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.
Personal info
Gender
Male
Birthday
1925-02-18
Place of birth
New York City, New York, USA
Images
Cast
Cool Hand Luke
1967
7.70
The Dirty Dozen
1967
7.60
The Flight of the Phoenix
1965
7.20
Hush... Hush, Sweet Charlotte
1964
7.30
Airport
1970
6.50
Death on the Nile
1978
7.10
Charade
1963
7.70
The Eiger Sanction
1975
6.14
Earthquake
1974
6.10
Shenandoah
1965
6.90
Bolero
1984
3.30
Brain Dead
1990
5.62
Cahill: United States Marshal
1973
6.10
Small Soldiers
1998
6.60
Sands of Oblivion
2007
4.50
Thunderbolt and Lightfoot
1974
6.80
Airport '77
1977
5.58
The Human Factor
1975
5.70
Death Ship
1980
5.20
Guns of the Magnificent Seven
1969
5.30
The Boston Strangler
1968
6.68
Airport 1975
1974
5.70
Don't Come Knocking
2005
6.20
Demonwarp
1988
3.80
The Terror Within
1989
4.40
The Concorde... Airport '79
1979
4.70
Naked Gun 33⅓: The Final Insult
1994
6.50
Strait-Jacket
1964
6.50
Bandolero!
1968
6.50
Virus
1980
6.35
Another Happy Day
2011
5.54
Lonely are the Brave
1962
7.38
The Delta Force
1986
5.95
The Sons of Katie Elder
1965
7.00
Dennis the Menace Strikes Again!
1998
5.40
Creepshow 2
1987
6.24
Uninvited
1988
4.75
The Man Who Came Back
2008
4.35
Radioactive Dreams
1986
5.26
Fools' Parade
1971
6.50
Just Before Dawn
1981
5.95
Dirty Dingus Magee
1970
4.29
Mirage
1965
7.00
The Good Guys and the Bad Guys
1969
5.54
The Ballad of Josie
1968
5.89
Nightmare at Noon
1988
4.50
Brass Target
1978
5.40
Zig Zag
1970
7.50
Search and Destroy
1979
6.80
Wacko
1982
5.00
… tick… tick… tick…
1970
6.50
The Gunfighters
1987
4.00
Savage Dawn
1985
4.13
Hired to Kill
1990
4.60
The Double McGuffin
1979
4.95
Lost Horizon
1973
5.40
Steel
1979
5.50
Born to Race
1988
4.75
Monster Makers
2003
3.00
Top Line
1988
4.00
The Bull of the West
1972
5.40
Gaily, Gaily
1969
3.70
Intensive Care
1991
2.00
Hurry Sundown
1967
6.40
Mean Dog Blues
1978
4.42
The Man from the Diners' Club
1963
5.00
Hotwire
1980
5.00
Private Road: No Trespassing
1988
4.00
Deliver Us from Evil
1973
7.30
Ministry of Vengeance
1989
3.00
The Jupiter Menace
1982
5.50
A Cry in the Wilderness
1974
6.00
Dallas: War of The Ewings
1998
5.30
Liberty
1986
5.00
The Pink Jungle
1968
6.60
A Great American Tragedy
1972
6.70
See How They Run
1964
4.00
Counterforce
1988
5.30
Esmeralda Bay
1989
4.40
Sarge: The Badge or the Cross
1971
0.00
In Harm's Way
1965
6.56
The Legend of Lylah Clare
1968
5.90
Hangfire
1991
4.00
The Jesse Owens Story
1984
7.90
Island of the Blue Dolphins
1964
6.20
Proof of the Man
1977
7.50
The Blue Knight
1975
0.00
International Airport
1985
5.00
The Gambler
2014
6.02
Hollyweird
1998
2.75
Half Nelson
1985
0.00
Dallas: J.R. Returns
1996
5.40
Modern Romance
1981
6.70
Truce
2005
3.70
McHale's Navy
1964
4.60
What Price Victory
1988
0.00
Three Bad Men
2005
1.00
View from the Top
2003
5.60
Distant Justice
1992
3.00
Driving Me Crazy
1991
3.70
Chattanooga Choo Choo
1984
5.00
Men in White
1998
3.40
Mayumi: Virgin Terrorist
1990
5.00
Rigged
1985
9.70
Gunfight at Black Horses Canyon
1961
5.60
The Cops Are Robbers
1990
3.00
Cats Don't Dance
1997
7.22
Rare Breed
1984
0.00
Sonic Boom
1974
4.50
The Boneyard Collection
2008
5.30
WWE SummerSlam 1994
1994
5.70
The Lion Roars Again
1975
0.00
The Priest Killer
1971
0.00
Bayou Ghost
1997
0.00
Airports
2025
0.00