talent disappearing each year. And each year I miss more of it.

Anonymous said...

I heard this on the radio and knew it would be your post. He was such an every-man!

Remind me of who he played in Spinal Tap. I keep seeing his gestures and the way he speaks, but no matter what movie he was in those were easy traits to spot!

Anonymous said...

That sucks!!! We were just talking about memorable lines from "When Harry met Sally" and my favorite moment was the exchange at the dinner where Jess (Kirby's character) say, "Jimmy Breslin was the reason I became a writer, but thats not important."

That guy was cool.

Jon Clarke said...

Renee-

"Yes I can but only if Frank Sinatra says it's okay! Cause he calls the shots for all those guys."

Brian Kunath said...

"Fuckin' lymies."

Great Bruno line.

VE said...

I'm embarassed to say this - but "City Slickers" is one of my favorite 80s/90s comedies.
So much for the future of the franchise.

Mark Feigenson said...

Yeah, one of my favorite character actors. This really sucks.

Anonymous said...

Damn that really sucks. He was one of the greats. He will be missed...