George Kennedy
Personal Info
Known For
Acting
Known Credits
187
Gender
Male
Birthday
1925-02-18
Day of death
2016-02-28 (91 years old)
Place of Birth
New York City, New York, USA
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
The Mike Douglas Show
Bonanza
Bonanza
The Andy Griffith Show
Ironside
Saturday Night Live
Perry Mason
Dallas
Have Gun, Will Travel
Have Gun, Will Travel
Have Gun, Will Travel
Have Gun, Will Travel
The Virginian
The Virginian
The Virginian
Maverick
Peter Gunn
Cheyenne
Rawhide
The Big Valley
Daniel Boone
Dr. Kildare
Dr. Kildare
Wings
Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre
The Alfred Hitchcock Hour
Route 66
Duckman
Lawman
Bat Masterson
Thriller
77 Sunset Strip
Tarzan
Gunsmoke
Gunsmoke
Gunsmoke
Gunsmoke
Gunsmoke
Gunsmoke
Gunsmoke
Sugarfoot
Sugarfoot
Surfside 6
The Oscars
The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest
The Commish
The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad!
Laredo
Naked Gun 33⅓: The Final Insult
The Tall Man
Riverboat
Earthquake
The Phil Silvers Show
The Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of Fear
The Delta Force
The Rogues
Sands of Oblivion
The Great Adventure
Charade
The Gambler
The Dirty Dozen
Final Shot: The Hank Gathers Story
Small Soldiers
The Sons of Katie Elder
Death on the Nile
Going My Way
The Concorde... Airport '79
Airport 1975
Death Ship
The Legend of Jesse James
The Blue Knight
Thunderbolt and Lightfoot
The Boneyard Collection
The Dean Martin Celebrity Roasts
Esmeralda Bay
Outlaws
The Flight of the Phoenix
Cats Don't Dance
Mayumi: Virgin Terrorist
Sonic Boom
The Boston Strangler
Airport '77
Uninvited
Deliver Us from Evil
The Little Shepherd Of Kingdom Come
Santo Bugito
Dallas: J.R. Returns
Virus
Grindl
View from the Top
Strait-Jacket
Born to Race
Proof of the Man
Cahill: United States Marshal
Cool Hand Luke
Creepshow 2
In Harm's Way
The Archer: Fugitive from the Empire
A Great American Tragedy
WWE SummerSlam 1994
Another Happy Day
A Cry in the Wilderness
Don't Come Knocking
Driving Me Crazy
The Human Factor
Savage Dawn
The Ballad of Josie
The Asphalt Jungle
Hurry Sundown
Bolero
Counterforce
The Eiger Sanction
The Pink Jungle
Brass Target
Mean Dog Blues
Sarge
The Good Guys and the Bad Guys
Liberty
Hush... Hush, Sweet Charlotte
Hangfire
The Gunfighters
Monster Makers
Backstairs at the White House
See How They Run
Airport
Kraft Mystery Theatre
Lost Horizon
The Man Who Came Back
The Cops Are Robbers
Chattanooga Choo Choo
Wacko
Shenandoah
Just Before Dawn
Half Nelson
Sarge: The Badge or the Cross
Guns of the Magnificent Seven
The Terror Within
The Gambler: The Legend Continues
Fools' Parade
Radioactive Dreams
Truce
Dennis the Menace Strikes Again!
The Blue Knight
The Bull of the West
Distant Justice
Steel
Modern Romance
Island of the Blue Dolphins
Gunfight at Black Horses Canyon
Hollyweird
Dallas: War of The Ewings
Private Road: No Trespassing
The Jesse Owens Story
Dirty Dingus Magee
The Man from the Diners' Club
Three Bad Men
The Legend of Lylah Clare
Nightmare at Noon
Demonwarp
International Airport
Rigged
Airports
The Double McGuffin
Brain Dead
Men in White
Bandolero!
Mirage
The Priest Killer
Rare Breed
Armed and Deadly: The Making of 'The Dirty Dozen'
Intensive Care
McHale's Navy
2Everything2Terrible2: Tokyo Drift
Top Line
Hired to Kill
Lonely are the Brave
Gaily, Gaily
A Natural Born World-Shaker: The Making of 'Cool Hand Luke'
The Lion Roars Again
Hotwire
Ministry of Vengeance
Zig Zag
Bayou Ghost
Tick... Tick... Tick...
Search and Destroy
What Price Victory
The Jupiter Menace
