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.
Known For
Acting

1967
asDragline

1967
asMajor Max Armbruster

1965
asBellamy

1964
asForeman

1970
asJoe Patroni

1978
asAndrew Pennington

1963
asHerman Scobie

1975
asBen Bowman

1974
asSgt. Lew Slade

1965
asCol. Fairchild

1984
asCotton

1990
asVance

1973
asAbe Fraser

1998
asBrick Bazooka (voice)

2007
asJohn Tevis

1974
asRed Leary

1977
asJoe Patroni

1975
asJohn Kinsdale

2006
asSelf

1980
asCaptain Ashland

1969
asChris

1968
asDet. Phil DiNatale

1974
asJoe Patroni

2005
asDirector

1988
asBill Crafton

1989
asHal

1979
asJoe Patroni

1994
asEd Hocken

1964
asLeo Krause

1968
asSheriff July Johnson

1980
asAdmiral Conway

2011
asJoe Baker

1962
asDeputy Sheriff Gutierrez

1988
asEd Hocken

1991
asEd Hocken

1986
asFather O'Malley

1965
asCurley

1998
asMr. Johnson

1987
asRay Spruce

1988
asMike Harvey

2008
asJudge Duke

1986
asSpade Chandler

1971
asDallas 'Doc' Council

1981
asRoy McLean

1970
asHerkimer 'Hoke' Birdsill

1965
asWillard

1969
asMcKay

1968
asArch Ogden

1988
asSherrif Hanks

1981
asBrakus

1978
asGen. George S. Patton

1970
asPaul R. Cameron

1979
asAnthony Fusqua

1982
asMr. Doctor Graves

1970
asJohn Little

1987
asDeke Turner

1985
asTick Rand

2008
asSelf

1990
asThomas

1979
asChief Talasek

1973
asSam Cornelius

1979
asBig Lew Cassidy

1988
asVincent Duplain

1961
asNathan Dillon

2003
asDexter Brisbane

1988
asHeinrich Holzmann

1972
as'Bear' Suchette

1969
asAxel P. Johanson

1991
asDr. Bruckner

1967
asSheriff Coombs

1978
asCaptain Omar Kinsman

1963
asGeorge

1980
asFarley & Harley Fontenot

1988
asSam Milshaw

1973
asWalter 'Cowboy' McAdams

1987
asGeneral Nelson Miles

1989
asRev. Hughes

1982
asHimself

1974
asSam Hadley

1998
asCarter McKay

1986
asSeamus Reilly

1968
asSammy Ryderbeit

1972
asBrad Wilkes

1964
asRudy

1988
asVince Colby

1989
asWilson

1971
asSarge Swanson

1965
asColonel Gregory

1968
asMatt Burke

1984
asCharles 'Charley' Riley

1991
asWarden Barles

1964
asAleut Captain

1977
asKen Shuftan

1975
asBumper Morgan

1985
asRudy Van Leuven

2014
asEd

1998
asGeorge Kennedy

1985
asParsons

1992
asFather Dave Hagan

1996
asCarter McKay

1981
asGeorge Kennedy / Zeron

2005
asDr. Peter Gannon

1964
asHenri Le Clerc

1988
asBig Buck Brayton

2005
asEd Fiske

2003
asPassenger Requesting Vodka (uncredited)

2010
as(archive footage)

1992
asTom Bradfield

1991
asJohn McCready

1984
asBert

1998
asArmy

1990
asBahraini Investigator

1985
asBen

1961
asHawk

1990
as
1997
asL.B. Mammoth (voice)

1984
as
1974
asBen Dover

2008
asProfessor Zebediah Jones (segment "The Devil's Due at Midnight")

1994
asHimself

1975
asSelf

1971
asFather Samuel Cavanaugh

1997
asOfficer Lowe
asState Police Detective
asSergeant Muldaney
as
asLee Nelson
as
asGeorge Kennedy
as
asEmil
asGeorge Spangler
asMajor Vyx
as
as
as
as
asGeorge Wales
as
asZach Morgan
asJack Marshman
asFather Samuel Cavanaugh
asJohn Paterson
as
asThatcher
as
as
asSheriff Zeke Armitage
as
asGunner Slagle
asBlodgett
asJoe Cramer
asSelf
as
as
as
asSelf - Host
asOfficer Bumper Morgan
asSergeant Hensley
asTom 'Bear' Suchette
asSwarner
asBayloe
asHuck Harkness
asHug
asStark
asCyrus
asBen Payson
asRalph (voice)
asWaldo Watson
asPeter Long
asGeneral Axton (voice)
asDeke - Killer
asDer
asMP Sgt. Kennedy (uncredited)
asAl Scali
asCarter McKay
asFather Samuel Cavanaugh
asSelf
asPres. Warren G. Harding
asGeorge Martin
asRoss Kuhn
asSelf
asBig Jim
asSam Tarnitzer
Production
Crew
Directing