David Edwin Birney is an American actor/director whose career has performances in both contemporary and classical roles in theatre, film and television. He has three children, a daughter Kate, and twins, Peter and Mollie. Birney was born in Washington, D.C., the first child of Jeanne and Edwin B. Birney, a special agent for the FBI. He is of Irish, Scots, German and Cherokee descent. The oldest of four boys, he moved to Cleveland when his father was transferred from Washington. He was raised a Roman Catholic. He attended schools in Brooklyn, Ohio and graduated from West High School in... Cleveland. Named to the National Honor Society, he lettered in basketball, football and track. He holds a B.A. degree from Dartmouth College with "High Distinction" in English Literature, English Honors. A scholarship student at Dartmouth, Birney was a member of Casque and Gauntlet, a senior honor society, Green Key, the Sophomore Orientation Committee, Sigma Nu, and served on the Directorate of the Players. He was awarded a Dartmouth Fellowship for graduate study. At UCLA, Birney earned an M. A.
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