Charles Kimbrough, the actor who portrayed Jim Dial in all 10 seasons of Murphy Brown and its 2018 revival, died on Jan. 11. He was 86.
His son, John Kimbrough, confirmed the news to the New York Times on Sunday.
Kimbrough’s performance as Dial earned him an Emmy Award nomination in 1990. The CBS sitcom ran between 1988-1998 and followed the misadventures of Murphy Brown (Candice Bergen), a famous investigative TV journalist. Kimbrough played opposite Bergen as her stuffy colleague, an anchor often reminiscing about journalism’s glory days. The series also starred Grant Shaud, Robert Pastorelli and Faith Ford.
Though his role in Murphy Brown made him famous, Kimbrough worked in notable theatrical shows throughout his career, appearing in productions of Candide and Sylvia. His role in the 1970 original Broadway production of Steven Sondheim’s Company earned him a Tony Award nomination.
Kimbrough is also well known for his voice work as the living gargoyle, Victor, in The Hunchback of Notre Dame and The Hunchback of Notre Dame II, released in 1996 and 2002, respectively.
The actor lent his voice to multiple TV series, appearing in episodes of Family Guy, Recess, Mighty Max and Batman Beyond during his career.
In addition to the 2018 Murphy Brown single-season revival, Kimbrough’s major final credits include theater roles in the 2012 production of Harvey, opposite Jim Parsons and the 2010 production of The Merchant of Venice, opposite Al Pacino.
