THE APEX TIMES
Acting coach John Kirby, brother of Bruno Kirby and son of Bruce Kirby, dies at 75
John Kirby, a film and television acting coach and the brother of Bruno Kirby and son of Bruce Kirby, died Wednesday, July 15, at age 75, Deadline reported. He had been diagnosed with ALS three years earlier.
John Kirby, an acting coach and the brother of actor Bruno Kirby and the son of actor Bruce Kirby, died Wednesday morning, July 15, Deadline reported. He was 75. Deadline said Kirby’s family announced his death on July 18, three years after he was diagnosed with ALS.
Deadline reported that Kirby’s passing occurred on Wednesday, July 15, describing it as “the morning of Wednesday, July 15.” The report also said he had lived with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis for about three years following the diagnosis.
Kirby was known in entertainment circles as an acting coach, working with performers on craft and preparation. Deadline’s account tied his professional life to a family with deep public profiles in film and television, noting his relationship to Bruno Kirby and Bruce Kirby.
In addition to being Bruno Kirby’s brother, Deadline described Kirby as Bruce Kirby’s son. Bruno Kirby is best known for roles including City Slickers, while Bruce Kirby’s acting career is also part of a broader family legacy in screen roles, according to Deadline’s framing of the family relationships around Kirby’s death.
Deadline did not describe a specific memorial service, survivors list, or funeral arrangements in the portion summarized for publication. The report’s central timeline points to a diagnosis of ALS about three years earlier and the timing of his death shortly before the July 18 announcement.
The report did not include details about Kirby’s most recent coaching credits or the scope of his client work. As a result, public reaction and industry remembrances may focus largely on the circumstances of his illness and on his place in the Kirby family’s acting lineage, while fans and colleagues await any fuller public statements that may follow.
As the news spreads, acting communities typically track coaching legacies through testimonials, union and guild acknowledgments, and credits for teaching or training, but no additional institutional information was included in the Deadline report summarized here.
Deadline’s article served as the first widely cited announcement of Kirby’s death. Further coverage may follow once additional statements from family, colleagues, or professional organizations are issued.
Why It Matters
- Kirby’s death marks the end of a coaching career that supported working performers, with an illness timeline that spanned about three years.
- The July 15 timing and July 18 announcement may affect when theaters, studios, and agencies update memorial notes and training credits.
- The news is likely to prompt renewed attention to the Kirby family’s multi-generational presence in film and television.
- Public statements may be shaped by the ALS diagnosis timeline, as families and professional communities often coordinate tributes and information releases around medical circumstances.
Key Facts
- John Kirby, an acting coach and brother of Bruno Kirby, died on the morning of Wednesday, July 15, at age 75.
- Deadline reported Kirby was the son of Bruce Kirby.
- Deadline said Kirby was diagnosed with ALS about three years before his death.
- The death announcement was published by Deadline on July 18, 2026.