It has been revealed that John Kirby passed away on October 2, 2019. He successfully defended Nintendo of America when Universal sued them over Donkey Kong. According to The Gaming Historian, other notable achievements include the following:
- Worked at the DOJ, uncovered widespread voter discrimination against African Americans in the South in the 60’s.
- Personally escorted African American children into segregated schools
- Was a Rhodes Scholar and attended Oxford University
- Rumor has it Nintendo named the character “Kirby” after him.
Source: Norman Caruso @GamingHistorian
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