Clifford Wallace "Kip" Niven (May 27, 1945 – May 6, 2019) was an American actor and theater director.
Early life Niven was born in Kansas City, Missouri, and grew up in Prairie Village, Kansas, the son of William Watson Niven and Elizabeth Hopkins Niven. He graduated from Shawnee Mission East High School and briefly attended Baylor University, before graduating from University of Kansas. After college, he joined the Army, serving three years, including a tour in Vietnam.
Career In 1972, Niven was featured in the premiere episode of The Sixth Sense. In 1973, he joined David Soul, Robert Urich and Tim Matheson as one of the four rogue cops in Magnum Force, starring Clint Eastwood. He amassed nearly 100 credits in film and television, enjoying recurring roles on TV series such as The Waltons, Alice and Emergency!.
In his later years, Niven returned to the Kansas City area, where he was described as "a pillar of the local theatre scene".
Personal life Niven's first wife, Susan Tisdall Niven, whom he married in 1968 and with whom he had two children, died in a car accident in 1981. In 1982, he married actress Linda Lavin. They divorced in 1992. In 1994, Niven married Beth Reiff, with whom he had a daughter. They remained together until her death in 2012.
Niven lived in the Kansas City suburb of Leawood, Kansas. He died of a heart attack in Kansas City, Missouri, on May 6, 2019, aged 73.
Filmography Year Title Role Notes1972-1973Emergency! Clive Jonas in "Nurse's Wild" and Stan Taylor in "Peace Pipe" (1972) Bo Jensen in "The Promise" and Billy Hanks in "School Days" (1973)1973 Maneater Shep Saunders 1973 Magnum Force Officer Alan "Red" Astrachan 1974Adam-12 Rookie1974 Newman's Law Assistant Coroner 1974 Airport 1975 Lt. Thatcher 1974 Earthquake Walter Russell 1975 The Hindenburg Lieutenant Truscott 1976 Midway Lt. Howard P. Ady, PBY Pilot 1976 Swashbuckler Willard Culverwell 1976 Once an Eagle Ryetower 1976 The Bionic Woman Donald Harris - Episode: "Welcome Home, Jaime: Part 2" 1977 Damnation Alley Perry 1978 A Fire in the Sky Mac 1979 Blind Ambition Egil Krogh 1979-1981 The Waltons Lt. Clarke Oler "The Pin-Up" (1979) Reverend Tom Marshall - Recurring 3 Episodes (1981) 1980 New Year's Evil Richard Sullivan 1980Barnaby JonesTed Singletonepisode" Murder in the Key of C"1981-1985 Alice Steve Marsh - (Recurring 4 Episodes) Travis Marsh - 2 Episodes (1985) 1982 Hart to Hart Ford Beebe Season 4 Episode "Harts On Campus"1993 Dead Before Dawn Ken Fuller 2001 The Painting Doctor 2002 More than Puppy Love Vincent 2006 Raising Jeffrey Dahmer Attorney Howard Parker 2009 The Only Good Indian Dr. Hummber 2014 Jayhawkers Forrest 'Phog' Allen 2017 The Tree Wade Garrison 2017 Goodland Hal Bloom 2019 The Land Farmer Jim (final film role)
References
External links
Kip Niven At Find A Grave