Background
Kirby was born in Covington, Kentucky.
Kirby was born in Covington, Kentucky.
Kirby graduated from Arsenal Technical High School in Indianapolis, then entered Purdue University to study engineering.
He is best remembered for The Garry Moore Show in the 1950s and Candid Camera, which he co-hosted with Allen Funt from 1961 through 1966. His family moved to Indianapolis, Indiana, when he was 15. However, he dropped out to become a radio announcer.
He served in the United States Navy during World World War World War II Following the war, he hosted Club Matinee in Chicago with Garry Moore on the National Broadcasting Company Blue radio network before moving to television in 1949 as an announcer.
He was a regular on Moore"s television shows from 1950 to 1968. Kirby also appeared as a host, announcer, or guest on other television programs, including serving as one of National Broadcasting Company Radio"s Monitor "Communicators".
Kirby stood 6 ft 4 in (193 m) tall and had a mellow personality that served well as a foil for the stars with whom he worked. A versatile performer, he acted in sketches, sang, and danced.
He moved with ease from slapstick to suave sales pitches for the sponsor"s product.
Critic John Crosby called him "one of the most versatile muggers and comedians on the air." His most embarrassing moment came during a Polaroid commercial, during which he forgot to pull the tab after taking a picture of Garry Moore holding his Christmas list. After nearly a minute of a Polaroid representative yelling, "Pull the tab!" from the audience, Kirby gave a mighty yank with his long arms and pulled all seven remaining pictures out of the camera. This required a fair amount of strength, not only to burst the developer pods but to rip through the stops on the film roll.
Durward Kirby died of congestive heart failure in Fort Myers, Florida, in 2000 at the age of 88.
"Age is just a number, and mine is unlisted.".