Though Murphy Brown made him a household name—and provided him a late-career chance to return to the spotlight when it was revived in 2018—Kimbrough’s career encompasses much more than that single role. Keep reading to learn what he’s been doing since the series first ended in 1998. READ THIS NEXT: She Played Renée on Ally McBeal. See Lisa Nicole Carson Now at 52. After Murphy Brown went off the air, Kimbrough appeared occasionally in films and on television, acting in the movies The Wedding Planner and Marci X, and guest-starring on Love Boat: The Next Wave and Ally McBeal, but he he’s worked much more often as a voice actor. During the run of his hit sitcom and in the years since, he providing a guest voice for the Jim Henson series Dinosaurs and regularly voiced characters in a number of animated series, including Pinky and the Brain, Family Guy, and Batman Beyond. He also worked on animated movies, including Disney’s The Hunchback of Norte Dame and its sequel, Buzz Lightyear of Star Command, and Recess: School’s Out. He acted in the Disney-produced dub of the Japanese anime film Whisper of the Heart, written by revered animation master Hayao Miyazaki (Spirited Away, Ponyo). And he also voiced a character in the Kingdom Hearts video game series. In 2002, Kimbrough married another actor famous for being on a sitcom: Beth Howland, who played the clumsy waitress Vera Gorman on the hit show Alice, starring Linda Lavin, which ran from 1976 to 1985. Some three decades before they tied the knot, Kimbrough and Howland had both appeared in the same Broadway show. They were married until Howland’s death from lung cancer in December 2015, though, at her request, Kimbrough didn’t announce Howland’s death publicly until May 2016. “It was the Boston side of her personality coming out,” Kimbrough said, as quoted in the actor’s obituary in the New York Times. “She didn’t want to make a fuss.” Previously, Kimbrough was married to Mary Jane Wilson from 1961 until 1991. They welcomed a son, John Kimbrough, who went on to be the founder of the alternative rock band Walt Mink. For more celebrity updates sent right to your inbox, sign up for our daily newsletter. In the years before he became famous for his role on Murphy Brown, Kimbrough was a successful stage actor, appearing in his first Off-Broadway role in 1961’s All for Love and, in 1970, played Harry in the original cast of Stephen Sondheim’s Company (where he met his future wife), earning a Tony nomination for the role. In 1984, he appeared in the original Broadway production of Sondheim’s Sundays in the Park With George. Years after Murphy Brown ended, Kimbrough again took to the stage, appearing in a New York City Center Encores! Production of No, No, Nanette and a New York Philharmonic staging of My Fair Lady starring Kelsey Grammer. He returned to Broadway in 2009’s Accent on Youth alongside David Hyde Pierce.ae0fcc31ae342fd3a1346ebb1f342fcb Twenty years after the original run of Murphy Brown ended, and in the wake of successful revivals of other ’90s sitcoms like Will & Grace and Roseanne, CBS brought back the series for a 13-episode 11th season in 2018, and Kimbrough was on board. Eighty-one at the time, he was not well enough to appear in all of the episodes, according to Deadline, but he did appear in three. The revival was canceled after one season. READ THIS NEXT: He Played Andy Keaton on Family Ties. See Brian Bonsall Now at 40.
