Kip Niven

Kip Niven was an American actor born on May 27, 1945 in Kansas City, Missouri. Born Clifford Wallace Niven, he graduated Shawnee Mission East High School in 1963 then attended Baylor University. He decided to transfer to University of Kansas to pursue theater, and eventually made his television debut in an episode of the first season of the long-running soap opera "One Life to Live" (ABC, 1968-2013). Also in 1968, Niven married his first wife Susan, with whom he'd have two children, Kate and Jim. Niven worked constantly in television throughout much of his career, but he made his film debut as Astrachan in "Magnum Force" (1973). His role as the dirty cop in the Clint Eastwood-led "Dirty Harry" (1971) sequel is still one of his most recognizable. Niven appeared in a series of popular disaster films of the 1970s, including "Earthquake" (1974), and made a 1976 appearance on "The Bionic Woman" (ABC/NBC, 1976-78). He played Lt. Clarke Oler in 1979 before taking on the role of Rev. Tom Marshall on "The Waltons" (CBS, 1972-81) in 1981. By this point, Niven landed his most popular role: Steve Marsh on "Alice" (CBS, 1976-1985), a love interest of Linda Lavin's title character. Unfortunately, also in 1981, Niven's wife Susan died in a car crash. The next year, however, Niven and Lavin would marry, divorcing a decade later in 1992. Throughout the '80s, Niven made episodic appearances on hit shows like "Hart to Hart" (ABC, 1979-84), "CHiPs" (NBC, 1977-83), "Simon & Simon" (CBS, 1981-89), and "Knight Rider" (NBC, 1982-86), but by the 1990s, his appearances slowed. He landed a role in a 1994 episode of "Law & Order" (NBC, 1990-2010) before moving back to his native Kansas City in 1995, where he participated in local theater and radio. Niven also married Mary Beth Reiff in 1994, and their daughter Maggie was born the same year; Reiff would unfortunately pass away in 2012. He made his final TV series appearance in two episodes of "Walker, Texas Ranger" (CBS, 1993-2001) in 2000, and his final film appearance in a low-budget film entitled "The Land" (2019). Niven passed away on May 6, 2019 in Kansas City.