John Kirby, longtime acting coach and son of Bruce Kirby, has died. He was 75 years old.
Kirby died on Wednesday, three years after being diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. His partner, Nathan Bisbet, confirmed his death on Instagram.
“It is with a broken heart that I am here to officially announce that our beloved John passed away in the early morning hours of Wednesday, July 15. It has been devastating for all of us as we try to find a way to cope,” Bisbet said.
Kirby lent his talents as an acting coach to a number of projects during his career, and was a frequent collaborator with Jim Caviezel.
The two have worked together in films including repetition (2000); pays It’s forward (2000); Angel eyes (2001); The Count of Monte Cristo (2002); High crimes (2002); I’m David (2003); Final cut (2004); Bobby Jones: A stroke of genius (2004); unknown (2006); and Paul, Apostle of Christ (2018). Kirby also served as Caviezel’s acting coach in the 2009 miniseries Prisoner.
His additional coaching-related credits include 2003 Peter Pan, The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, Outlander, Hotel California, Scream 4, Stick to it and prom.
Kirby’s family was associated with the entertainment industry The Muppets movie Actor Bruce Kirby is his father. His brother Bruno Kirby also pursued acting, appearing in Slickers City, Good morning, Vietnam and When Harry met Sally…among other things.
The acting coach was diagnosed with ALS on June 7, 2023, after experiencing symptoms a year earlier. He suffered a severe fall that resulted in a broken hip on June 1 of the same year, which led to his diagnosis.
A celebration of life will be held on August 15 at Liberty Forest Lawn Hollywood Hills, which is open to the public.
