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George Kennedy

Actor / Officer (armed Forces) | * 02/18/1925 († 91, 02/28/2016) | New York City, New York (United States of America (USA))
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George Harris Kennedy Jr. (February 18, 1925 – February 28, 2016) was an American actor who appeared in more than 100 film and television productions. He played "Dragline" in Cool Hand Luke (1967), winning the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for the role and being nominated for the corresponding Golden Globe. He received a second Golden Globe nomination for portraying Joe Patroni in Airport (1970). Among other films he had a significant role in are Lonely Are the Brave, Charade, Strait-Jacket, McHale's Navy, Hush… Hush, Sweet Charlotte, Mirage, Shenandoah, The Sons of Katie El..."> ()
Photo of George Kennedy

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 includingLonely Are the Brave(1962),The Sons of Katie Elder(1965) andThe 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 inHurry Sundown(1967),The Dirty Dozen(1967) and scoring an Oscar win as Best Supporting Actor for his performance inCool Hand Luke(1967). The disaster film boom of the 1970s was kind to Kennedy, too, and his talents were in demand forAirport(1970) and the three subsequent sequels, as a grizzled cop inEarthquake(1974), plus the buddy/road filmThunderbolt and Lightfoot(1974) as vicious bank robber Red Leary.The 1980s saw Kennedy appear in a mishmash of roles, playing various characters; however, Kennedy andLeslie Nielsensurprised everyone with their comedic talents in the hugely successfulThe 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), plusNaked Gun 33 1/3: The Final Insult(1994).Kennedy remained busy in Hollywood and lent his distinctive voice to the animatedCats Don't Dance(1997) and the children's action filmSmall 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 filmThe Gambler(2014), asMark Wahlberg's character's grandfather.George Kennedy died on February 28, 2016 in Middleton, Idaho.

Most frequent genres for this person: Drama | Comedies | Action

Known for these Movies & Shows

Bumbling lieutenant Frank Drebin is out to foil the big boys in the energy industry, who intend to suppress technology that will put them out of business. ...

The Naked Gun 2 1/2: The Smell of Fear

PG-13

1991 | 3.4/5 | 1h 25min
Comedy, Crime
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With the help of an irreverent young sidekick, a bank robber gets his old gang back together to organise a daring new heist. ...

Thunderbolt and Lightfoot

R

1974 | 3.4/5 | 1h 55min
Crime, Comedy, Action
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Melodrama about a bomber on board an airplane, an airport almost closed by snow, and various personal problems of the people involved. ...

Airport

PG

1970 | 3.2/5 | 2h 17min
Action, Drama, Thriller
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When petty criminal Luke Jackson is sentenced to two years in a Florida prison farm, he doesn't play by the rules of either the sadistic warden or the yard's resident heavy, Dragline, who ends up admi ...

Cool Hand Luke

PG

1967 | 3.9/5 | 2h 7min
Crime, Drama
available on:
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Awards & Nominations for George Kennedy

Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor Star On Hollywood Walk of Fame Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Supporting Actor
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Movies with George Kennedy as Actor(119)

as Ed2014 The Gambler
as Joe Baker2011 Another Happy Day
as Judge Duke2008 The Man Who Came Back
as Professor Zebediah Jones (segment "The Devil's Due at Midnight")2008 The Boneyard Collection
as John Tevis2007 Sands of Oblivion
as himself2006 Armed and Deadly: The Making of 'The Dirty Dozen'
as Dr. Peter Gannon2005 Truce
as Ed Fiske2005 Three Bad Men
as Director2005 Don't Come Knocking
as Passenger Requesting Vodka (uncredited)2003 View from the Top
as Dexter Brisbane2003 Monster Makers
as Brick Bazooka (voice)1998 Small Soldiers
as Carter McKay1998 Dallas - War of The Ewings
as General Vice1998 Men in White
as Mr. Johnson1998 Dennis the Menace Strikes Again!
as L.B. Mammoth (voice)1997 Cats Don't Dance
as Carter McKay1996 Dallas: J.R. Returns
as himself1994 WWE SummerSlam 1994
as Ed Hocken1994 Naked Gun 33⅓: The Final Insult
as Father Dave Hagan1992 Final Shot: The Hank Gathers Story
as Tom Bradfield1992 Distant Justice
as John McCready1991 Driving Me Crazy
as Captain Ed Hocken1991 The Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of Fear
as Warden Barles1991 Hangfire
as Dr. Bruckner1991 Intensive Care
as Thomas1990 Hired to Kill
as Bahraini Investigator1990 Mayumi: Virgin Terrorist
as Vance1990 Brain Dead
1990 The Cops Are Robbers
as Wilson1989 Esmeralda Bay
as Hal1989 The Terror Within
as Rev. Hughes1989 Ministry of Vengeance
as Bill Crafton1988 Demonwarp
as Sherrif Hanks1988 Nightmare at Noon
as Capt. Ed Hocken1988 The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad!
as Sam Milshaw1988 Private Road: No Trespassing
as Vince Colby1988 Counterforce
as Big Buck Brayton1988 What Price Victory
as Vincent Duplain1988 Born to Race
as Heinrich Holzmann1988 Top Line
as Mike Harvey1988 Uninvited
as General Nelson Miles1987 The Gambler, Part III: The Legend Continues
as Deke Turner1987 The Gunfighters
as Ray Spruce (segment "Old Chief Wood'nhead")1987 Creepshow 2
as Father O'Malley1986 The Delta Force
as Spade Chandler1986 Radioactive Dreams
as Parsons1985 Half Nelson
as Rudy Van Leuven1985 International Airport
as Tick Rand1985 Savage Dawn
as Ben1985 Rigged
as Charles 'Charley' Riley1984 The Jesse Owens Story
1984 Rare Breed
as Bert1984 Chattanooga Choo Choo
as Cotton1984 Bolero
as Mr. Doctor Graves1982 Wacko
as himself1982 The Jupiter Menace
as Roy McLean1981 Just Before Dawn
as George Kennedy / Zeron1981 Modern Romance
as Brakus1981 The Archer: Fugitive from the Empire
as Admiral Conway1980 Virus
as Farley & Harley Fontenot1980 Hotwire
as Captain Ashland1980 Death Ship
as Joe Patroni1979 The Concorde... Airport '79
as Big Lew Cassidy1979 Steel
as Chief Talasek1979 The Double McGuffin
as Anthony Fusqua1979 Search and Destroy
as Captain Omar Kinsman1978 Mean Dog Blues
as Gen. George S. Patton1978 Brass Target
as Andrew Pennington1978 Death on the Nile
as Self / Andrew Pennington1978 Death on the Nile: Making of Featurette
as Joe Patroni1977 Airport '77
as Ken Shuftan1977 Proof of the Man
as himself1975 The Lion Roars Again
as Ben Bowman1975 The Eiger Sanction
as John Kinsdale1975 The Human Factor
as Bumper Morgan1975 The Blue Knight
as Sgt. Lew Slade1974 Earthquake
as Red Leary1974 Thunderbolt and Lightfoot
as Joe Patroni1974 Airport 1975
as Sam Hadley1974 A Cry in the Wilderness
as Ben Dover1974 Sonic Boom
as Abe Fraser1973 Cahill U.S. Marshal
as Sam Cornelius1973 Lost Horizon
as Walter 'Cowboy' McAdams1973 Deliver Us from Evil
as Brad Wilkes1972 A Great American Tragedy
as 'Bear' Suchette1972 The Bull of the West
as Sarge Swanson1971 Sarge: The Badge or the Cross
as Dallas 'Doc' Council1971 Fools' Parade
as Paul R. Cameron1970 Zig Zag
as Herkimer 'Hoke' Birdsill1970 Dirty Dingus Magee
as Joe Patroni1970 Airport
as John Little1970 … tick… tick… tick…
as Chris1969 Guns of the Magnificent Seven
as Axel P. Johanson1969 Gaily, Gaily
as McKay1969 The Good Guys and the Bad Guys
as Sheriff July Johnson1968 Bandolero!
as Sammy Ryderbeit1968 The Pink Jungle
as Det. Phil DiNatale1968 The Boston Strangler
as Matt Burke (uncredited)1968 The Legend of Lylah Clare
as Arch Ogden1968 The Ballad of Josie
as Sheriff Coombs1967 Hurry Sundown
as Dragline1967 Cool Hand Luke
as Major Max Armbruster1967 The Dirty Dozen
as Curley1965 The Sons of Katie Elder
as Colonel Gregory1965 In Harm's Way
as Bellamy1965 The Flight of the Phoenix
as Willard1965 Mirage
as Col. Fairchild1965 Shenandoah
as Aleut Captain1964 Island of the Blue Dolphins
as Rudy1964 See How They Run
as Foreman1964 Hush... Hush, Sweet Charlotte
as Henri Le Clerc1964 McHale's Navy
as Leo Krause1964 Strait-Jacket
as Herman Scobie1963 Charade
as George1963 The Man from the Diners' Club
as Deputy Sheriff Gutierrez1962 Lonely Are the Brave
as Hawk1961 Gunfight at Black Horses Canyon
as Nathan Dillon1961 The Little Shepherd Of Kingdom Come
as Rebel Soldier (uncredited)1960 Spartacus

TV Shows/Series with George Kennedy as Actor(50)

as General Axton (voice)1996 The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest
1995 Santo Bugito
1991 The Commish
1990 Wings
as Pres. Warren G. Harding1979 Backstairs at the White House
as Carter McKay1978 Dallas
1975 The Blue Knight
as Self - Host1975 Saturday Night Live
as Father Samuel Cavanaugh1971 Sarge
1966 Tarzan
1965 Laredo
as Thatcher1965 The Big Valley
as Blodgett1965 The Legend of Jesse James
as Major Vyx1964 The Rogues
as Zach Morgan1964 Daniel Boone
as Sergeant Muldaney1963 The Great Adventure
1963 Grindl
as George Martin1962 The Alfred Hitchcock Hour
as Jack Marshman1962 The Virginian
as Tom 'Bear' Suchette1962 The Virginian
as Huck Harkness1962 The Virginian
1962 Going My Way
as Joe Cramer1961 Dr. Kildare
as Sergeant Hensley1961 Dr. Kildare
1961 Kraft Mystery Theatre
1960 The Andy Griffith Show
as John Paterson1960 Thriller
1960 The Tall Man
1960 Surfside 6
1960 Outlaws
1960 Route 66
as George Wales1959 Rawhide
as Gunner Slagle1959 Riverboat
as Waldo Watson1959 Bonanza
as Peter Long1959 Bonanza
1958 77 Sunset Strip
as Sheriff Zeke Armitage1958 Bat Masterson
1958 Lawman
1958 Peter Gunn
1957 Have Gun, Will Travel
as George Spangler1957 Perry Mason
1957 Maverick
as Emil1955 Gunsmoke
as Bayloe1955 Gunsmoke
as Swarner1955 Gunsmoke
as Hug1955 Gunsmoke
as Stark1955 Gunsmoke
as Cyrus1955 Gunsmoke
as Ben Payson1955 Gunsmoke
1955 Cheyenne

Full Name: George Kennedy
Born: Wednesday, 02/18 1925 (February) in New York City, New York (United States of America (USA))
Died: Sunday, 02/28 2016 (February) in Middleton (aged: 91)
Zodiac sign: Aquarius (Chinese zodiac sign: Ox)
Languages: English (EN, native language)
Educated at: Tarleton State University, Chaminade High School
Other names for George Kennedy (nicknames, foreign languages etc.):
"George Harris Kennedy Jr."
George Kennedy frequently works together with these people:
Claude Akins (40x, Actor)
John Anderson (38x, Actor)
Denver Pyle (37x, Actor)
Harry Harvey (37x, Actor)
Gregg Palmer (37x, Actor)
Robert J. Wilke (36x, Actor)
Ken Mayer (34x, Actor)
Morgan Woodward (33x, Actor)
William Fawcett (33x, Actor)
Robert Karnes (33x, Actor)
Harry Lauter (33x, Actor)
David Zucker (9x, Crew)
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WatchPlayStream ID: PEOPLE:2923, Added: 03/23/2018, Last updated: 04/17/2024