Charles Kimbrough

Charles Kimbrough
File:Charles Kimbrough at the 41st Annual Emmy Awards cropped.jpg Kimbrough at the 41st Annual Emmy Awards, September 17, 1989
Born	(1936-05-23) May 23, 1936 St. Paul, Minnesota, U.S.
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1951-present
Spouse(s)	Beth Howland (unknown)

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".

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 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.

Around 1976-1977, he did the 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 is married to actress and fellow Company cast mate 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.

Kimbrough is 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 is scheduled to run from June 14 to August 5, 2012 at New York's Studio 54 Theatre.

Filmography

Year	Film	Role	Notes
1975	Kojak	Rudy	Episode: "A Question of Answers"
1975	Great Performances	Dr. Spiga	Episode: "The Rules of the Game"
1976	The Front	Committee counselor
1976	Kojak	Assistant D.A. Greg Burton	2 episodes
1977	Great Performances	Benton Arrelsford	Episode: "Secret Service"
1979	The Sentinel	Hospital doctor	Uncredited
1979	The Seduction of Joe Tynan	Francis
1979	Starting Over	Salesman
1980	It's My Turn	Jerome
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"
1988	Switching Channels	The Governor
1988	The Good Mother	Uncle Orrie
1988-1998	Murphy Brown	Jim Dial	122 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"
1988	Hothouse	Mr. Austen	Episode: "Nancy: Part 1"
1996	The Hunchback of Notre Dame	Victor	Voice
2004	Thomas and Friends	Mighty	Voice Recurring cast
1998	Pinky and the Brain	Sandy Dreckman	Episode: "You'll Never Eat Food Pellets in This Town Again!"
1988	Love Boat: The Next Wave	Rich	Episode: "Affairs to Remember"
2000	Family Guy	Jim Dial	Episode: "A Picture Is Worth $1,000 Bucks"
2000	The Angry Beavers	Narrator	Episode: "Canucks Amuck"
2000	Batman Beyond	Gordon	Episode: "Out of the Past"
2001	The Wedding Planner	Mr. Donolly
2002	Ally McBeal	Charlie Fish	Episode: "What I'll Never Do for Love Again"
2002	The Hunchback of Notre Dame 2	Victor	Voice

Video games

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2012	Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance	Victor	Voice-over

External links

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