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Durward Kirby

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Durward Kirby Famous memorial Veteran

Birth
Covington, Kenton County, Kentucky, USA
Death
15 Mar 2000 (aged 88)
Shell Point Village, Lee County, Florida, USA
Burial
Sherman, Fairfield County, Connecticut, USA Add to Map
Memorial ID
View Source
Television Personality, Actor. He was the well-known sidekick on "The Garry Moore Show," starting in 1950 to 1951 during the days of live television. Kirby was a sketch actor, singer, dancer, and pitched sponsors' products. Kirby was also a co-host (1961-1966) with Allen Funt of Candid Camera (which started on TV as a segment on the Moore show). Occasionally (erroneously) reported as born in Indianapolis, Indiana, Kirby's family moved to Indianapolis when he was 15, and he graduated from Arsenal Technical High School ("Tech") in Indianapolis in 1930. Kirby was working towards aeronautical engineering degree at Purdue University (Lafayette, Indiana) when he got his first taste of radio work as a fill-in announcer at Purdue's radio station (WBAA). Kirby then went on to work at radio stations in Indianapolis, Cincinnati (WLW) and Chicago, and is in the Indiana Broadcasters and the Greater Cincinnati Broadcasting Halls of Fame. Kirby saw military service in the Navy during World War II, then returned to start a television career in New York (NBC). Kirby once said in an interview, "I've done just about everything in broadcasting - covered news, special events, disasters, sports, political conventions. I've had a news commentary show, done interviews, audience participation shows, sold products." Kirby wrote three books: "My Life, Those Wonderful Years," "Bits and Pieces of This and That" and a children's book called "Dooley Wilson." Kirby was married to Mary Paxton Young, an only child of Frank W. and Mary (Paxton) Young. They had two sons. Sometimes his name is seen misspelled as Durwood. Kirby died of congestive heart failure in a nursing home in Fort Myers (Shell Point Village), Lee County, Florida. A son reports, the Kirbys "built a summer home in Sherman, CT in the mid 1950's and truly loved that area of Connecticut. Coburn Cemetery, where they are buried, is across the lake from that house."
Television Personality, Actor. He was the well-known sidekick on "The Garry Moore Show," starting in 1950 to 1951 during the days of live television. Kirby was a sketch actor, singer, dancer, and pitched sponsors' products. Kirby was also a co-host (1961-1966) with Allen Funt of Candid Camera (which started on TV as a segment on the Moore show). Occasionally (erroneously) reported as born in Indianapolis, Indiana, Kirby's family moved to Indianapolis when he was 15, and he graduated from Arsenal Technical High School ("Tech") in Indianapolis in 1930. Kirby was working towards aeronautical engineering degree at Purdue University (Lafayette, Indiana) when he got his first taste of radio work as a fill-in announcer at Purdue's radio station (WBAA). Kirby then went on to work at radio stations in Indianapolis, Cincinnati (WLW) and Chicago, and is in the Indiana Broadcasters and the Greater Cincinnati Broadcasting Halls of Fame. Kirby saw military service in the Navy during World War II, then returned to start a television career in New York (NBC). Kirby once said in an interview, "I've done just about everything in broadcasting - covered news, special events, disasters, sports, political conventions. I've had a news commentary show, done interviews, audience participation shows, sold products." Kirby wrote three books: "My Life, Those Wonderful Years," "Bits and Pieces of This and That" and a children's book called "Dooley Wilson." Kirby was married to Mary Paxton Young, an only child of Frank W. and Mary (Paxton) Young. They had two sons. Sometimes his name is seen misspelled as Durwood. Kirby died of congestive heart failure in a nursing home in Fort Myers (Shell Point Village), Lee County, Florida. A son reports, the Kirbys "built a summer home in Sherman, CT in the mid 1950's and truly loved that area of Connecticut. Coburn Cemetery, where they are buried, is across the lake from that house."

Bio by: Rick France



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  • Maintained by: Find a Grave
  • Originally Created by: Rick France
  • Added: Jul 15, 2005
  • Find a Grave Memorial ID:
  • Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/11360807/durward-kirby: accessed ), memorial page for Durward Kirby (24 Aug 1911–15 Mar 2000), Find a Grave Memorial ID 11360807, citing Coburn Cemetery, Sherman, Fairfield County, Connecticut, USA; Maintained by Find a Grave.