Homer Durward Kirby (August 24, 1911 – March 15, 2000), sometimes misspelled Durwood Kirby, was an American television host and announcer. He is best remembered for ''
The Garry Moore Show
''The Garry Moore Show'' is the name for several separate American variety series on the CBS television network in the 1950s and 1960s. Hosted by experienced radio performer Garry Moore, the series helped launch the careers of many comedic talent ...
'' in the 1950s and ''
Candid Camera'', which he co-hosted with
Allen Funt from 1961 through 1966.
Early life
Homer Durward Kirby was born on August 24, 1911 in Covington, Kentucky to father Homer C. Kirby and mother Alma Haglage.
[ His family moved to Indianapolis, ]Indiana
Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...
, when he was 15. He graduated from Arsenal Technical High School
Arsenal Technical High School, commonly referred to as Tech or Arsenal Tech, is a public high school in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States, which is run by the Indianapolis Public Schools district. The school is located on a , multiple buildin ...
in Indianapolis, then entered Purdue University
Purdue University is a public land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded in 1869 after Lafayette businessman John Purdue donated land and mone ...
to study engineering. However, he dropped out to become a radio announcer.
Radio
In 1936, Kirby was an announcer for WLW
WLW (700 AM) is a commercial news/talk radio station licensed to Cincinnati, Ohio. Owned by iHeartMedia, WLW is a clear-channel station, often identifying itself as The Big One.
WLW operates with around the clock. Its daytime signal provides ...
in Cincinnati, Ohio. In 1937, an Associated Press
The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. ne ...
news story reported that he "made a name for himself" with his reporting on the Ohio River flood of 1937
The Ohio River flood of 1937 took place in late January and February 1937. With damage stretching from Pittsburgh to Cairo, Illinois, 385 people died, one million people were left homeless and property losses reached $500 million ($10.2 billion ...
. He also worked at radio stations in Chicago and Indianapolis before World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
.[
Kirby served in the ]United States Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...
during the war. Following the war, Kirby hosted '' Club Matinee'' in Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
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with Garry Moore on the NBC Blue
The Blue Network (previously known as the NBC Blue Network) was the on-air name of a now defunct American Commercial broadcasting, radio network, which broadcast from 1927 through 1945.
Beginning as one of the two radio networks owned by the N ...
radio network before moving to television in 1949 as an announcer. He also worked on ''Meet Your Navy Meet Your Navy was a wartime radio programme broadcast Saturday nights on the Blue Network, originating from the U.S. Naval Training Center in Lake County, Illinois via WLS (AM)
WLS (890 kHz) is a commercial AM radio station in Chicago, Ill ...
'' and ''Honeymoon in New York'' on network radio.[DeLong, Thomas A. (1996). ''Radio Stars: An Illustrated Biographical Dictionary of 953 Performers, 1920 through 1960''. McFarland & Company, Inc. . P. 153.]
Television
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.[ Kirby also appeared as a host, announcer, or guest on other television programs. He served as one of ]NBC
The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...
Radio's ''Monitor
Monitor or monitor may refer to:
Places
* Monitor, Alberta
* Monitor, Indiana, town in the United States
* Monitor, Kentucky
* Monitor, Oregon, unincorporated community in the United States
* Monitor, Washington
* Monitor, Logan County, West ...
'' "Communicators".
In 1967, Carol Burnett
Carol Creighton Burnett (born April 26, 1933) is an American actress, comedian, singer, and writer. Her groundbreaking comedy variety show ''The Carol Burnett Show'', which originally aired on CBS was one of the first of its kind to be hosted ...
introduced Kirby and his wife, Pax, sitting in the live audience during her opening remarks of season 1 episode 4 of ''The Carol Burnett Show
''The Carol Burnett Show'' is an American variety/sketch comedy television show that originally ran on CBS from September 11, 1967, to March 29, 1978, for 279 episodes, and again with nine episodes in fall 1991. It starred Carol Burnett, Har ...
''. 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.
Stage
Kirby acted in summer stock theatre
In American theater, summer-stock theater is a theater that presents stage productions only in the summer. The name combines the season with the tradition of staging shows by a resident company, reusing stock scenery and costumes. Summer stock th ...
, including three years' appearances in productions at the Cherry County Playhouse in Michigan.
Other information
Kirby was 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 from slapstick to suave sales pitches for the sponsor's product. Critic John Crosby called him "one of the most versatile muggers and comedians on the air."[
An embarrassing moment came during a ]Polaroid
Polaroid may refer to:
* Polaroid Corporation, an American company known for its instant film and cameras
* Polaroid camera, a brand of instant camera formerly produced by Polaroid Corporation
* Polaroid film, instant film, and photographs
* Polar ...
commercial, during which he forgot to pull the tab after taking a picture of Garry Moore
Garry Moore (born Thomas Garrison Morfit; January 31, 1915 – November 28, 1993) was an American entertainer, comedic personality, game show host, and humorist best known for his work in television. He began a long career with the CBS netwo ...
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 roll.
Books
Kirby wrote three books: ''My Life, Those Wonderful Years''; ''Bits and Pieces of This and That''; and a children's book, ''Dooley Wilson''.[
]
Personal life
Kirby married Mary Paxton Young on June 15, 1941, in Chicago, Illinois. Paxton was a singer and actress on radio. She died in 1994. They had two sons, Durward Randall aka Randy Kirby, an actor (born December 5, 1942) and Dennis Paxton (born June 11, 1949).
Death
Kirby died of congestive heart failure in Fort Myers, Florida, on March 15, 2000,[ ] at the age of 88. He was buried next to his wife, Mary, in Coburn Cemetery in Fairfield County, Connecticut
Fairfield County is a county in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is the most populous county in the state and was also its fastest-growing from 2010 to 2020. As of the 2020 census, the county's population was 957, ...
, where they had a summer home. He was survived by his two sons and three grandsons.[
]
Cultural references
Kirby's name was spoofed in the animated series ''The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show
''The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle and Friends'' (commonly referred to as simply ''Rocky and Bullwinkle'') is an American animated television series that originally aired from November 19, 1959, to June 27, 1964, on the ABC and NBC te ...
'', 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
Joseph Ward Cohen Jr. (September 20, 1920 – October 12, 1989), also known as Jay Ward, was an American creator and producer of animated TV cartoon shows. He produced animated series based on such characters as Crusader Rabbit, Rocky & Bu ...
, producer of ''The Bullwinkle Show'', even offered to ''pay'' Kirby to sue him; however, he did not pursue any further action.
A button reading "Durward Kirby for President in '64" appears in the January 1964 edition of ''Mad''.
In ''The Mary Tyler Moore Show
''The Mary Tyler Moore Show'' (also known simply as ''Mary Tyler Moore'') is an American television sitcom created by James L. Brooks and Allan Burns and starring actress Mary Tyler Moore. The show originally aired on CBS from 1970 to 1977. Mo ...
'' episode " Phyllis Whips Inflation" (season 5, episode 114; aired 18 January 1975), the character Phyllis Lindstrom explains that the drop in the price of her Polaroid
Polaroid may refer to:
* Polaroid Corporation, an American company known for its instant film and cameras
* Polaroid camera, a brand of instant camera formerly produced by Polaroid Corporation
* Polaroid film, instant film, and photographs
* Polar ...
stock is because the company hired Laurence 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 movie ''Pulp Fiction
''Pulp Fiction'' is a 1994 American crime film written and directed by Quentin Tarantino, who conceived it with Roger Avary.See, e.g., King (2002), pp. 185–7; ; Starring John Travolta, Samuel L. Jackson, Bruce Willis, Tim Roth, Vin ...
'' (1994), the character Mia Wallace (Uma Thurman
Uma Karuna Thurman (born April 29, 1970) is an American actress and former model. She has performed in a variety of films, from romantic comedies and dramas to science fiction and action films. Following her appearances on the December 1985 an ...
) orders a "Durward Kirby" burger.
The eponymous title track on the album '' Scraps'' by the band NRBQ
NRBQ is an American rock band founded by Terry Adams (piano), Steve Ferguson (guitar) and Joey Spampinato (bass). Originally the "New Rhythm and Blues Quintet", the group was formed around 1965. Adams disbanded it for a time, and the group re ...
includes the line: "I know a Melarooney boy named Durward Kirby; I yelled in his ear and wondered if he heard me."
Quotes
"Age is just a number, and mine is unlisted."
References
External links
*
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Kirby, Durward
1911 births
2000 deaths
American television personalities
People from Covington, Kentucky
Purdue University people
Radio and television announcers