George Kennedy
Born February 18, 1925 (Age: 101)
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New York City, New York, USA
Biography
George Kennedy (February 18, 1925 — February 28, 2016) was a European-American businessman, entrepreneur, A World War II veteran, actor, adviser, radio dj, and author. 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.
George Kennedy (February 18, 1925 — February 28, 2016) was a European-American businessman, entrepreneur, A World War II veteran, actor, adviser, radio dj, and author. 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.
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Filmography
The Gambler
2014
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as Ed
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Age: 89
Another Happy Day
2011
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as Joe Baker
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Age: 86
Six Days in Paradise
2010
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as Monty Crenshaw
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Age: 85
Don't Come Knocking
2005
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as Director
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Age: 80
View from the Top
2003
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as Passenger Requesting Vodka (uncredited)
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Age: 78
Small Soldiers
1998
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as Brick Bazooka (voice)
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Age: 73
Cats Don't Dance
1997
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as L.B. Mammoth (voice)
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Age: 72
Naked Gun 33⅓: The Final Insult
1994
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as Ed Hocken
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Age: 69
The Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of Fear
1991
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as Ed Hocken
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Age: 66
Esmeralda Bay
1989
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as Wilson
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Age: 64
The Terror Within
1989
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as Hal
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Age: 63
The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad!
1988
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as Ed Hocken
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Age: 63
Creepshow 2
1987
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as Ray Spruce
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Age: 62
Radioactive Dreams
1986
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as Spade Chandler
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Age: 61
The Delta Force
1986
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as Father O'Malley
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Age: 60
Bolero
1984
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as Cotton
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Age: 59
The Concorde... Airport '79
1979
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as Joe Patroni
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Age: 54
Brass Target
1978
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as Gen. George S. Patton
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Age: 53
Death on the Nile
1978
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as Andrew Pennington
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Age: 53
Airport '77
1977
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as Joe Patroni
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Age: 52
The Eiger Sanction
1975
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as Ben Bowman
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Age: 50
The Blue Knight
1975
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as Bumper Morgan
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Age: 50
Earthquake
1974
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as Sgt. Lew Slade
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Age: 49
Airport 1975
1974
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as Joe Patroni
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Age: 49
Thunderbolt and Lightfoot
1974
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as Red Leary
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Age: 49
Lost Horizon
1973
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as Sam Cornelius
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Age: 48
The Priest Killer
1971
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as Father Samuel Cavanaugh
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Age: 46
Sarge: The Badge or the Cross
1971
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as Sarge Swanson
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Age: 46
Airport
1970
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as Joe Patroni
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Age: 45
Bandolero!
1968
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as Sheriff July Johnson
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Age: 43
The Sons of Katie Elder
1965
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as Curley
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Age: 40
Shenandoah
1965
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as Col. Fairchild
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Age: 40
In Harm's Way
1965
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as Colonel Gregory
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Age: 40
Hush... Hush, Sweet Charlotte
1964
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as Foreman
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Age: 39
Charade
1963
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as Herman Scobie
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Age: 38
The Little Shepherd Of Kingdom Come
1961
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as Nathan Dillon
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Age: 36