George Kennedy
Acting
🎂 1925-02-18
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.
Cast credits(184)
State Police Detective
1960
Carter McKay
1978
Self
1961
Joe Cramer
1961
Sergeant Hensley
1961
Waldo Watson
1959
Peter Long
1959
1957
George Martin
1962
Blodgett
1965
George Kennedy
1990
1957
Deke - Killer
1957
Big Jim
1957
Sam Tarnitzer
1957
John Paterson
1960
1960
Zach Morgan
1964
George Spangler
1957
General Axton (voice)
1996
Lee Nelson
1955
Thatcher
1965
Self - Host
1975
1960
1958
Sheriff Zeke Armitage
1958
George Wales
1959
Der
1963
1960
Self
1953
Self
1973
MP Sgt. Kennedy (uncredited)
1955
1962
1958
1966
Ross Kuhn
1957
1961
Father Samuel Cavanaugh
1967
1963
Al Scali
1991
Ralph (voice)
1995
1961
Gunner Slagle
1959
Jack Marshman
1962
Tom 'Bear' Suchette
1962
Huck Harkness
1962
Father Samuel Cavanaugh
1971
Sergeant Muldaney
1963
1958
Emil
1955
Swarner
1955
Bayloe
1955
Hug
1955
Stark
1955
Cyrus
1955
Ben Payson
1955
Major Vyx
1964
Officer Bumper Morgan
1975
1960
1965
Ed Hocken
1988
Ed Hocken
1994
Ed Hocken
1991
Brick Bazooka (voice)
1998
Admiral Conway
1980
Ed
2014
Andrew Pennington
1978
Major Max Armbruster
1967
Dragline
1967
Herman Scobie
1963
Father O'Malley
1986
Joe Patroni
1970
Pres. Warren G. Harding
1979
Vincent Duplain
1988
Bellamy
1965
Sgt. Lew Slade
1974
Ray Spruce
1987
Joe Patroni
1977
Colonel Gregory
1965
Red Leary
1974
Curley
1965
Vance
1990
Joe Patroni
1974
Ben Bowman
1975
Abe Fraser
1973
Sheriff July Johnson
1968
Foreman
1964
Chris
1969
Mr. Johnson
1998
Col. Fairchild
1965
Willard
1965
Deputy Sheriff Gutierrez
1962
Joe Patroni
1979
Mike Harvey
1988
L.B. Mammoth (voice)
1997
Passenger Requesting Vodka (uncredited)
2003
Director
2005
Det. Phil DiNatale
1968
Cotton
1984
Captain Ashland
1980
Ken Shuftan
1977
Hal
1989
Herkimer 'Hoke' Birdsill
1970
McKay
1969
Leo Krause
1964
John Tevis
2007
Arch Ogden
1968
Mr. Doctor Graves
1982
Gen. George S. Patton
1978
Charles 'Charley' Riley
1984
Sam Cornelius
1973
Roy McLean
1981
Joe Baker
2011
General Nelson Miles
1987
George Kennedy / Zeron
1981
Axel P. Johanson
1969
Dallas 'Doc' Council
1971
Judge Duke
2008
Heinrich Holzmann
1988
(archive footage)
2010
Ed Fiske
2005
Matt Burke
1968
Tick Rand
1985
Sheriff Coombs
1967
John Kinsdale
1975
Warden Barles
1991
Parsons
1985
Spade Chandler
1986
George
1963
'Bear' Suchette
1972
Paul R. Cameron
1970
Thomas
1990
Professor Zebediah Jones (segment "The Devil's Due at Midnight")
2008
1990
Aleut Captain
1964
Himself
1994
Henri Le Clerc
1964
Self
1975
Seamus Reilly
1986
John McCready
1991
Bill Crafton
1988
Brakus
1981
Big Lew Cassidy
1979
Bumper Morgan
1975
Brad Wilkes
1972
John Little
1970
Bert
1984
George Kennedy
1998
Sarge Swanson
1971
Carter McKay
1996
Rev. Hughes
1989
Hawk
1961
Sam Hadley
1974
Father Samuel Cavanaugh
1971
Bahraini Investigator
1990
Tom Bradfield
1992
Army
1998
Vince Colby
1988
Chief Talasek
1979
Rudy Van Leuven
1985
Sherrif Hanks
1988
Captain Omar Kinsman
1978
Sam Milshaw
1988
Rudy
1964
Ben Dover
1974
Carter McKay
1998
Self
2006
Big Buck Brayton
1988
Anthony Fusqua
1979
Walter 'Cowboy' McAdams
1973
Wilson
1989
Father Dave Hagan
1992
Deke Turner
1987
Farley & Harley Fontenot
1980
Sammy Ryderbeit
1968
Dr. Peter Gannon
2005
1984
Nathan Dillon
1961
Self
2008
Himself
1982
Dexter Brisbane
2003
Dr. Bruckner
1991
Ben
1985
Officer Lowe
1997