Charles Kimbrough, ‘Murphy Brown’ host, dies

LOS ANGELES — Charles Kimbrough, the Tony and Emmy nominee who played the straight-talking news anchor opposite Candice Bergen in Murphy Brown, died Jan. 11 in Culver City, California. He was 86 years old.

Kimbrough played journalist Jim Dial for 10 seasons of the hit CBS sitcom Murphy Brown between 1988 and 1998, earning a 1990 Primetime Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series. He reprized the role for three episodes in the 2018 reboot.

The New York Times first reported his death, and his son confirmed it Sunday to The Associated Press.

Kimbrough’s wife, actor Beth Howland (who played waitress Vera on the 1970s and 80s CBS sitcom Alice) died in 2016. They married in 2002, more than ten years after his 1991 divorce from his first wife, Mary Jane (Wilson) Kimbrough, who died in 2007.

The Times reports that Kimbrough is survived by sister Linda Kimbrough, son John Kimbrough and stepdaughter Holly Howland.

Born May 23, 1936 in St. Paul, Minnesota, Kimbrough spent years on the New York theater scene. He was nominated for a Tony Award in 1971 for his Broadway performance in Stephen Sondheim’s musical The Company.

Kimbrough also voiced a gargoyle named Victor in the Disney animated film The Hunchback of Notre Dame.