#Salute Your Shorts Star Kirk Baily Dead At 59

OMG this is a tough one for all the ’90s kids out there. Kirk Baily, star of Nickelodeon’s Salute Your Shorts, has passed away.

The actor’s family confirmed the tragic news to TMZ on Wednesday, sharing that he died from lung cancer over the weekend. Kirk, who was just 59, had been diagnosed with cancer only six months ago.

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As mentioned, Kirk was most famous for his starring role as camp counselor Kevin “Ug” Lee on Nick’s two-season series Salute Your Shorts. His character was often the butt of the jokes from the kids at Camp Anawanna, but he ultimately was someone the audience loved and rooted for.

Before landing the classic gig, he studied comedy The Groundlings and Second City. He got his start in the industry working as a sound coordinator on cult classic movies like Killer Klowns from Outer Space before living his dream as an actor.

Baily had tons of supporting roles in films like 3 Ninjas: High Noon at Mega Mountain and The Sixth Man. After Salute Your Shorts ended, he stayed busy with TV gigs on Felicity, Sisters, NYPD Blue, and dozens of others. Most recently, Kirk was working as a voice actor on popular anime shows and video games including Cowboy Bebop, Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex, and .hack//. He also voiced Brawn in the Transformers movie Bumblebee.

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Fans have taken to social media to mourn his loss this week. Take a look at some of the tributes (below):

“RIP Kirk Baily. Let’s all salute the greatest TV camp counselor of all time, Kevin ‘Ug’ Lee from Salute Your Shorts.”

“Just heard about the passing of Kirk Baily. This is heartbreaking. Great anime voice actor and legendary role on Salute Your Shorts. Thank You for being a part of my childhood. RIP Sir”

“I’ve seen from a couple of friends/colleagues of his that Kirk Baily (best known as Ug from Salute Your Shorts) passed away from cancer yesterday. way way too young. Ug was the *best*. a performance with extreme weirdo energy & a bastion from childhood RIP <3”

R.I.P. Kirk Baily, who played lovable camp counselor Ug on SALUTE YOUR SHORTS, a show I couldn’t get enough of as a summer camp-loving kid. Thanks for the laughs… pic.twitter.com/xXlVSmtpks

— Jeff Sneider (@TheInSneider) March 2, 2022

 

Back in 2019, the cast of Salute Your Shorts reunited in Hollywood at the Good Burger pop-up shop. The actor always remained close with his former co-stars and colleagues.

According to TMZ, Kirk was working until the very end. It remains unclear who he leaves behind, but we are thinking of all his family and friends in this difficult time.

R.I.P.

[Image via NickRewind/YouTube]