Charles Kimbrough

Charles Kimbrough, ‘Murphy Brown’ Star, Dead at 86

Charles Kimbrough the Tony and Emmy Award-nominated actor known well for portraying Jim Dial on Murphy Brown has passed away.

Kimbrough’s Murphy Brown character was a fan-favorite on the CBS comedy series as the straight-and-narrow co-anchor. Charles Kimbrough’s Jim Dial brought endless comedic laughs to the popular series. The character was regularly butting heads with the award-winning TV comedy series. title character portrayed by Candice Bergen.

Charles Kimbrough passed away on January 11 in Culver City, California, reports note. No cause of death was shared upon the release of the news. He was 86 years old.

CKimbrough’s most famous role came in the popular Candice Bergen sitcom series. The actor’s popular character, Jim Dial was the quintessential self-obsessed TV anchor who was often unsure how to react to Murphy Brown’s zany antics. The actor earned a supporting actor Emmy Award nomination in 1990 for his work on the series.

Charles Kimbrough Leaves A Legacy In The Entertainment Industry

Kimbrough’s star may have risen on the popular 1980s and 1990s sitcom series Murphy Brown. However, the actor has a long list of accolades for his work in the entertainment industry. The actor earned a 1971 Tony Award nomination for best-featured actor in a musical. The actor’s nom came from his performance portraying Harry in the original production of Stephen Sondheim’s Company.

Kimbrough is also known for providing the voice for the gargoyle Victor in the 1996 animated film version of The Hunchback of Notre Dame. The Minnesota native lent his voice to this role again in its 2002 sequel. He also voiced the character for several of the movie’s video-game iterations.

Charles Kimbrough returned to the TV sitcom world in the fall of 2018. This of course happened as the actor joined Bergen and much of the original Murphy Brown cast in the sitcom’s reboot series on CBS.

Kimbrough Attended Yale School Of Drama And Preferred To Portray The “More Dynamic” Characters

Charles Kimbrough was born on May 23, 1936. He grew up in Minnesota before attending Indiana University and later, the Yale School of Drama. Kimbrough’s son John says that his father preferred portraying the “more dynamic characters” early in his career. However, he came to the conclusion that he was being typecast as the rigid type. Much like his character on Murphy Brown.

“Starting when I was 30, I somehow gave off an impression at an audition that had them mentally put me in a three-piece suit or put an attaché case in my hand,” Charles Kimbrough told The Wall Street Journal in a 2012 interview.

“If there was a stiff-guy part, the director would brighten up when I came in,” the actor related. Kimbrough added that this was far from the response he was going for. “I was in anguish.”