Durward Kirby

Durward Kirby
220px Kirby in 1962
Born	Homer Durward Kirby (1911-08-24)August 24, 1911 Covington, Kentucky, U.S.
Died	Fort Myers, Florida, U.S.
Occupation	Television host/Announcer
Years active	1946–1974

Homer Durward Kirby (August 24, 1911 – March 15, 2000), known professionally as Durward Kirby (sometimes misspelled Durwood Kirby), was an American television host and announcer. He is best remembered for The Garry Moore Show in the 1950s and Candid Camera, which he co-hosted with Allen Funt from 1961 through 1966.

Early life

Kirby was born in Covington, Kentucky. His family moved to Indianapolis, Indiana, when he was 15. Kirby graduated from Arsenal Technical High School in Indianapolis, then entered Purdue University to study engineering. However, he dropped out to become a radio announcer. He served in the United States Navy during World War II. Following the war, he hosted Club Matinee in Chicago with Garry Moore on the NBC Blue radio network before moving to television in 1949 as an announcer. He was a regular on Moore's television shows from 1950 to 1968. Kirby also appeared as a host, announcer, or guest on other television programs, including serving as one of NBC Radio's Monitor "Communicators".

Kirby stood 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 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."

File:Durward Kirby Garry Moore Show characters 1960.JPG

Some of Kirby's comedic roles. Top from left: "Jennie", Old Southern Colonel, Prince Charming. Bottom from left: "Joe Dribble", "Whistler's Mother, a Japanese movie star.

His most embarrassing moment came during a Polaroid commercial, during which he forgot to pull the tab after taking a picture of Garry 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 roll.

Kirby also wrote three books: My Life, Those Wonderful Years; Bits and Pieces of This and That; and a children's book, Dooley Wilson.

Durward Kirby died of congestive heart failure in Fort Myers, Florida, in 2000 at the age of 88. He was buried next to his wife, Mary Paxton Young Kirby, in Coburn Cemetery in Fairfield County, Connecticut, where he had a summer home. He was survived by his two sons.

Cultural references

Kirby's name was spoofed in the animated series The 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 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 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 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 (1994), the character Mia Wallace (Uma Thurman) orders a "Durward Kirby" burger.

The eponymous title track on the album Scraps by the band NRBQ 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."

External links

• Durward Kirby at the Internet Movie Database
• Durward Kirby at Find a Grave