Actor David Birney Dies At 83

Actor David Birney, who rose to early fame in one season CBS sitcom Bridget Loves Bernie, died on Friday at his home in Santa Monica from Alzheimer’s disease. Birney, who was diagnosed with the disease in 2017, was 83.

Born April 23, 1939 in Washington, D.C., Birney began his career at the Barter Theatre at the State Theatre of Virginia in 1965, starring or appearing in fifteen shows and directing two others. His New York debut was with Joe Papp’s New York Shakespeare Festival as Antipholus of Syracuse in Shakespeare’s The Comedy of Errors.

While working continually in the theatre, Birney made his television debut in the daytime drama Love Is a Many Slendored Thing in 1967. Other early TV guest appearances included the series The Edge of Night, The F.B.I., Circle of Fear and Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In before landing the role of Bernie Steinberg opposite his then wife Meredith Baxter on aforementioned Bridget Loves Bernie. While a top 5 rated TV show out of the then No. 1 series, All in the Family, Bridget Loves Bernie was considered controversial at the time because of the differing faiths of the married characters, and CBS bucked to the pressure and prematurely canceled it.

Following a roster of additional TV show appearances (including dramas Cannon, Medical Center, The Streets of San Francisco and Police Story), Bernie headlined the crime solver Serpico, based on the Al Pacino film of the same name, in the 1976-77 season.

In 1982, Bernie was cast in NBC’s quirky medical-themed St. Elsewhere, but exited the series after just one season. Next was drama Glitter, which aired in the 1984 to 1985 season, with his final regularly scheduled series, Live Shot, in 1995.

On film, Bernie starred alongside Lauren Hutton and Adrienne Barbeau horror film Someone’s Watching Me in 1978. His final TV appearance was in crime drama Without A Trace in 2007.

Survivors include his children with Baxter, Kate and twins Mollie and Peter.