# David Birney
**David Birney** (David Edwin Birney; April 23, 1939 – 2022) was an American actor and director who trained in classical theater and became best known for television, above all as the co-star with [Meredith Baxter](https://www.edgepedia.org/meredith-baxter) of the one-season CBS sitcom *Bridget Loves Bernie* (1972–73), and as Dr. Ben Samuels in the original cast of the medical drama *St. Elsewhere*[1](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/david-birney).
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | April 23, 1939, Washington, D.C.; grew up in Cleveland; son of an FBI special agent[2](https://www.washingtonpost.com/obituaries/2022/05/06/actor-david-birney-dead/) |
| Died | April 27, 2022, at his home in Santa Monica, California (April 29, 2022 per Television Academy and IBDB), age 83, of Alzheimer's disease[2](https://www.washingtonpost.com/obituaries/2022/05/06/actor-david-birney-dead/) • [1](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/david-birney) • [3](https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/david-birney-32124) |
| Education | B.A. in English with high distinction, Dartmouth College, 1961; M.A. in theater arts, UCLA, 1963; U.S. Army, 1963–65[4](https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/birney-david-1939) |
| Early honors | Theatre World Award and Clarence Derwent Award, 1968, for *Summertree*[4](https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/birney-david-1939) |
| Signature TV roles | Bernie Steinberg in *Bridget Loves Bernie* (CBS, 1972–73); Frank Serpico (NBC, 1976–77); Dr. Ben Samuels in *St. Elsewhere* (1982); Sam Dillon in *Glitter* (ABC, 1984); Harry Chandler Moore in *Live Shot* (UPN, 1995)[5](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/david-birney/) |
| Marriage | Married co-star Meredith Baxter on April 10, 1974; divorced 1989; three children, including twins Mollie and Peter (born 1984)[4](https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/birney-david-1939) • [6](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0083709/bio/) |
| Broadway | Debut as Cleante in Molière's *The Miser* (1969); replaced in the role of Antonio Salieri in *Amadeus* from May 24, 1983[3](https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/david-birney-32124) |
## Early life and education
David Edwin Birney was born in Washington, D.C., on April 23, 1939, and grew up in [Cleveland](https://www.edgepedia.org/cleveland). His father, Edwin B. Birney, was a special agent for the [Federal Bureau of Investigation](https://www.edgepedia.org/federal-bureau-of-investigation); his mother, Jeanne McGee, was a homemaker[4](https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/birney-david-1939). Acting in a high school production of [Gilbert and Sullivan](https://www.edgepedia.org/gilbert-and-sullivan)'s *H.M.S. Pinafore* was, his daughter Mollie Birney told *The Washington Post*, the experience that "just blew his heart open" and set him toward a career in show business[2](https://www.washingtonpost.com/obituaries/2022/05/06/actor-david-birney-dead/).
At [Dartmouth College](https://www.edgepedia.org/dartmouth-college) he took a B.A. in English with high distinction in 1961 and, per a 1973 Dartmouth Alumni Magazine profile, turned down a scholarship for Stanford Law School to take a master's degree in theater arts at UCLA, completed in 1963[7](https://archive.dartmouthalumnimagazine.com/article/1973/2/1/multi-media-actor) • [4](https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/birney-david-1939). He served in the U.S. Army from 1963 to 1965[4](https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/birney-david-1939).
## Theater
After military service Birney joined the Barter Theatre Company in Abingdon, Virginia, where he made both his professional acting debut, in [Noël Coward](https://www.edgepedia.org/noel-coward)'s *Hay Fever*, and his directing debut, with [Edward Albee](https://www.edgepedia.org/edward-albee)'s *The Zoo Story* in 1965[5](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/david-birney/). He appeared with regional theaters including the Hartford Stage Company and made his New York debut as one of the twins in *A Comedy of Errors* with Joseph Papp's New York Shakespeare Festival in 1967[5](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/david-birney/). In 1968 he played the lead in *Summertree* at [Lincoln Center](https://www.edgepedia.org/lincoln-center), winning the Clarence Derwent Award and the Theatre World Award[6](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0083709/bio/).
His Broadway career began as Cleante in *The Miser* in 1969, followed by *The Good Woman of Setzuan*, *The Playboy of the Western World*, *An Enemy of the People*, and *Antigone* in 1970–71[3](https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/david-birney-32124). He made a belated return to Broadway in 1983, stepping into the role of [Antonio Salieri](https://www.edgepedia.org/antonio-salieri) in Peter Shaffer's *Amadeus* from May 24, 1983 to the production's close in October[3](https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/david-birney-32124) • [5](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/david-birney/). Touring roles included Sky Masterson in *Guys and Dolls* (1973) and Henry Higgins in *My Fair Lady* (1979), and he won a Los Angeles Weekly Award for directing *A Life in the Theatre* in 1980[4](https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/birney-david-1939).
## Television
Birney's television career began in daytime: he was the second Mark Elliot on the CBS soap *Love Is a Many Splendored Thing* from 1968, then moved to the ABC daytime drama *A World Apart* (1970–71)[5](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/david-birney/). His breakthrough came with *Bridget Loves Bernie* (CBS, 1972–73), in which he played Bernie Steinberg, a Jewish cab driver and aspiring playwright married to Bridget Fitzgerald, an Irish-American Roman Catholic schoolteacher played by Meredith Baxter; their characters wed in the third episode and lived above a deli owned by Bernie's parents[1](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/david-birney). The show drew millions of viewers but was canceled in 1973 after one season[2](https://www.washingtonpost.com/obituaries/2022/05/06/actor-david-birney-dead/). Birney later told *Newsday*, "Let's just say its cancellation was unlamented"[2](https://www.washingtonpost.com/obituaries/2022/05/06/actor-david-birney-dead/).
__Later series work__ ran in one-season units. In 1976 he played [John Quincy Adams](https://www.edgepedia.org/john-quincy-adams) in the PBS miniseries *The Adams Chronicles* and then took over [Al Pacino](https://www.edgepedia.org/al-pacino)'s role as [Frank Serpico](https://www.edgepedia.org/frank-serpico) in the NBC series *Serpico*, which lasted one season[5](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/david-birney/). In 1982 he was in the original cast of NBC's *St. Elsewhere* as Dr. Ben Samuels; the Hollywood Reporter account lists him among the series' regulars, and TV Guide-style accounts attribute his departure after a year to conflicts with producers over his role, while *The Hollywood Reporter* obituary reporting says he had to leave because of a Broadway commitment[5](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/david-birney/) • [8](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0083709/news/). He then starred for producer Aaron Spelling in *Glitter* (ABC, 1984) and played a news anchor in *Live Shot* (UPN, 1995)[5](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/david-birney/). Miniseries leads included *Testimony of Two Men*, *Master of the Game*, *Night of the Fox*, and *Valley of the Dolls* (1981), in which he played the lawyer Lyon Burke[1](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/david-birney) • [5](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/david-birney/). Guest appearances ranged from *Murder, She Wrote*, *Hawaii Five-O*, *The Love Boat*, and *Fantasy Island* to a final one in *Without a Trace* in 2007[1](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/david-birney) • [8](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0083709/news/). In television movies he played Alan Hamel, husband of Suzanne Somers, in the 1991 biopic *Keeping Secrets*, and the adoptive father of Stephen Dorff's character in *Always Remember I Love You* (CBS, 1990)[5](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/david-birney/).
## Film, writing, and producing
Birney's feature appearances were infrequent. His film debut was Neil Bowman in *Caravan to Vaccares* (1974); other roles included Sir John Gifford in *Trial by Combat* (1976), Don Richards in *Oh God! Book II* (1980), the title role in *Richard II* (1982), and Aton in *Nightfall* (1988)[4](https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/birney-david-1939). He served as executive producer of the CBS movie *The Long Journey Home* (1987) and wrote *The Diaries of Adam and Eve*, a two-person stage piece adapted from [Mark Twain](https://www.edgepedia.org/mark-twain) that he performed with Meredith Baxter-Birney and that was filmed for PBS's *American Playhouse* in 1989; the piece and his *A Christmas Pudding* were published by Samuel French[5](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/david-birney/) • [9](https://www.concordtheatricals.com/a/310/david-birney). Productions of *The Diaries of Adam and Eve* continued after his death, including a Legacy Theatre staging announced in 2024[10](https://www.broadwayworld.com/people/David-Birney/).
## Marriage to Meredith Baxter
Birney met Meredith Baxter while filming *Bridget Loves Bernie* in 1972. One year after the series left the air they married, on April 10, 1974, and had three children, a daughter, Kate, and twins Mollie and Peter, born 1984; they divorced in 1989[6](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0083709/bio/) • [4](https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/birney-david-1939). In her 2011 memoir *Untied*, Baxter wrote that Birney was physically and emotionally abusive during their relationship; Birney denied the claims, telling *People* magazine in a statement that her account was "an appalling abuse of the truth" and "a kind of fairy tale"[2](https://www.washingtonpost.com/obituaries/2022/05/06/actor-david-birney-dead/).
His first marriage, to Joan (Mary Jean) Concannon in 1961, ended in divorce[4](https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/birney-david-1939). Beyond acting, he chaired the [American Diabetes Association](https://www.edgepedia.org/american-diabetes-association) for five years[6](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0083709/bio/).
## Death
Birney died at his home in [Santa Monica, California](https://www.edgepedia.org/santa-monica-california), in April 2022 at age 83, of Alzheimer's disease, which he had reportedly been battling since 2017[2](https://www.washingtonpost.com/obituaries/2022/05/06/actor-david-birney-dead/) • [6](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0083709/bio/). Obituaries give the date as either April 27 (IMDb, *The Washington Post*) or April 29, 2022 (Television Academy, IBDB, TVInsider)[6](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0083709/bio/) • [3](https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/david-birney-32124).
## References
1. [David Birney | Television Academy](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/david-birney)
2. [David Birney, who starred on 'Bridget Loves Bernie,' dies at 83, The Washington Post](https://www.washingtonpost.com/obituaries/2022/05/06/actor-david-birney-dead/)
3. [David Birney – Broadway Cast & Staff, IBDB](https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/david-birney-32124)
4. [Birney, David 1939–, Encyclopedia.com](https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/birney-david-1939)
5. [David Birney – Actor, TVInsider](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/david-birney/)
6. [David Birney – Biography, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0083709/bio/)
7. [Multi-Media Actor, Dartmouth Alumni Magazine, February 1973](https://archive.dartmouthalumnimagazine.com/article/1973/2/1/multi-media-actor)
8. [David Birney – News, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0083709/news/)
9. [David Birney, Concord Theatricals](https://www.concordtheatricals.com/a/310/david-birney)
10. [David Birney – Broadway & Theatre Credits, BroadwayWorld](https://www.broadwayworld.com/people/David-Birney/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Screen people and creators › Screen actors of the Anglosphere and Europe › American actors: 1970s to 1990s › Surnames Be to Bo*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license