Known For
Acting
Born
Feb 18, 1925
Died
Feb 28, 2016
Place of Birth
New York City, New York, USA
Credits
178 titles
George Kennedy
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
Filmography
Airports
The Gambler
Ed
Another Happy Day
Joe Baker
Six Days in Paradise
Monty Crenshaw
2Everything2Terrible2: Tokyo Drift
(archive footage)
A Natural Born World-Shaker: The Making of 'Cool Hand Luke'
Self
The Man Who Came Back
Judge Duke
The Boneyard Collection
Professor Zebediah Jones (segment "The Devil's Due at Midnight")
Sands of Oblivion
John Tevis
Armed and Deadly: The Making of 'The Dirty Dozen'
Self
Don't Come Knocking
Director
Three Bad Men
Ed Fiske
Truce
Dr. Peter Gannon
Monster Makers
Dexter Brisbane
View from the Top
Passenger Requesting Vodka (uncredited)
Men in White
Army
Dennis the Menace Strikes Again!
Mr. Johnson
Small Soldiers
Brick Bazooka (voice)
Dallas: War of The Ewings
Carter McKay
Hollyweird
George Kennedy
Cats Don't Dance
L.B. Mammoth (voice)
Bayou Ghost
Officer Lowe
Dallas: J.R. Returns
Carter McKay
The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest
General Axton (voice)
Santo Bugito
Ralph (voice)
WWE SummerSlam 1994
Himself
Naked Gun 33⅓: The Final Insult
Ed Hocken
Duckman
Movie Director (voice)
Late Night with Conan O'Brien
Self - Guest
Distant Justice
Tom Bradfield
Final Shot: The Hank Gathers Story
Father Dave Hagan
Intensive Care
Dr. Bruckner
The Commish
Al Scali
The Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of Fear
Ed Hocken
Driving Me Crazy
John McCready
Hangfire
Warden Barles
Good Cops, Bad Cops
Mayumi: Virgin Terrorist
Bahraini Investigator
Hired to Kill
Thomas
Wings
George Kennedy
Brain Dead
Vance
Ministry of Vengeance
Rev. Hughes
Esmeralda Bay
Wilson
The Terror Within
Hal
The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad!
Ed Hocken
Uninvited
Mike Harvey
Top Line
Heinrich Holzmann
Nightmare at Noon
Sherrif Hanks
Private Road: No Trespassing
Sam Milshaw
Demonwarp
Bill Crafton