Charles Kimbrough

Intro

Charles Kimbrough was an American stage, screen and voice actor whose best-known television role was news anchor Jim Dial on Murphy Brown. His career also included the original Broadway companies of Company and Sunday in the Park with George, as well as the voice of Victor in Disney's The Hunchback of Notre Dame. Those credits connect three different kinds of ensemble performance: the musical stage, a television newsroom and animation. They offer a broader introduction than the familiar image of Jim Dial alone.

Career snapshot

Born in St. Paul, Minnesota, on May 23, 1936, Kimbrough studied at Indiana University and the Yale School of Drama. Masterworks Broadway's biography places him at the Milwaukee Repertory Theatre during the 1960s, working in a repertoire that included classical and modern plays. That background gave his later television career a substantial theatrical foundation. It also helps explain why a career overview should include the stage productions and recordings through which audiences knew him before Murphy Brown became his most recognizable screen credit.

The entry point

In the original Broadway production of Stephen Sondheim's Company, Kimbrough played Harry. The performance brought a Tony nomination in 1971. He later played Jules and Bob Greenberg in the original Sunday in the Park with George, another Sondheim musical, in 1984. Cast recordings preserve a different aspect of his work from a television episode: they let listeners follow a character through the score and the surrounding ensemble. These are specific original-production credits, not claims that he appeared in every subsequent revival of either musical.

Screen identity and style

Murphy Brown began its original CBS run in 1988 and gave Kimbrough a continuing role as Jim Dial. The Television Academy records his supporting-actor Emmy nomination for the character in 1990. Jim's position as a news anchor distinguishes him from Frank Fontana, Joe Regalbuto's reporter, and from the other personalities working around Murphy. A viewing path through the early episodes can focus on the contrast between Jim's formal presentation and the less orderly relationships of the newsroom. The ensemble supplies the context for those differences to become comic.

Collaborations and patterns

Kimbrough's voice work introduced him to audiences who might not have recognized his face from the sitcom. He voiced Victor, one of the gargoyles, in Disney's 1996 animated feature The Hunchback of Notre Dame and returned for its 2002 sequel. His animation credits also include Mort Chalk in Recess: School's Out. Listening to those performances alongside his live-action work is a useful way to explore a familiar actor through sound, although the animated characters should not be mistaken for versions of Jim Dial.

Era reflection

The stage remained part of Kimbrough's later career. The Broadway League's IBDB record credits him as Flogdell in Accent on Youth in 2009, the Prince of Arragon in The Merchant of Venice in 2010 and William R. Chumley, M.D., in Harvey in 2012. These roles place him in different theatrical ensembles after his long period on television. They also provide concrete reference points for viewers interested in the continuing stage work of actors whose public recognition is closely tied to a successful television series.

Legacy and rediscovery

Kimbrough died on January 11, 2023. His recorded legacy can be approached through Murphy Brown, the original cast recordings of Company and Sunday in the Park with George, and his animation performances. Each preserves a different part of the working actor's range. The gallery contains two distinct Alan Light photographs from the 1989 Emmy Awards, showing Kimbrough facing the photographer and in profile. They document a public appearance during the early Murphy Brown years; neither is presented as a production still or as a photograph of a fictional character.

Selected roles

• Company: Harry — 1970 original Broadway production
• Sunday in the Park with George: Jules / Bob Greenberg — 1984 original Broadway production
• Murphy Brown: Jim Dial — 1988–1998
• The Hunchback of Notre Dame: Victor (voice) — 1996
• Harvey: William R. Chumley, M.D. — 2012 Broadway revival

A career in pictures

Two distinct photographs by Alan Light at the 1989 Emmy Awards.

Emmy Awards appearance (1989)

Himself

Charles Kimbrough facing the photographer; photograph by Alan Light.

A second Emmy Awards view (1989)

Himself

Kimbrough in profile in a separate exposure by Alan Light.

Rewatch notes

• Compare the original Company cast recording with Kimbrough as Jim Dial on Murphy Brown.