, Margaret Castellano, Ardell Sheridan and Bruno Kirby in
The Super 1972.|left Kirby was a character actor whose career spanned 35 years. In 1971, he made his screen debut in the drama
The Young Graduates, although it was his role three years later as the young
Peter Clemenza in the epic crime film
The Godfather Part II that raised his profile in Hollywood. In the summer of 1972, in one of his early television appearances, Kirby portrayed Anthony Girelli, the son of
Richard Castellano's character Joe Girelli, in
The Super; Castellano had played the older Peter Clemenza in
The Godfather. In 1973, he appeared in
The Harrad Experiment. His other television appearances included
Room 222 and the
pilot episode of
M*A*S*H, portraying the character Boone (he had no lines). He also appeared in the 1974
Columbo episode "By Dawn's Early Light", alongside his father
Bruce Kirby, and in the season 2 episode "Seance" of
Emergency!, where he was credited as "B. Kirby Jr." Described by
Leonard Maltin as the "quintessential New Yorker or cranky straight man", Kirby appeared in a series of comedies, typically playing fast-talking, belligerent yet likable characters. His best-known roles include a colleague of
Albert Brooks' film editor in
Modern Romance; a talkative limo driver in
This Is Spinal Tap; the jealous, comedically impaired Lieutenant Hauk in
Good Morning, Vietnam; and a shifty assistant to
Marlon Brando—a parody of Brando's
Godfather role—in
The Freshman. Kirby balanced comedies with dramatic roles like
Donnie Brasco as a double-dealing mobster. Kirby appeared with
Billy Crystal in
When Harry Met Sally... (1989) and
City Slickers (1991). Both featured Kirby's character as the opinionated best friend to Crystal's character. Kirby refused to sign on for ''
City Slickers II: The Legend of Curly's Gold'' unless script changes were made, and was subsequently replaced by
Jon Lovitz. Bruno guest-starred on an episode of
Mad About You in 1996. In 1991, Kirby made his Broadway debut when he replaced
Kevin Spacey in
Neil Simon's
Lost in Yonkers. In the last decade of his life, he had success in
Stuart Little and was increasingly working in television. He starred as
Barry Scheck in the 2000
CBS drama
American Tragedy, played a paroled convict in a season three episode of
Homicide: Life on the Street, and also directed an episode of that show. He appeared on the HBO TV series
Entourage in season 3, episode 4, "Guys and Doll", as movie mogul Phil Rubinstein. He was invited to be a member of the
Actors Studio in 2006, less than six months before his death. == Personal life ==