George Kennedy
Photo: HBO Pressroom / www.hbo.hr
Country: United States
Gender: M
Birthday: 1925-02-18
Died: 2016-02-28
Biography
Sandy-haired, tall and burly George Harris Kennedy, Jr. was born in New York City, to Helen A. (Kieselbach), a ballet dancer, and George Harris Kennedy, an orchestra leader and musician. He had German, Irish, and English ancestry. 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.
Actor:
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1. Have Gun - Will Travel (1957), series...Big Jim
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...Hawk
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3. Lonely Are the Brave (1962), film...Deputy Sheriff Gutierrez
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4. Charade (1963), film...Herman Scobie
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5. Hush...Hush, Sweet Charlotte (1964), film...Foreman
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6. Strait-Jacket (1964), film...Leo Krause
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7. McHale's Navy (1964), series...Henri Le Clerc
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8. In Harm's Way (1965), film...Colonel Gregory
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9. The Flight of the Phoenix (1965), film...Bellamy
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10. The Sons of Katie Elder (1965), film...Curley
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11. Mirage (1965), film...Willard
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12. The Dirty Dozen (1967), film...Major Max Armbruster
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13. Cool Hand Luke (1967), film...Dragline
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14. Hurry Sundown (1967), film...Sheriff Coombs
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15. The Ballad of Josie (1967), film...Arch Ogden
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16. Bandolero! (1968), film...Sheriff July Johnson
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17. The Boston Strangler (1968), film...Phil DiNatale
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18. The Boston Strangler (1968), film...Phil DiNatale
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19. The Pink Jungle (1968), film...Ryderbeit
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20. Guns of the Magnificent Seven (1969), film...Chris
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21. Gaily, Gaily (1969), film...Axel P. Johanson
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22. The Good Guys and the Bad Guys (1969), film...Carter McKay
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23. Airport (1970), film...Patroni
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24. Tick, Tick, Tick (1970), film...John Little
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25. Zig Zag (1970), film...Paul R. Cameron
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26. Dirty Dingus Magee (1970), film...Herkimer 'Hoke' Birdsill
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27. Fools' Parade (1971), film...'Doc' Council
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28. Lost Horizon (1973), film...Sam Cornelius
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29. Cahill U.S. Marshal (1973), film...Fraser
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30. Thunderbolt and Lightfoot (1974), film...Red Leary
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31. Earthquake (1974), film...Slade
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32. Airport 1975 (1974), film...Joe Patroni
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33. The Eiger Sanction (1975), film...Ben Bowman
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34. The "Human" Factor (1975), film...John Kinsdale
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35. Brass Target (1978), film...Gen. George S. Patton
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36. Death on the Nile (1978), film...Andrew Pennington
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37. Dallas (1978), series...Carter McKay
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38. The Concorde... Airport '79 (1979), film...Capt. Joe Patroni
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39. Steel (1979), film...Big Lew Cassidy
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40. Virus: The End (1980), film...Adm. Conway
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41. Deathship (1980), film...Captain Ashland
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42. Modern Romance (1981), film...George Kennedy / Zeron
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43. The Last Horror Show (1982), film...Mr. Doctor Graves
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44. Bolero (1984), film...Cotton
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45. Radioactive Dreams (1985), film...Spade Chandler
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46. The Delta Force (1986), film...Father O'Malley
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47. GUNFIGHTERS (1987), film...Deke Turner
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48. Creepshow 2 (1987), film...Ray Spruce
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49. Uninvited (1987), film...Mike Harvey
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...Gen. Nelson Miles
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51. The Naked Gun (1988), film...Capt. Ed Hocken
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52. Top Line (1988), film...Heinrich Holzmann
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53. Nightmare at Noon (1988), film...Sheriff Hanks
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54. The Terror Within (1989), film...Hal
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55. Ministry of Vengeance (1989), film
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56. Brain Dead (1990), film
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57. The Cops Are Robbers (1990), film
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...Ed Hocken
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59. Driving Me Crazy (1991), film...John McCready
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60. HANGFIRE (1991), film...Warden E. Barles
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61. Distant Justice (1992), film
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...Ed Hocken
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63. Dallas: J.R. Returns (1996), film...Carter McKay
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64. Dennis 2: Dennis Strikes Again! (1998), film...Grandpa
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65. Dallas: War of the Ewings (1998), film...Carter McKay
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66. Monster Makers (2003), film...Dexter Brisbane
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67. Don't Come Knocking (2005), film...Director
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68. Sands Of Oblivion (2007), film...John Tevis
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69. The Man Who Came Back (2008), film
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70. Another Happy Day (2011), film...Joe Baker
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71. The Gambler (2014), film...Ed
Voice:
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1. Cats Don't Dance (1997), film
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2. Small Soldiers (1998), film...Brick Bazooka