Actor. He is best remembered for his portrayal of the vindictive Sam in "D.O.A." (1949). After working as a leading man in stock companies for 40 years, he was introduced to director Ford Beebe during a dinner party at the prestigious Cocoanut Grove nightclub. Impressed by his reddish good looks, distinctive voice, and mature appearance, he took notice of his potential and arranged for him to begin a career in the film industry beginning with him appearing under his supervision per a supporting role in "My Dog Shep" (1946). From there, he would go on to flourish as a notable supporting character actor appearing in over 170 features; often typecast as husbands, fathers, boyfriends, bartenders, reporters, detectives, retail clerks, gamblers, con artists, mailmen, chauffeurs, doormen, waiters, barbers, policemen, cowboys, sheriffs, sugar daddies, aristocrats, businessmen, clergymen, educators, eccentrics, curmudgeons, landlords, neighbors, and patriarchs. He appeared in such feature films as "The Patrolman" (1949), "Destination Big House" (1950), "The Groom Wore Spurs" (1951), "The Captive City" (1952), "Count the Hours!" (1953), "Playgirl" (1954), "New York Confidential" (1955), "Glory" (1956), "Man Afraid" (1957), "Ten North Frederick" (1958), "Alaska Passage" (1959), "Police Dog Story" (1961), "Incident in an Alley" (1962), "Texas Across the River" (1966), and "Good Times" (1967). On television, he appeared in various guest spots on such syndicated sitcoms as "The Unexpected," "Big Town," "Four Star Playhouse," "Your Favorite Story," "Public Defender," "Willy," "I Led 3 Lives," "Life with Elizabeth," "Mayor of the Town," "The Whistler," "Waterfront," "The 20th-Century Fox Hour," "Chevron Hall of Stars," "Wire Service," "Cavalcade of America," "Alfred Hitchcock Presents," "Hey, Jeannie!," "I Love Lucy," "Telephone Time," "Broken Arrow," "The Betty Hutton Show," "Markham," "Bonanza," "Bachelor Father," "Sugarfoot," "Peter Loves Mary," "Dennis the Menace," "77 Sunset Strip," "Perry Mason," "Tales of Wells Fargo," "The Untouchables," "Death Valley Days," "Margie," "The Lloyd Bridges Show," "Empire," "Going My Way," "Leave It to Beaver," "The Beverly Hillbillies," "Gunsmoke," "My Three Sons," "McHale's Navy," "Wagon Train," "The Magical World of Disney," "Vacation Playhouse," "Kentuck Jones," "Branded," "The Munsters," "Bewitched," "Hazel," "Laredo," "The Donna Reed Show," "Petticoat Junction," "Iron Horse," "The Fugitive," and "Mayberry R.F.D.". During his career, he was a member of the Screen Actors Guild, was supportive of the Motion Picture and Television Fund, had been a regular parishioner of the Catholic church, was a member of the Hollywood Democratic Committee, presided as a chairman for his local charters of the American Red Cross and the Boys & Girls Clubs, had been a theatrical instructor for the Pasadena Playhouse, had been a magazine model for the Forbes Agency, and was the celebrity spokesman for Coca-Cola. Following his 1969 retirement, Kirkpatrick, who never married nor had any children, spent the remainder of his life living quietly in the suburbs focusing on charitable and religious causes until his death.