John Kirby, the longtime acting coach and son of actor Bruce Kirby, has died. He was 75.
Kirby died Wednesday, three years after being diagnosed with ALS. His associate, Nathan Besbitt, confirmed his death on Instagram.
“I am here to officially, with a broken heart, announce the passing of our beloved John on the early morning hours of Wednesday, July 15, and it has been devastating for all of us, and we’re trying to just find a way to cope,” Besbitt said.
Kirby lent his talents as an acting coach to a number of projects across his career and was a frequent collaborator with Jim Caviezel.
The two worked together on films including Frequency (2000); Pay It Forward (2000); Angel Eyes (2001); The Count of Monte Cristo (2002); High Crimes (2002); I Am David (2003); The Final Cut (2004); Bobby Jones: Stroke of Genius (2004); Unknown (2006); and Paul, Apostle of Christ (2018). Kirby also served as Caviezel’s acting coach on the 2009 miniseries The Prisoner.
His additional ties to coaching included 2003’s Peter Pan, The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, Outlander, Hotel California, Scream 4, Stick It and Prom.
His brother, Bruno Kirby, also was an actor, appearing in City Slickers, Good Morning, Vietnam and When Harry Met Sally …, among other films. He died at age 57 of leukemia in 2006.
Bruce Kirby was a veteran character actor perhaps best known for portraying the gullible Sgt. George Kramer on the long-running NBC series Columbo. He died in 2021 at age 95.
John Kirby was diagnosed with ALS on June 7, 2023, after experiencing symptoms for a year. He suffered a hard fall that resulted in a hip fracture that led to his diagnosis.
A celebration of life will be held Aug. 15 at the Hall of Liberty at Forest Lawn Hollywood Hills and will be open to the public.