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George Kirby | |
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 Kirby in 1964 | |
| Born | (1923-06-08)June 8, 1923 Chicago, Illinois, U.S. |
| Died | September 30, 1995(1995-09-30) (aged 72) Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. |
| Spouse | Rosemary (1960–1995) |
George Kirby (June 8, 1923 – September 30, 1995) was an American comedian, singer, and actor.
Born in Chicago,[1] Kirby broke into show business in the 1940s at theClub DeLisa, a South Side establishment that employed a variety-show format and preferred to hire local singers, dancers, and comedians. His first recording was as a stand-upblues singer, performing "Ice Man Blues" on aTom Archia session done in 1947 forAristocrat Records.
He was one of the firstAfrican-American comedians to appeal to white as well as Black audiences during the height of theCivil Rights era, appearing between 1963 and 1972 onPerry Como'sKraft Music Hall,The Ed Sullivan Show,The Dean Martin Show,The Jackie Gleason Show,The Temptations Show,Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In, andThe Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson. In the mid 1950s,Sammy Davis had broken ground doing impressions of White celebrities, leading the way for this to become more socially acceptable. As a giftedimpressionist, Kirby didn't mimick solely contemporary Black stars likeBill Cosby andPearl Bailey. He also did impressions of White celebrities such asJohn Wayne andWalter Brennan, something still ostensibly provocative in the 1960s. Kirby was also abebop piano player and did song and vocal impressions of jazz greatsLouis Armstrong,Nat King Cole,Ella Fitzgerald, andJoe Williams. He did a profoundly believable female and child voice, as well as an array of military and airline sound effects.
In 1970, he was allowed to produceThe George Kirby Show, a television special, to gauge whether he could attract an audience for a weekly series. It led to his hostingHalf the George Kirby Comedy Hour, asketch comedy andvariety show, which lasted for 22 episodes in 1972; it was one of the actor-comedianSteve Martin's first credits in front of the camera. The series was in many ways an uneasy compromise between Kirby's natural gifts and what the public would accept of Black actors at the time; a regular feature was ashaggy dog story entitled the "Funky Fable". He was also a regular in theABC seriesThe Kopykats, with other impressionists such asRich Little,Charlie Callas,Marilyn Michaels, andFrank Gorshin.
Following the demise of his show, Kirby's career declined, especially as audiences began to look for more cutting-edge comedy.HBO did include him in theirOn Location With comedian series in the late 1970s, filming one of his many appearances atGrossinger's in the NY Catskills, a club he had played regularly since 1961.
His career never again reached its former heights, but he did register featured guest appearances onGimme a Break withNell Carter,What's Happening Now!!,Crazy Like a Fox, and227. In 1983 he did aUSO tour withBob Hope to entertain the troops inBeirut, Lebanon as part of themultinational peacekeeping force.
Arrested in 1977 for sellingcocaine andheroin to an undercover officer, Kirby served three and a half years in prison. After his release, he visited schools to tell students to stay off drugs.[2]
Diagnosed withParkinson's disease in his later years, Kirby made his last public appearance at an all-star benefit in May 1995 given by his friends for his mounting medical bills.[2]
On September 30, 1995, Kirby died of Parkinson's disease at anursing home in Las Vegas. He was survived by his wife, Rosemary.[2]
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