George Kennedy
- Known for
- Acting
- Born
- February 18, 1925
- Died
- February 28, 2016 (aged 91)
- Birthplace
- New York City, New York, USA
Biography
George Kennedy (February 18, 1925 — February 28, 2016) was a European-American businessman, entrepreneur, A World War II veteran, actor, adviser, radio dj, and author. 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
Photos
Filmography
Airports
Movie
The Gambler
Movie · as Ed
Another Happy Day
Movie · as Joe Baker
2Everything2Terrible2: Tokyo Drift
Movie · as (archive footage)
Six Days in Paradise
Movie · as Monty Crenshaw
The Man Who Came Back
Movie · as Judge Duke
A Natural Born World-Shaker: The Making of 'Cool Hand Luke'
Movie · as Self
The Boneyard Collection
Movie · as Professor Zebediah Jones (segment "The Devil's Due at Midnight")
Sands of Oblivion
Movie · as John Tevis
Armed and Deadly: The Making of 'The Dirty Dozen'
Movie · as Self
Don't Come Knocking
Movie · as Director
Truce
Movie · as Dr. Peter Gannon
Three Bad Men
Movie · as Ed Fiske
Monster Makers
Movie · as Dexter Brisbane
View from the Top
Movie · as Passenger Requesting Vodka (uncredited)
Small Soldiers
Movie · as Brick Bazooka (voice)
Dennis the Menace Strikes Again!
Movie · as Mr. Johnson
Dallas: War of The Ewings
Movie · as Carter McKay
Hollyweird
Movie · as George Kennedy
Men in White
Movie · as Army
Cats Don't Dance
Movie · as L.B. Mammoth (voice)
Bayou Ghost
Movie · as Officer Lowe
Dallas: J.R. Returns
Movie · as Carter McKay
The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest
TV · as General Axton (voice) · 1 ep
Santo Bugito
TV · as Ralph (voice) · 1 ep
Naked Gun 33⅓: The Final Insult
Movie · as Ed Hocken
WWE SummerSlam 1994
Movie · as Himself
Duckman
TV · as Movie Director (voice) · 1 ep
Late Night with Conan O'Brien
TV · as Self - Guest · 1 ep
Final Shot: The Hank Gathers Story
Movie · as Father Dave Hagan
Distant Justice
Movie · as Tom Bradfield
The Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of Fear
Movie · as Ed Hocken
Intensive Care
Movie · as Dr. Bruckner
Hangfire
Movie · as Warden Barles
Driving Me Crazy
Movie · as John McCready
The Commish
TV · as Al Scali · 1 ep
Brain Dead
Movie · as Vance
Hired to Kill
Movie · as Thomas
Mayumi: Virgin Terrorist
Movie · as Bahraini Investigator
Good Cops, Bad Cops
Movie
Wings
TV · as George Kennedy · 1 ep
The Terror Within
Movie · as Hal
Ministry of Vengeance
Movie · as Rev. Hughes
Esmeralda Bay
Movie · as Wilson
Demonwarp
Movie · as Bill Crafton
The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad!
Movie · as Ed Hocken
Uninvited
Movie · as Mike Harvey
Nightmare at Noon
Movie · as Sherrif Hanks
Born to Race
Movie · as Vincent Duplain
Top Line
Movie · as Heinrich Holzmann
Private Road: No Trespassing
Movie · as Sam Milshaw
Counterforce
Movie · as Vince Colby
What Price Victory
Movie · as Big Buck Brayton
Creepshow 2
Movie · as Ray Spruce
The Gunfighters
Movie · as Deke Turner
The Gambler: The Legend Continues
Movie · as General Nelson Miles
The Delta Force
Movie · as Father O'Malley
Radioactive Dreams
Movie · as Spade Chandler
Liberty
Movie · as Seamus Reilly
Savage Dawn
Movie · as Tick Rand
International Airport
Movie · as Rudy Van Leuven
Half Nelson
Movie · as Parsons
Rigged
Movie · as Ben Wheeler
Bolero
Movie · as Cotton
The Jesse Owens Story
Movie · as Charles 'Charley' Riley
Chattanooga Choo Choo
Movie · as Bert
A Rare Breed
Movie
Wacko
Movie · as Mr. Doctor Graves
The Jupiter Menace
Movie · as Himself
Just Before Dawn
Movie · as Roy McLean
The Archer: Fugitive from the Empire
Movie · as Brakus
Modern Romance
Movie · as George Kennedy / Zeron
Death Ship
Movie · as Captain Ashland
Virus
Movie · as Admiral Conway
Hotwire
Movie · as Farley & Harley Fontenot
The Concorde... Airport '79
Movie · as Joe Patroni
Search and Destroy
Movie · as Anthony Fusqua
The Double McGuffin
Movie · as Chief Talasek
Steel
Movie · as Big Lew Cassidy
Backstairs at the White House
TV · as Pres. Warren G. Harding · 4 eps
Death on the Nile
Movie · as Andrew Pennington
Brass Target
Movie · as Gen. George S. Patton
Mean Dog Blues
Movie · as Captain Omar Kinsman
Death on the Nile: Making of Featurette
Movie · as Self
Dallas
TV · as Carter McKay · 52 eps
Airport '77
Movie · as Joe Patroni
Proof of the Man
Movie · as Ken Shuftan
The Eiger Sanction
Movie · as Ben Bowman
The Human Factor
Movie · as John Kinsdale
The Blue Knight
Movie · as Bumper Morgan
The Lion Roars Again
Movie · as Self
Saturday Night Live
TV · as Self - Host · 1 ep
The Blue Knight
TV · as Officer Bumper Morgan · 24 eps
Earthquake
Movie · as Sgt. Lew Slade
Thunderbolt and Lightfoot
Movie · as Red Leary
Airport 1975
Movie · as Joe Patroni
A Cry in the Wilderness
Movie · as Sam Hadley
Sonic Boom
Movie · as Ben Dover
Cahill: United States Marshal
Movie · as Abe Fraser
Lost Horizon
Movie · as Sam Cornelius
Deliver Us from Evil
Movie · as Walter 'Cowboy' McAdams
The Dean Martin Celebrity Roasts
TV · as Self · 1 ep
The Bull of the West
Movie · as 'Bear' Suchette
A Great American Tragedy
Movie · as Brad Wilkes
Fools' Parade
Movie · as Dallas 'Doc' Council
Sarge: The Badge or the Cross
Movie · as Sarge Swanson
The Priest Killer
Movie · as Father Samuel Cavanaugh
Sarge
TV · as Samuel Cavanaugh · 15 eps
Airport
Movie · as Joe Patroni
Dirty Dingus Magee
Movie · as Herkimer 'Hoke' Birdsill
Zig Zag
Movie · as Paul R. Cameron
… tick… tick… tick…
Movie · as John Little
Guns of the Magnificent Seven
Movie · as Chris
The Good Guys and the Bad Guys
Movie · as McKay
Gaily, Gaily
Movie · as Axel P. Johanson
The Boston Strangler
Movie · as Det. Phil DiNatale
Bandolero!
Movie · as Sheriff July Johnson
The Pink Jungle
Movie · as Sammy Ryderbeit
The Legend of Lylah Clare
Movie · as Matt Burke
Cool Hand Luke
Movie · as Dragline
The Dirty Dozen
Movie · as Major Max Armbruster
The Ballad of Josie
Movie · as Arch Ogden
Hurry Sundown
Movie · as Sheriff Coombs
Ironside
TV · as Father Samuel Cavanaugh · 1 ep
Tarzan
TV · 1 ep
The Flight of the Phoenix
Movie · as Bellamy
Shenandoah
Movie · as Col. Fairchild
The Sons of Katie Elder
Movie · as Curley
Mirage
Movie · as Willard
In Harm's Way
Movie · as Colonel Gregory
Laredo
TV · 1 ep
The Big Valley
TV · as Thatcher · 1 ep
The Legend of Jesse James
TV · as Blodgett · 1 ep
Hush... Hush, Sweet Charlotte
Movie · as Foreman
Strait-Jacket
Movie · as Leo Krause
See How They Run
Movie · as Rudy
Island of the Blue Dolphins
Movie · as Aleut Captain
McHale's Navy
Movie · as Henri Le Clerc
The Rogues
TV · as Major Vyx · 1 ep
Daniel Boone
TV · as Zach Morgan · 1 ep
Charade
Movie · as Herman Scobie
The Man from the Diners' Club
Movie · as George
The Great Adventure
TV · as Sergeant Muldaney · 1 ep
Grindl
TV · 1 ep
Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre
TV · as Der · 1 ep
Lonely are the Brave
Movie · as Deputy Sheriff Gutierrez
The Silent Witness
Movie · as Gus Jordan
Going My Way
TV · 1 ep
The Virginian
TV · as Jack Marshman, Tom 'Bear' Suchette, Huck Harkness · 1 ep
The Alfred Hitchcock Hour
TV · as George Martin · 1 ep
The Merv Griffin Show
TV · as Self · 1 ep
The Little Shepherd Of Kingdom Come
Movie · as Nathan Dillon
Gunfight at Black Horses Canyon
Movie · as Hawk
Dr. Kildare
TV · as Joe Cramer, Sergeant Hensley · 2 eps
The Asphalt Jungle
TV · 2 eps
Kraft Mystery Theatre
TV · 1 ep
The Mike Douglas Show
TV · as Self · 1 ep
Gunslinger
TV · as Sheriff · 1 ep
The Andy Griffith Show
TV · as State Police Detective · 1 ep
Route 66
TV · 1 ep
The Tall Man
TV · 2 eps
Outlaws
TV · 1 ep
Thriller
TV · as John Paterson · 1 ep
Surfside 6
TV · as Gabe Buchanan · 1 ep
Rawhide
TV · as George Wales · 1 ep
Riverboat
TV · as Gunner Slagle · 1 ep
Bonanza
TV · as Waldo Watson, Peter Long · 1 ep
77 Sunset Strip
TV · 1 ep
Peter Gunn
TV · 1 ep
Bat Masterson
TV · as Sheriff Zeke Armitage · 1 ep
Lawman
TV · 1 ep
Perry Mason
TV · as George Spangler · 1 ep
Have Gun, Will Travel
TV · as Deke - Killer, Big Jim, Sam Tarnitzer · 4 eps
Sugarfoot
TV · as Ross Kuhn, Sykes · 1 ep
Maverick
TV · as Deputy Jones · 1 ep
Cheyenne
TV · as Lee Nelson · 1 ep
Gunsmoke
TV · as Emil, Swarner, Bayloe, Hug, Stark, Cyrus, Ben Payson · 1 ep
The Phil Silvers Show
TV · as Kennedy (uncredited) · 2 eps
The Oscars
TV · as Self · 3 eps