Awards

College of Arts and Sciences Distinguished Alumni Award - 1993

About Charles Kimbrough

In 1993, Charles Kimbrough was invited to revisit his undergraduate alma mater as the 29th Ralph L. Collins Memorial Lecturer. Two lectures, The Theatre, First and Last and How I became Reasonably Famous in Spite of my Best Efforts, were given by Kimbrough during his stay. Graduate and undergraduate students were also given the opportunity to work closely with Mr. Kimbrough in their classes.

Charles Kimbrough was known to millions as anchorman Jim Dial on the CBS comedy Murphy Brown. Although he had acted in high school, Kimbrough considers his first serious theatre debut to have been the role of Salernio in the 1954 Indiana University Production of The Merchant of Venice directed by Professor William Kinzer. For the next four years he acted in, assistant directed, and stage managed several IU productions. Following his graduation from the Department of Speech and Theatre in 1958, he attended the Yale School of Drama, where he received his MFA in directing in 1961. During his professional career, he has performed with several regional theatres including Hartford Stage Company, The Williamstown Theatre Festival, The Milwaukee Repertory Theatre, and The New Phoenix Repertory Company.

Mr. Kimbrough made his Broadway debut in John Guare's Cop Out in 1969 and went on to appear in Broadway productions of Bernstein's Candide; Bernard Slade's Same Time, Next Year; Noel Coward's Hay Fever; and David Mamet's The Water Engine. He earned a Tony nomination for Best Featured Actor in Sondheims Company, and his performance in Sondheim's Sunday in the Park with George resulted in a Drama Desk Award nomination.