05 February 2023 , 18:44
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Murphy Brown star Charles Kimborough - known as anchorman Jim Dial on the hit series - has died at the age of 86.
The actor's son John Kimborough confirmed that his father had passed away on January 11 speaking to the New York Times.
John was a fan favourite on the popular show and starred in 247 episodes, even reprising his role for several instalments of the revival series in 2018.
The sitcom followed the eventful life of investigative journalist Murphy Brown who was brought to life by actress Candice Bergen for the show.
Charles KImborough has died at the age of 86 (Charles Sykes/AP/REX/Shutterstock)The series ran for an impressive ten years from 1988 - 1998, before getting rebooted in 2018.
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Charles' performance as Jim won him critical acclaim earning him an Emmy nomination for his depiction of the character.
Charles also received recognition for his work with a Tony award nomination for his role in Steven Sondheim's Company.
His acting talent saw him appear in a string of hit TV series including Ally McBeal and Batman Beyond, as well as voicing an animated version of Jim for an episode of Family Guy.
The actor was known for his role as Jim Dial in Murphy Brown (Charles Sykes/AP/REX/Shutterstock)
Charles also starred in several theatre productions through his career (Mark Lennihan/AP/REX/Shutterstock)Charles was born on May 23, 1936 in St.Paul, Minnesota as the eldest of two children alongside his sister Emily.
As a child, Charles relocated to Highland Park, Ill., near Chicago, with his family where his father earned a living selling commercial heating equipment.
As a young man, having studied theatre and drama at Indiana University Bloomington, Charles graduated in 1958 before earning a master's degree in Fine Arts at Yale University's School of Drama prior to embarking on his TV career.
In 2002, Charles married his Company co-star Beth Howland, who was known for her work as Vera Louise Gorman-Novak on the sitcom Alice.
Beth sadly passed away in December 2015 at the age of 76 following a battle with lung cancer.
Charles starred alongside Candice Bergen in Murphy Brown (Richard Drew/AP/REX/Shutterstock)Prior to his TV career Charles starred in several theatre productions throughout the late 1960s and early 1970s.
He and his first wife Mary Jane Wilson - who he was married to for 30 years from 1961 - 1991 - joined the resident theatre company of the Milwaukee Repertory Theatre.
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The couple appeared in numerous plays at the venue including Georges Feydeau's Cat Among the Pigeons and Jules Feiffer's The White House Murder Case.