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Durward Kirby | |
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 Kirby in 1962 | |
| Born | Homer Durward Kirby (1911-08-24)August 24, 1911 Covington, Kentucky, U.S. |
| Died | March 15, 2000(2000-03-15) (aged 88) Fort Myers, Florida, U.S. |
| Occupations | Television host, announcer |
| Years active | 1946–1974 |
| Spouse | Mary Paxton Young (1941–1994; her death) |
| Children | 2 |
Homer Durward Kirby (August 24, 1911 – March 15, 2000; sometimes misspelledDirwood Kirby orDurwood Kirby), was an American television host and announcer. He is best remembered forThe Garry Moore Show in the 1950s andCandid Camera, which he co-hosted withAllen Funt from 1961 through 1966.
Kirby was born on August 24, 1911, in Covington, Kentucky, to father Homer C. Kirby and mother Alma Haglage.[1] His family moved toIndianapolis,Indiana, when he was 15. He graduated fromArsenal Technical High School in Indianapolis, then enteredPurdue University to study engineering. However, he dropped out to become a radio announcer.[citation needed]
In 1936, Kirby was an announcer forWLW in Cincinnati, Ohio.[2] In 1937, anAssociated Press news story reported that he "made a name for himself" with his reporting on theOhio River flood of 1937.[3] He also worked at radio stations in Chicago and Indianapolis.[1]
Kirby served in theU.S. Navy duringWorld War II.[citation needed] Following the war, Kirby hostedClub Matinee inChicago withGarry Moore on theNBC Blue radio network before moving to television in 1949 as an announcer.[4] He also worked onMeet Your Navy andHoneymoon in New York on network radio.[5]
Kirby was a regular on Moore's television shows from 1950 to 1968. The Associated Press's obituary for him gives his years of working with Moore's television show as 1950–1951, 1958–1964, and 1966–1967.[1] Kirby also appeared as a host, announcer, or guest on other television programs.[citation needed] In the summer of 1951, he was host ofG.E. Guest House on CBS, replacingOscar Levant after the third episode.[6] He served as one ofNBC Radio'sMonitor "Communicators".[7]
In 1967,Carol Burnett introduced Kirby and his wife, Pax, sitting in the live audience during her opening remarks of season 1 episode 4 ofThe Carol Burnett Show. In the middle of her opening monologue, Burnett recognized him. Then as the cameras followed, she excitedly ran off stage into the audience to greet Kirby and his wife before returning to complete her monologue.[citation needed]
Kirby acted insummer stock theater, including three years' appearances in productions at the Cherry County Playhouse in Michigan.[8]
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Kirby was 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) tall and had a mellow personality that served well as a foil for the stars with whom he worked. A versatile performer, he acted in sketches, sang, and danced. He moved with ease fromslapstick to suave sales pitches for the sponsor's product. CriticJohn Crosby called him "one of the most versatile muggers and comedians on the air."[1]
An embarrassing moment came during aPolaroid commercial, during which he forgot to pull the tab after taking a picture ofGarry Moore holding his Christmas list. After nearly a minute of a Polaroid representative yelling, "Pull the tab!" from the audience, Kirby gave a mighty yank with his long arms and pulled all seven remaining pictures out of the camera. This required a fair amount of strength, not only to burst the developer pods but to rip through the stops on the film pack.[9]
Kirby wrote three books —My Life, Those Wonderful Years;Bits and Pieces of This and That; and a children's book,Dooley Wilson.[1]
Kirby married Mary Paxton Young on June 15, 1941, in Chicago, Illinois.[10] Paxton was a singer and actress on radio.[11] She died in 1994. They had two sons, Durward Randall, a.k.a. Randy Kirby, an actor (born December 5, 1942)[12] and Dennis Paxton (born June 11, 1949).[1]
Kirby died of congestive heart failure inFort Myers, Florida, on March 15, 2000,[1] at the age of 88. He was buried next to his wife, Mary, in Coburn Cemetery inFairfield County, Connecticut, where they had a summer home.[citation needed]
Kirby's name was spoofed in the animated seriesThe Rocky and Bullwinkle Show, wherein a man's hat (size 7-5/32) was called the "Kirward Derby". It supposedly had magic powers that made its wearer the smartest person in the world. Kirby considered suing, but his business manager pointed out that it would only bring more attention to the show.Jay Ward, producer ofThe Bullwinkle Show, even offered topay Kirby to sue him; however, he did not pursue any further action.[13]
A button reading "Durward Kirby for President in '64" appeared in the January 1964 edition ofMad magazine.
The title track of the 1972 albumScraps byNRBQ includes the line: "I know a mellow-roonie boy named Durward Kirby; I yelled in his ear and wondered if he heard me."
InThe Mary Tyler Moore Show episode "Phyllis Whips Inflation" (season 5, episode 114; aired January 18, 1975),[14] the character Phyllis Lindstrom explains that the drop in the price of herPolaroid stock is because the company hiredLaurence Olivier to do its television commercials. She says they should have saved money and hired Kirby (a reference to his Polaroid commercial incident).
In the moviePulp Fiction (1994), the character Mia Wallace (Uma Thurman) orders a "Durward Kirby" burger.
"Age is just a number, and mine is unlisted."
kirby.
Uma Thurman's Character orders a Durwood Kirby Burger, in Pulp Fiction.
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