Charles Kimbrough

Charles Kimbrough (May 23, 1936 - January 11, 2023) was an American actor best known for playing the straight-faced anchorman Jim Dial on Murphy Brown. In 1990, 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 had extensive stage experience. In 1971, he was nominated for a Tony for best featured actor in a musical for Stephen Sondheim's Company. In 1984, he performed in the original Broadway cast of Sondheim's Sunday in the Park with George. He also starred in the original Broadway production of A.R. Gurney's comedy Sylvia.

He was married to fellow actress Beth Howland, better known as Vera Louise Gorman-Novak on the sitcom Alice. He studied theater and drama at Indiana University Bloomington, and graduated in 1958. 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 was 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 ran from June 14 to August 5, 2012, at New York's Studio 54 Theatre.

Kimbrough's wife Beth Howland died of lung cancer in December 2015 at the age of 76. Her death was not reported to the media until May 24, 2016. Kimbrough's son, John Kimbrough, founded, sang and played guitar for the St. Paul-based alternative rock band Walt Mink who were active from 1989-1997.

The 2018 revival of Murphy Brown had Kimbrough return playing a retired Jim Dial for a multi-episode arc.

Kimbrough died in Culver City, California, on January 11, 2023, at the age of 86.