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David Birney (1939–2022), star of “Bridget Loves Bernie”

by Linnea Crowther

David Birney was an actor known for roles on TV shows including “Bridget Loves Bernie” and “St. Elsewhere.”

Acting career

Birney studied acting in school, and while serving in the U.S. Army in the 1960s, he entertained fellow soldiers as part of the Showmobile. He had several small roles for TV before landing a starring role in the 1972 sitcom “Bridget Loves Bernie.” The groundbreaking show focused on an interfaith marriage between a Jewish man and an Irish Catholic woman, played by Birney’s future wife, Meredith Baxter. Both popular with audiences and controversial, it was cancelled after a single season. Birney went on to star in a mid-‘70s TV adaptation of “Serpico” as well as a main role in the first season of “St. Elsewhere.” His many other TV appearances included “Hawaii Five-O,” “The Love Boat,” “Murder, She Wrote,” and “Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.” Birney also had a stage career with a number of Broadway roles, and he appeared in movies including “Oh God! Book II” and “Nightfall.”

Tributes to David Birney

Full obituary:The New York Times

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