David Birney, 'Bridget Loves Bernie' and 'St. Elsewhere’ actor, dead at 83
foxnews.comDavid Birney, an actor who found early success on Broadway before landing the co-starring role on "Bridget Loves Bernie," a 1972 sitcom that would be one of the most controversial TV shows of its era, died Friday of Alzheimer’s disease at his home in Santa Monica.
He was 83. His death was reported to The New York Times by his life partner, Michele Roberge. Born in Washington, D.C., and raised in Cleveland, Birney had studied theater at UCLA when, in 1965, he began acting in regional theaters across the country, including the Barter Theater in Abingdon, Virginia, and the Hartford Stage Company in Connecticut.
In 1967, he performed in a New York Shakespeare Festival production of "A Comedy of Errors," and in 1969 he made his Broadway debut as Cleante in Molière’s "The Miser." In all, he appeared in seven Broadway productions through 1985, including "The Good Woman of Setzuan" (1970), "The Playboy of the Western World" (1971), "An Enemy of the People" (1971), "Antigone" (1971), "Amadeus" (1980) and "Benefactors" (1985).
David Birney and Meredith Baxter starred in the CBS sitcom "Bridget Loves Bernie," circa 1972. (CBS via Getty Images) Although he had small roles in a number of television series beginning in the late 1960s, Birney found his signature role in the short-lived "Bridget Loves Bernie," a CBS situation comedy about the marriage of Jewish cab driver and writer Bernie Steinberg, played by Birney, and Catholic schoolteacher Bridget Fitzgerald, played by Meredith Baxter (the co-stars would marry in real life following the show’s cancellation).
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