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.
Acting (123 movies)
Cool Hand Luke
1967
The Dirty Dozen
1967
The Flight of the Phoenix
1965
Hush... Hush, Sweet Charlotte
1964
Airport
1970
Death on the Nile
1978
Charade
1963
The Eiger Sanction
1975
Earthquake
1974
Shenandoah
1965
Bolero
1984
Brain Dead
1990
Cahill: United States Marshal
1973
Small Soldiers
1998
Sands of Oblivion
2007
Thunderbolt and Lightfoot
1974
Airport '77
1977
The Human Factor
1975
Armed and Deadly: The Making of 'The Dirty Dozen'
2006
Death Ship
1980
Guns of the Magnificent Seven
1969
The Boston Strangler
1968
Airport 1975
1974
Don't Come Knocking
2005
Demonwarp
1988
The Terror Within
1989
The Concorde... Airport '79
1979
Naked Gun 33⅓: The Final Insult
1994
Strait-Jacket
1964
Bandolero!
1968
Virus
1980
Another Happy Day
2011
Lonely are the Brave
1962
The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad!
1988
The Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of Fear
1991
The Delta Force
1986
The Sons of Katie Elder
1965
Dennis the Menace Strikes Again!
1998
Creepshow 2
1987
Uninvited
1988
The Man Who Came Back
2008
Radioactive Dreams
1986
Fools' Parade
1971
Just Before Dawn
1981
Dirty Dingus Magee
1970
Mirage
1965
The Good Guys and the Bad Guys
1969
The Ballad of Josie
1968
Nightmare at Noon
1988
The Archer: Fugitive from the Empire
1981
Brass Target
1978
Zig Zag
1970
Search and Destroy
1979
Wacko
1982
… tick… tick… tick…
1970
The Gunfighters
1987
Savage Dawn
1985
A Natural Born World-Shaker: The Making of 'Cool Hand Luke'
2008
Hired to Kill
1990
The Double McGuffin
1979
Lost Horizon
1973
Steel
1979
Born to Race
1988
The Little Shepherd Of Kingdom Come
1961
Monster Makers
2003
Top Line
1988
The Bull of the West
1972
Gaily, Gaily
1969
Intensive Care
1991
Hurry Sundown
1967
Mean Dog Blues
1978
The Man from the Diners' Club
1963
Hotwire
1980
Private Road: No Trespassing
1988
Deliver Us from Evil
1973
The Gambler: The Legend Continues
1987
Ministry of Vengeance
1989
The Jupiter Menace
1982
A Cry in the Wilderness
1974
Dallas: War of The Ewings
1998
Liberty
1986
The Pink Jungle
1968
A Great American Tragedy
1972
See How They Run
1964
Counterforce
1988
Esmeralda Bay
1989
Sarge: The Badge or the Cross
1971
In Harm's Way
1965
The Legend of Lylah Clare
1968
The Jesse Owens Story
1984
Hangfire
1991
Island of the Blue Dolphins
1964
Proof of the Man
1977
The Blue Knight
1975
International Airport
1985
The Gambler
2014
Hollyweird
1998
Half Nelson
1985
Final Shot: The Hank Gathers Story
1992
Dallas: J.R. Returns
1996
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