As an actor — and then a Chicago cop — Kevin Michael Doyle had an unusual appreciation for life’s absurdly ironic twists.
His bemusement perhaps peaked as a Chicago Police Department recruit in 1998 when an instructor took one look at him, cocked his head and tried to figure out how he knew the red-haired cadet.
It didn’t take long. He’d seen him in the movie “The Untouchables” — playing a Chicago police recruit.
About a decade earlier, Mr. Doyle played a bumbling recruit in an ad-libbed scene opposite Sean Connery, who won an Oscar for his role in the movie.
Mr. Doyle’s character awkwardly stumbles over his words during a brief and cringe-worthy interview with Connery’s character, who was seeking a young cop with the right stuff to join his mission to put gangster Al Capone behind bars.
After the exchange, Connery sarcastically remarks, “There goes the next chief of police.”
“It’s quite ironic, isn’t it?” said Mr. Doyle’s friend Ron West. “Like the most back-assward thing ever.”
Mr. Doyle, a longtime resident of the Northwest Side who retired from the Chicago Police Department in 2020, died Saturday from pancreatic cancer. He was 68.
He became a police officer after nearly 20 years of trying to make the acting thing work.
“To be frank, he needed a career with stability, and he actually had a lot of friends, being Irish and from the South Side, who were police officers, so he became a cop,” said his daughter, Claire Bersani.
Mr. Doyle was assigned to work in the 18th District, which included Old Town.
He knew the neighborhood well. Before becoming a cop he’d entrenched himself in one of its main institutions — The Second City.
Beginning in the mid-1980s, alongside West, Mr. Doyle performed and wrote for the famed theater company.
While he was on the beat as a cop and bumped into his old comrades from the stage, he couldn’t pass up a chance to have a bit of fun.
“I was at a Starbucks right near Second City once, and I notice a police officer in there, too, and, the next thing I know, he’s right next to me, and it’s, ‘All right buddy, up against the wall!’ just loud enough to scare everybody, and me, and then I saw who it was,” West said with a laugh.
Another time, Mr. Doyle activated the lights and sirens of his squad car to pull over Second City co-founder Bernie Sahlins and, as the story goes, Sahlins, who didn’t recognize Mr. Doyle right away, asked: “Officer, what did I do?”
Mr. Doyle, ticket book in hand, said, “Well, for starters, you sold the best comedy institution in America to a Canadian.” He was referring to the sale of The Second City in 1985 to Canadian Andrew Alexander.
A theater and movie buff, Mr. Doyle once quoted a line from “Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory” as he handed a moving citation printed on gold-colored paper — a golden ticket! — to a driver who coincidentally shared the same name as a character from the movie.
“He was a one-man show, but there was no audience sometimes, and it didn’t matter because he entertained himself,” said his younger brother, Jimmy Doyle.
His nickname among his police friends was “Hollywood.”
“He was a great guy,” said former Second City producer Cheryl Sloane. “That full Chicago South Side Irish guy who was funny and dry and strong and supportive.”
Mr. Doyle also appeared in TV shows including “Early Edition” and the Julia Roberts rom-com “My Best Friend’s Wedding.”
His stage work in Chicago included the 1989 production of “I’m Not Rappaport” with actor Garrett Morris at the Briar Street Theatre.
During his police career, he kept acting when possible, like the time he went on furlough for several weeks in 2001 to perform in the Famous Door Theatre Company production of ”Early and Often.”
Mr. Doyle was born June 30, 1957, to Rosemary Doyle, a homemaker, and Bill “Red” Doyle, a leader in the pipefitters union.
He grew up on the Southwest Side and went to St. Bede the Venerable Grammar School before attending both St. Rita and later Carl Sandburg High School when his family moved to Orland Park.
While studying political science at Northern Illinois University, he roomed with Dan Castellaneta, who later became the voice of Homer Simpson and served as the best man at Mr. Doyle’s wedding.
As a kid with a home movie camera, Mr. Doyle reenacted scenes from his favorite flick “Patton.” Mr. Doyle played the famous World War II general.
“I was a wounded soldier wrapped in gauze,” his brother said.
After college, he moved to New York City to perform with a Shakespeare theater company and later moved to Los Angeles before returning to Chicago.
Between acting gigs, he worked a number of jobs to support himself over the years, including working as a pipefitter and security guard.
At Second City, Mr. Doyle performed with a touring company and became a cast member of Second City e.t.c. — a stage separate from the main stage that was known for an edgier brand of comedy.
“He was part of the two fraternities that, once you’re in, you’re in for life: the Chicago Police Department and The Second City,” said John Rubano, a former Second City castmate. “And he loved them both.”
Mr. Doyle is survived by his wife Mary Lou, daughters Claire Bersani and Eve Doyle and one grandson. Services have been held.
