Wednesday, August 16, 2006

Sad day: Bruno Kirby is dead

I just heard that Bruno Kirby (an actor whose face I'm sure you know even if you don't know his name) passed away over the weekend. He died of complications relating to leukemia, which he had only recently been diagnosed with. He was 57-years-old.

I guess maybe I sometimes have an unhealthy relationship with great character actors (because I love good actors and I watch my favorite movies over and over again and you fall in love with certain characters and blah blah, etc., etc.) and I've probably seen When Harry Met Sally at least a dozen times, and I also loved Bruno Kirby in City Slickers, and I I kinda feel like I lost a distant cousin. He just seemed like a great man, and he was the kind of actor who could get away with playing that guy who's such a schmuck you just want to slap him but then a moment later he kinda melts your heart and you want to give him a hug. You know what I mean? Like, I love the main romance in When Harry Met Sally, but the romance between Bruno Kirby's character and Carrie Fisher's character is just as important to that film. It wouldn't work without him.

So I just wanted to take a moment and toast Bruno Kirby, who died way too young. Send out some love to his family.

Related Links:

TWENTY QUESTIONS WITH BRUNO KIRBY

BRUNO KIRBY WIKIPEDIA PAGE

SHEILA O'MALLEY ON BRUNO KIRBY

DENNIS CAZZALIO ON BRUNO KIRBY

PAST DEADLINE: AN ENDURING PERSONAL MEMORY OF BRUNO KIRBY

THE PRE-READ: SO LONG BRUNO

CLARKBLOG ON BRUNO KIRBY

16 comments:

Anonymous said...

First.
Lindsay

Anonymous said...

am i all alone out here?
Lindsay

Anonymous said...

I know! I just read that in the paper this morning and was so shocked. He was so young! Really a loss - he was a great actor.

Joe Chandler said...

Recently I was a little depressed. A friend of mine told me to see City Slickers and said it would cheer me up.

He was right.

That's a great movie.

Erik said...

Lindsay, no one is alone

Erik said...

Jenny, he was SUPER young, so sad.

Erik said...

Joe C., City Slickers is a great movie.

On a totally unrelated note, next time you're depressed, you should watch Heart and Souls, which I just did the other night, when I was depressed, and it knocked the depression right outta me (for the duration of the movie, at least).

Joe Chandler said...

"So, what was the worst day of your life?"

"Same day."


OMG - My word verification is upoop

Erik said...

OMG, your word verification WAS NOT "upoop!" SHUT UP!

Erik said...

And Joe, that quote rips my heart out. (people, if you don't know the quote because you haven't seen the movie, i'm not going to ruin the moment for you, just put the movie on your netflix que.)

Anonymous said...

i'm devastated. i've seen when harry met sally more than any other movie in the world and his relationship in it is my ideal.

how sad. a bright shining star.

Anonymous said...

Marvelous actor. You are so right that Harry Met Sally would TOTALLY not have worked on such an uber level (sorry - pretentious word) without that secondary romance. It MADE the film. Totally.

sniff. He was so good.

It makes me think of that line from Shawshank - "get busy livin', or get busy dyin'." Kirby died young - but it seems to me that he spent his life getting busy livin'.

Rest in peace.

Erik said...

aims, let's hang out and watch When Harry Met Sally soon, okay?!?!

Erik said...

red, you don't even know how deeply appropriate that quote is to my life right now. sorry to be vague, but it's a great quote, and i'm totally taking it to heart.

Joe Chandler said...

it was.

Erik said...

i believe you, but it's still outrageous and amazing (outmazing?).

hey, looksy: my word verification for THIS comment is:

"uliar"