Kip Niven, Magnum Force actor dies at 73

It’s with great sadness I have to report that Magnum Force actor Kip Niven has died at the age of 73; it was confirmed by the Jackson County medical examiner's office in Kansas City, Missouri.

No cause of death was released for the actor, who in later years helped to shape the theatre scene in his native Kansas City.

Robert Urich, with Kip Niven (right) 

Born Clifford Niven, he was raised in the Kansas City suburb of Prairie Village, Kansas, and graduated from Shawnee Mission East High School in 1963.

After time at Baylor University, he shifted to the University of Kansas, where he entered the theatre program and became a mainstay in many of its productions. These led to roles in TV shows of the early 1970s, including "The Sixth Sense" and "Emergency!"

But it was his role as rogue motorcycle cop Astrachan in the 1973 Clint Eastwood film "Magnum Force" made Hollywood take notice. Niven appeared in several disaster films of the era, including "Earthquake" (1974), "Airport 1975" (1974) and "The Hindenburg" (1975).

The actor continued to find success on television well into the 1980s, including on shows such as "The Waltons," where he played the Rev. Tom Marshall.

On the sitcom "Alice," he portrayed Steve Marsh, a country singer who falls in love with the title character played by Linda Lavin and helps her to fulfil her dream to pursue singing. In real life Niven and Lavin were married, and they had a contentious divorce that wound through the New York courts until it was finalized in 1992. Niven marred Lavin in 1982, a year after his actress-wife Susan (whom he had wed in 1968) was killed in an accident.

He later married Beth Reiff and returned with her to Kansas City in the 1990s. Reiff died in 2012.  According to The Kansas City Star, Niven was a founder of the city's Equity Actors' Readers' Theatre and played Phog Allen in "Jayhawkers," a 2014 film directed by University of Kansas film professor and Oscar-winning screenwriter Kevin Willmott.

His long-time friend and collaborator Doug Weaver told the paper that Niven was passionate about acting and helped anyone who wanted to get into theatre. "The most amazing thing about Kip -- he knew every actor in Kansas City," Weaver said. "He was so full of life and joy."

Niven was a fan favourite for his role as the diabolical Richard Sullivan in the 1980 horror film "New Year's Evil." His last completed role listed on Internet Movie Database was as Uncle Fred in the short film "Devil's Food Cake."

Rip Sir.