Dennis Fimple, an exceptional and captivating character actor, was born on November 11, 1940, in Ventura, California, and grew up in the nearby town of Taft. His father, Elmer, was an electrician, and his mother, Dolly, was a beautician. Dennis's interest in acting was sparked after he portrayed Tom Sawyer in a junior high school play. He attended Taft Union High School and later received a scholarship to San Jose College, where he majored in both speech and drama, and earned a teaching credential.
In his early days, Dennis worked in a Cheetos factory by day and acted in dinner theater at night. He eventually moved to Hollywood, where he worked as a teacher by day and a delivery man by night before landing his first break, a 2-episode guest appearance on Petticoat Junction in 1963.
Dennis is best known for his lovably dim-witted portrayal of Kyle Murty on the comedy Western television program Alias Smith and Jones in 1971. He appeared in numerous TV series throughout his career, including Here Come the Brides, M*A*S*H, The Rockford Files, Starsky and Hutch, Battlestar Galactica, The Dukes of Hazzard, Matt Houston, Highway to Heaven, Knight Rider, The A-Team, The Incredible Hulk, Simon & Simon, Sledge Hammer!, Quantum Leap, Sabrina the Teenage Witch, and ER.
Fimple was frequently cast as scruffy rural types in both films and TV shows. Some of his most memorable movie roles include the amiable Curly in Truck Stop Women, easygoing moonshine runner Dewey Crenshaw in Bootleggers, likable eager beaver college anthropology student Pahoo in Creature from Black Lake, the goofy Sunfish in the King Kong remake, and cloddish fur trapper Posey in The Shadow of Chikara. His last film part was as the madcap Grandpa Hugo Firefly in Rob Zombie's House of 1000 Corpses in 2003.
In addition to his acting career, Dennis was an avid reader and a lover of antiques and collectibles. He is the father of son Chris. Dennis Fimple passed away at the age of 61 due to complications from a car accident at his home in Frazier Park, California on August 23, 2002.
