George Kennedy

George Kennedy

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.

Place of Birth: Not available

Birthday: February 18, 1925

Deathday: February 28, 2016

Popularity:

15.935

Known For

Cool Hand Luke
Cool Hand Luke

1967-11-01

The Dirty Dozen
The Dirty Dozen

1967-06-15

The Flight of the Phoenix
The Flight of the Phoenix

1965-12-15

Hush... Hush, Sweet Charlotte
Hush... Hush, Sweet Charlotte

1964-12-15

Airport
Airport

1970-03-25

Death on the Nile
Death on the Nile

1978-09-29

Charade
Charade

1963-12-01

The Eiger Sanction
The Eiger Sanction

1975-05-21

Earthquake
Earthquake

1974-11-15

Shenandoah
Shenandoah

1965-06-03

Bolero
Bolero

1984-08-31

Brain Dead
Brain Dead

1990-01-16

Cahill: United States Marshal
Cahill: United States Marshal

1973-07-11

Small Soldiers
Small Soldiers

1998-07-10

Sands of Oblivion
Sands of Oblivion

2007-07-28

Death on the Nile: Making of Featurette
Death on the Nile: Making of Featurette

1978-01-01

Thunderbolt and Lightfoot
Thunderbolt and Lightfoot

1974-05-23

Airport '77
Airport '77

1977-03-11

The Human Factor
The Human Factor

1975-11-19

Armed and Deadly: The Making of 'The Dirty Dozen'
Armed and Deadly: The Making of 'The Dirty Dozen'

2006-01-01

Death Ship
Death Ship

1980-03-07

Guns of the Magnificent Seven
Guns of the Magnificent Seven

1969-07-14

The Boston Strangler
The Boston Strangler

1968-10-08

Airport 1975
Airport 1975

1974-10-18

Don't Come Knocking
Don't Come Knocking

2005-08-25

Demonwarp
Demonwarp

1988-03-01

The Terror Within
The Terror Within

1989-01-20

The Concorde... Airport '79
The Concorde... Airport '79

1979-08-17

Naked Gun 33⅓: The Final Insult
Naked Gun 33⅓: The Final Insult

1994-03-18

Strait-Jacket
Strait-Jacket

1964-01-19

Bandolero!
Bandolero!

1968-06-01

Virus
Virus

1980-06-26

Another Happy Day
Another Happy Day

2011-11-18

Lonely are the Brave
Lonely are the Brave

1962-05-24

The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad!
The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad!

1988-12-02

The Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of Fear
The Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of Fear

1991-06-28

The Delta Force
The Delta Force

1986-02-14

The Sons of Katie Elder
The Sons of Katie Elder

1965-06-23

Dennis the Menace Strikes Again!
Dennis the Menace Strikes Again!

1998-07-14

Creepshow 2
Creepshow 2

1987-05-01

Uninvited
Uninvited

1988-08-24

The Man Who Came Back
The Man Who Came Back

2008-02-08

Radioactive Dreams
Radioactive Dreams

1986-09-19

Fools' Parade
Fools' Parade

1971-08-18

Just Before Dawn
Just Before Dawn

1981-10-14

Dirty Dingus Magee
Dirty Dingus Magee

1970-11-18

Mirage
Mirage

1965-10-29

The Good Guys and the Bad Guys
The Good Guys and the Bad Guys

1969-10-10

The Ballad of Josie
The Ballad of Josie

1968-02-01

Nightmare at Noon
Nightmare at Noon

1988-06-29

The Archer: Fugitive from the Empire
The Archer: Fugitive from the Empire

1981-04-12

Brass Target
Brass Target

1978-12-22

Zig Zag
Zig Zag

1970-05-01

Search and Destroy
Search and Destroy

1979-07-05

Wacko
Wacko

1982-11-12

Tick... Tick... Tick...
Tick... Tick... Tick...

1970-01-09

The Gunfighters
The Gunfighters

1987-01-01

Savage Dawn
Savage Dawn

1986-05-22

A Natural Born World-Shaker: The Making of 'Cool Hand Luke'
A Natural Born World-Shaker: The Making of 'Cool Hand Luke'

2008-12-16

Hired to Kill
Hired to Kill

1990-11-10

The Double McGuffin
The Double McGuffin

1979-06-01

Lost Horizon
Lost Horizon

1973-03-14

Steel
Steel

1979-10-21

Born to Race
Born to Race

1988-01-29

The Little Shepherd Of Kingdom Come
The Little Shepherd Of Kingdom Come

1961-06-01

Monster Makers
Monster Makers

2003-10-26

Top Line
Top Line

1988-08-16

The Bull of the West
The Bull of the West

1972-05-04

Gaily, Gaily
Gaily, Gaily

1969-12-16

Intensive Care
Intensive Care

1991-10-31

Hurry Sundown
Hurry Sundown

1967-02-09

Mean Dog Blues
Mean Dog Blues

1978-03-03

The Man from the Diners' Club
The Man from the Diners' Club

1963-04-17

Hotwire
Hotwire

1980-09-01

Private Road: No Trespassing
Private Road: No Trespassing

1988-06-15

Deliver Us from Evil
Deliver Us from Evil

1973-09-11

The Gambler, Part III: The Legend Continues
The Gambler, Part III: The Legend Continues

1987-11-22

Ministry of Vengeance
Ministry of Vengeance

1989-11-03

The Jupiter Menace
The Jupiter Menace

1982-11-19

A Cry in the Wilderness
A Cry in the Wilderness

1974-03-26

Dallas - War of The Ewings
Dallas - War of The Ewings

1998-04-23

Liberty
Liberty

1986-06-23

The Pink Jungle
The Pink Jungle

1968-10-16

A Great American Tragedy
A Great American Tragedy

1972-10-18

See How They Run
See How They Run

1964-10-07

Counterforce
Counterforce

1988-02-05

Esmeralda Bay
Esmeralda Bay

1989-05-18

Sarge: The Badge or the Cross
Sarge: The Badge or the Cross

1971-02-22

In Harm's Way
In Harm's Way

1965-04-06

The Legend of Lylah Clare
The Legend of Lylah Clare

1968-08-21

The Jesse Owens Story
The Jesse Owens Story

1984-07-09

Hangfire
Hangfire

1991-01-11

Island of the Blue Dolphins
Island of the Blue Dolphins

1964-09-10

Proof of the Man
Proof of the Man

1977-10-08

The Blue Knight
The Blue Knight

1975-05-09

International Airport
International Airport

1985-05-25

The Gambler
The Gambler

2014-12-25

Hollyweird
Hollyweird

1998-01-01

Half Nelson
Half Nelson

1985-03-24

Final Shot: The Hank Gathers Story
Final Shot: The Hank Gathers Story

1992-04-01

Dallas: J.R. Returns
Dallas: J.R. Returns

1996-11-14

Modern Romance
Modern Romance

1981-03-13

Truce
Truce

2005-01-01

McHale's Navy
McHale's Navy

1964-06-25

What Price Victory
What Price Victory

1988-01-18

Three Bad Men
Three Bad Men

2005-01-15

View from the Top
View from the Top

2003-03-21

2Everything2Terrible2: Tokyo Drift
2Everything2Terrible2: Tokyo Drift

2010-08-03

Distant Justice
Distant Justice

1992-12-01

Driving Me Crazy
Driving Me Crazy

1991-05-16

Chattanooga Choo Choo
Chattanooga Choo Choo

1984-05-18

Men in White
Men in White

1998-08-16

Mayumi: Virgin Terrorist
Mayumi: Virgin Terrorist

1990-06-09

Rigged
Rigged

1985-05-15

Gunfight at Black Horses Canyon
Gunfight at Black Horses Canyon

1961-10-17

The Cops Are Robbers
The Cops Are Robbers

1990-12-09

Cats Don't Dance
Cats Don't Dance

1997-03-26

Rare Breed
Rare Breed

1984-10-10

Sonic Boom
Sonic Boom

1974-01-01

The Boneyard Collection
The Boneyard Collection

2008-01-01

WWE SummerSlam 1994
WWE SummerSlam 1994

1994-08-29

The Lion Roars Again
The Lion Roars Again

1975-01-01

The Priest Killer
The Priest Killer

1971-09-14

}