Actor John Kirby Has Died, Cause of Death Released

Famed acting coach John Kirby, the son of actor Bruce Kirby, passed away earlier this month. He was 75.

Kirby’s death was confirmed in a video posted to Instagram by Nathan Nesbitt, the manager of Kirby’s acting studio. The cause of Kirby’s passing was ALS, a disease which Kirby was diagnosed with three years prior.

His ALS diagnosis came in the summer of 2023 following a hip fracture and various symptoms that had hampered him for nearly a year.

“I am here to officially, with a broken heart, announce the passing of our beloved John on the early morning hours of Wednesday, July 15,” Nesbitt began. “And it has been devastating for all of us, and we’re trying to just find a way to cope.”

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Before he shifted his focus to coaching actors, Kirby was an actor himself. He made appearances in several television shows such as Sanford and Son, M*A*S*H, Dracula’s Dog, Airwolf and more.

John will be remembered as one of Hollywood’s most respected acting coaches. His clientele list was robust and included some of the world’s biggest movie stars. Cameron Diaz, Jim Caviezel, Morris Chestnut, Jeff Bridges and many others. In addition to working with individual actors, Kirby was hired to coach on a number of movie sets, including Peter Pan, Scream 4 and others.

Caviezel and Kirby worked together on nearly a dozen films. High Crimes, Frequency and Pay It Forward were among the roles they collaborated on.

Acting and coaching were in Kirby’s blood. Both his father, Bruce Kirby, and brother, Bruno Kirby, were notable actors. Bruce made multiple appearances in popular television shows Columbo, Hogan’s Heroes, and L.A. Law and dozens more.

Bruno Kirby had roles in several movies such as The Godfather Part II and City Slickers.

John Kirby will be remembered with a celebration of life on August 15 at Forest Lawn Hollywood Hills in a ceremony that will be open to the public.