Personal Info
Known For:
Acting
Birthday:
February 18, 1925
Place of Birth:
New York City, New York, USA
Social Media
George Kennedy
Biography
George Kennedy (February 18, 1925 — February 28, 2016) was an American actor. A World War II veteran, Kennedy at one stage in his career cornered the market at playing tough, no-nonsense characters who were either quite crooked or possessed hearts of gold. Kennedy notched up an impressive 200+ appearances in both TV and film, and was well respected within the Hollywood community. He started out in TV westerns in the late 1950s and early 1960s: Have Gun - Will Travel (1957), Rawhide (1959), Maverick (1957), Colt .45 (1957), among others; before scoring minor roles in films including Lonely Are the Brave (1962), The Sons of Katie Elder (1965) and The Flight of the Phoenix (1965). The late 1960s was a very busy period for Kennedy, and he was strongly in favor with casting agents, appearing in Hurry Sundown (1967), The Dirty Dozen (1967) and scoring an Oscar win as Best Supporting Actor for his performance in Cool Hand Luke (1967). The disaster film boom of the 1970s was kind to Kennedy, too, and his talents were in demand for Airport(1970) and the three subsequent sequels, as a grizzled cop in Earthquake (1974), plus the buddy/road film Thunderbolt and Lightfoot (1974) as vicious bank robber Red Leary.
The 1980s saw Kennedy appear in a mishmash of roles, playing various characters; however, Kennedy and Leslie Nielsen surprised everyone with their comedic talents in the hugely successful The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! (1988), and the two screen veterans hammed it up again in, The Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of Fear (1991), plus Naked Gun 33 1/3: The Final Insult (1994).
Kennedy remained busy in Hollywood and lent his distinctive voice to the animated Cats Don't Dance (1997) and the children's action film Small Soldiers (1998). A Hollywood stalwart for nearly 50 years, he is one of the most enjoyable actors to watch on screen. His last role was in the film The Gambler (2014), as Mark Wahlberg's character's grandfather.
George Kennedy died on February 28, 2016 in Middleton, Idaho.
Known For
Filmography
| Year | Movie | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 2014 | The Gambler | Ed |
| 2011 | Another Happy Day | Joe Baker |
| 2010 | 2Everything2Terrible2: Tokyo Drift | (archive footage) |
| 2008 | The Man Who Came Back | Judge Duke |
| 2008 | A Natural Born World-Shaker: The Making of 'Cool Hand Luke' | Self |
| 2008 | The Boneyard Collection | Professor Zebediah Jones (segment "The Devil's Due at Midnight") |
| 2007 | Sands of Oblivion | John Tevis |
| 2006 | Armed and Deadly: The Making of 'The Dirty Dozen' | Self |
| 2005 | Don't Come Knocking | Director |
| 2005 | Truce | Dr. Peter Gannon |
| 2005 | Three Bad Men | Ed Fiske |
| 2003 | Monster Makers | Dexter Brisbane |
| 2003 | View from the Top | Passenger Requesting Vodka (uncredited) |
| 1998 | Small Soldiers | Brick Bazooka (voice) |
| 1998 | Dennis the Menace Strikes Again! | Mr. Johnson |
| 1998 | Dallas: War of The Ewings | Carter McKay |
| 1998 | Hollyweird | George Kennedy |
| 1998 | Men in White | Army |
| 1997 | Cats Don't Dance | L.B. Mammoth (voice) |
| 1997 | Bayou Ghost | Officer Lowe |
| 1996 | Dallas: J.R. Returns | Carter McKay |
| 1994 | Naked Gun 33⅓: The Final Insult | Ed Hocken |
| 1994 | WWE SummerSlam 1994 | Himself |
| 1992 | Final Shot: The Hank Gathers Story | Father Dave Hagan |
| 1992 | Distant Justice | Tom Bradfield |
| 1991 | The Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of Fear | Ed Hocken |
| 1991 | Intensive Care | Dr. Bruckner |
| 1991 | Hangfire | Warden Barles |
| 1991 | Driving Me Crazy | John McCready |
| 1990 | Brain Dead | Vance |
| 1990 | Hired to Kill | Thomas |
| 1990 | Mayumi: Virgin Terrorist | Bahraini Investigator |
| 1990 | The Cops Are Robbers | |
| 1989 | The Terror Within | Hal |
| 1989 | Ministry of Vengeance | Rev. Hughes |
| 1989 | Esmeralda Bay | Wilson |
| 1988 | Demonwarp | Bill Crafton |
| 1988 | The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! | Ed Hocken |
| 1988 | Uninvited | Mike Harvey |
| 1988 | Nightmare at Noon | Sherrif Hanks |
| 1988 | Born to Race | Vincent Duplain |
| 1988 | Top Line | Heinrich Holzmann |
| 1988 | Private Road: No Trespassing | Sam Milshaw |
| 1988 | Counterforce | Vince Colby |
| 1988 | What Price Victory | Big Buck Brayton |
| 1987 | Creepshow 2 | Ray Spruce |
| 1987 | The Gunfighters | Deke Turner |
| 1987 | The Gambler: The Legend Continues | General Nelson Miles |
| 1986 | The Delta Force | Father O'Malley |
| 1986 | Radioactive Dreams | Spade Chandler |
| 1986 | Liberty | Seamus Reilly |
| 1985 | Savage Dawn | Tick Rand |
| 1985 | International Airport | Rudy Van Leuven |
| 1985 | Half Nelson | Parsons |
| 1985 | Rigged | Ben |
| 1984 | Bolero | Cotton |
| 1984 | The Jesse Owens Story | Charles 'Charley' Riley |
| 1984 | Chattanooga Choo Choo | Bert |
| 1984 | Rare Breed | |
| 1982 | Wacko | Mr. Doctor Graves |
| 1982 | The Jupiter Menace | Himself |
| 1981 | Just Before Dawn | Roy McLean |
| 1981 | The Archer: Fugitive from the Empire | Brakus |
| 1981 | Modern Romance | George Kennedy / Zeron |
| 1980 | Death Ship | Captain Ashland |
| 1980 | Virus | Admiral Conway |
| 1980 | Hotwire | Farley & Harley Fontenot |
| 1979 | The Concorde... Airport '79 | Joe Patroni |
| 1979 | Search and Destroy | Anthony Fusqua |
| 1979 | The Double McGuffin | Chief Talasek |
| 1979 | Steel | Big Lew Cassidy |
| 1978 | Death on the Nile | Andrew Pennington |
| 1978 | Brass Target | Gen. George S. Patton |
| 1978 | Mean Dog Blues | Captain Omar Kinsman |
| 1977 | Airport '77 | Joe Patroni |
| 1977 | Proof of the Man | Ken Shuftan |
| 1975 | The Eiger Sanction | Ben Bowman |
| 1975 | The Human Factor | John Kinsdale |
| 1975 | The Blue Knight | Bumper Morgan |
| 1975 | The Lion Roars Again | Self |
| 1974 | Earthquake | Sgt. Lew Slade |
| 1974 | Thunderbolt and Lightfoot | Red Leary |
| 1974 | Airport 1975 | Joe Patroni |
| 1974 | A Cry in the Wilderness | Sam Hadley |
| 1974 | Sonic Boom | Ben Dover |
| 1973 | Cahill: United States Marshal | Abe Fraser |
| 1973 | Lost Horizon | Sam Cornelius |
| 1973 | Deliver Us from Evil | Walter 'Cowboy' McAdams |
| 1972 | The Bull of the West | 'Bear' Suchette |
| 1972 | A Great American Tragedy | Brad Wilkes |
| 1971 | Fools' Parade | Dallas 'Doc' Council |
| 1971 | Sarge: The Badge or the Cross | Sarge Swanson |
| 1971 | The Priest Killer | Father Samuel Cavanaugh |
| 1970 | Airport | Joe Patroni |
| 1970 | Dirty Dingus Magee | Herkimer 'Hoke' Birdsill |
| 1970 | Zig Zag | Paul R. Cameron |
| 1970 | Tick... Tick... Tick... | John Little |
| 1969 | Guns of the Magnificent Seven | Chris |
| 1969 | The Good Guys and the Bad Guys | McKay |
| 1969 | Gaily, Gaily | Axel P. Johanson |
| 1968 | The Boston Strangler | Det. Phil DiNatale |
| 1968 | Bandolero! | Sheriff July Johnson |
| 1968 | The Ballad of Josie | Arch Ogden |
| 1968 | The Pink Jungle | Sammy Ryderbeit |
| 1968 | The Legend of Lylah Clare | Matt Burke |
| 1967 | Cool Hand Luke | Dragline |
| 1967 | The Dirty Dozen | Major Max Armbruster |
| 1967 | Hurry Sundown | Sheriff Coombs |
| 1965 | The Flight of the Phoenix | Bellamy |
| 1965 | Shenandoah | Col. Fairchild |
| 1965 | The Sons of Katie Elder | Curley |
| 1965 | Mirage | Willard |
| 1965 | In Harm's Way | Colonel Gregory |
| 1964 | Hush... Hush, Sweet Charlotte | Foreman |
| 1964 | Strait-Jacket | Leo Krause |
| 1964 | See How They Run | Rudy |
| 1964 | Island of the Blue Dolphins | Aleut Captain |
| 1964 | McHale's Navy | Henri Le Clerc |
| 1963 | Charade | Herman Scobie |
| 1963 | The Man from the Diners' Club | George |
| 1962 | Lonely are the Brave | Deputy Sheriff Gutierrez |
| 1961 | The Little Shepherd Of Kingdom Come | Nathan Dillon |
| 1961 | Gunfight at Black Horses Canyon | Hawk |
| Year | TV Show | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 1996 | The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest | General Axton (voice) |
| 1995 | Santo Bugito | Ralph (voice) |
| 1991 | The Commish | Al Scali |
| 1990 | Wings | George Kennedy |
| 1979 | Backstairs at the White House | Pres. Warren G. Harding |
| 1978 | Dallas | Carter McKay |
| 1975 | Saturday Night Live | Self - Host |
| 1975 | The Blue Knight | Officer Bumper Morgan |
| 1973 | The Dean Martin Celebrity Roasts | Self |
| 1971 | Sarge | Father Samuel Cavanaugh |
| 1967 | Ironside | Father Samuel Cavanaugh |
| 1966 | Tarzan | |
| 1965 | Laredo | |
| 1965 | The Big Valley | Thatcher |
| 1965 | The Legend of Jesse James | Blodgett |
| 1964 | The Rogues | Major Vyx |
| 1964 | Daniel Boone | Zach Morgan |
| 1963 | The Great Adventure | Sergeant Muldaney |
| 1963 | Grindl | |
| 1963 | Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre | Der |
| 1962 | Going My Way | |
| 1962 | The Virginian | Jack Marshman |
| 1962 | The Virginian | Tom 'Bear' Suchette |
| 1962 | The Virginian | Huck Harkness |
| 1962 | The Alfred Hitchcock Hour | George Martin |
| 1961 | Dr. Kildare | Joe Cramer |
| 1961 | The Asphalt Jungle | |
| 1961 | Kraft Mystery Theatre | |
| 1961 | Dr. Kildare | Sergeant Hensley |
| 1961 | The Mike Douglas Show | Self |
| 1960 | The Andy Griffith Show | State Police Detective |
| 1960 | Route 66 | |
| 1960 | Surfside 6 | |
| 1960 | The Tall Man | |
| 1960 | Outlaws | |
| 1960 | Thriller | John Paterson |
| 1959 | Rawhide | George Wales |
| 1959 | Riverboat | Gunner Slagle |
| 1959 | Bonanza | Waldo Watson |
| 1959 | Bonanza | Peter Long |
| 1958 | 77 Sunset Strip | |
| 1958 | Peter Gunn | |
| 1958 | Lawman | |
| 1958 | Bat Masterson | Sheriff Zeke Armitage |
| 1957 | Perry Mason | George Spangler |
| 1957 | Have Gun, Will Travel | |
| 1957 | Maverick | |
| 1957 | Have Gun, Will Travel | Deke - Killer |
| 1957 | Sugarfoot | Ross Kuhn |
| 1957 | Have Gun, Will Travel | Big Jim |
| 1957 | Have Gun, Will Travel | Sam Tarnitzer |
| 1955 | Cheyenne | Lee Nelson |
| 1955 | Gunsmoke | Emil |
| 1955 | Gunsmoke | Bayloe |
| 1955 | Gunsmoke | Swarner |
| 1955 | Gunsmoke | Hug |
| 1955 | Gunsmoke | Stark |
| 1955 | Gunsmoke | Cyrus |
| 1955 | Gunsmoke | Ben Payson |
| 1955 | The Phil Silvers Show | MP Sgt. Kennedy (uncredited) |
| 1953 | The Oscars | Self |