George Kennedy

IMDB profile

Add to favorites

Edit page

Search at Amazon

Stats

Birth Name: George Harris Kennedy, Jr.

Born: 18 February 1925 Died: 28 February 2016

Country of origin: United States

Height: 6' 4"

Relationship Status: Married

Partner: Joan McCarthy

Lists

96 votes

Gone, but not forgotten (1905 items)
list by Agent Kermit D. Fonz

Published 3 weeks, 4 days ago

10 comments

48 votes

1001 Performances To See Before Retiring! (357 items)
list by Happy Vader

Published 12 years, 11 months ago

3 comments

46 votes

Rest in Peace (475 items)
list by ercer

Published 13 years, 4 months ago

3 comments

31 votes

They were contenders for these roles (506 items)
list by cudion

Published 10 years, 5 months ago

7 comments

30 votes

In Memoriam 2016 (177 items)
list by SwtChaos

Published 8 years, 9 months ago

6 comments

View all George Kennedy lists

George Kennedy Videos

George Kennedy winning Best Supporting Actor

54 Views

Added 11 years ago

George Kennedy for Schaefer Beer 1977 TV spot

51 Views

Added 2 years ago

Naked Gun "Alright he's had enough" George Kennedy Lesley Nielsen

41 Views

Added 2 years ago

View all George Kennedy videos

Photos

2 votes

1 vote

View all George Kennedy pictures

Description: George Harris Kennedy, Jr. was born on February 18, 1925 in New York City, to Helen A. (Kieselbach), a ballet dancer, and George Harris Kennedy, an orchestra leader and musician. Following high school graduation, Kennedy enlisted in the United States Army in 1943 with the hope to become a fighter pilot in the Army Air Corps. Instead, he wound up in the infantry, served under General George S. Patton and distinguished himself with valor. He won two Bronze Stars and four rows of combat and service ribbons. A World War II veteran, Kennedy at one stage in his career cornered the market at playing tough, no-nonsense characters who George Harris Kennedy, Jr. was born on February 18, 1925 in New York City, to Helen A. (Kieselbach), a ballet dancer, and George Harris Kennedy, an orchestra leader and musician. Following high school graduation, Kennedy enlisted in the United States Army in 1943 with the hope to become a fighter pilot in the Army Air Corps. Instead, he wound up in the infantry, served under General George S. Patton and distinguished himself with valor. He won two Bronze Stars and four rows of combat and service ribbons.

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 television and films, and was well respected within the Hollywood community. He started out on television 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 also kind to Kennedy and his talents were in demand for Airport (1970) and the three subsequent sequels, as a grizzled police officer 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 exaggerate themselves again, in The Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of Fear (1991) and Naked Gun 33 1/3: The Final Insult (1994). From 1988-1991, he also played Ewing family nemesis Carter McKay on the CBS prime-time soap opera Dallas (1978).

Kennedy also played President Warren G. Harding in the miniseries Backstairs at the White House (1979) and had a long standing role on the CBS daytime soap opera The Young and the Restless (1973). He 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 of natural causes in Middleton, Idaho on February 28, 2016, only ten days after his 91st birthday. ... (more)

Tags: Actor (15), American (5), Born 1925 (3), Male (2), Died 2016 (2), Dependable Sidekick (1), February (1), Tv Western (1), World War II Veteran (1), 2016 (1), Towering Height (1), Deep Baritone Voice (1), Hollywood Stalwart (1), Korean War Veteran (1), Heavy Build (1), Mr. Doctor Graves (1), Armed Forces Radio (1), Oscar Winning Actors In The Military (1), Actors Who Make Every Movie Better (1), Oscar Winning Actor (1)

My tags:

Add tags

Movies

TV

Update feed

Agent Kermit D. Fonz added this to a list 3 weeks, 4 days ago

Gone, but not forgotten (1905 person items)

SA-512 posted a image 2 months, 2 weeks ago

milica posted a image 4 months, 3 weeks ago

SA-512 posted 3 images 1 year, 4 months ago

SA-512 posted a video 2 years ago

George Kennedy for Schaefer Beer 1977 TV spot

SA-512 posted a video 2 years ago

Naked Gun "Alright he's had enough" George Kennedy Lesley Nielsen

SA-512 posted 2 images [View All] 2 years ago

Totoro added this to a list 2 years, 7 months ago

Academy Awards nominated performances I've seen (446 person items)

" 1968 - WINNER Best Actor in a Supporting Role GEORGE KENNEDY as Dragline in COOL HAND LUKE 1967 | dir: Stuart Rosenberg "

SA-512 posted a image 2 years, 11 months ago

westly voted for 4 images 3 years, 5 months ago

nicolee added this to a list 3 years, 5 months ago

Every Best Supporting Actor Winner (76 person items)

"1967-Dragline in Cool Hand Luke "

SA-512 posted a image 3 years, 8 months ago

SA-512 posted a image 3 years, 10 months ago

SA-512 posted 2 images 3 years, 11 months ago

SA-512 posted a image 3 years, 11 months ago

SA-512 posted a image 4 years, 7 months ago

cudion added this to a list 4 years, 7 months ago

They were contenders for these roles (506 person items)

SA-512 posted a image 4 years, 10 months ago

SA-512 posted a image 5 years, 3 months ago

SA-512 posted 5 images [View All] 5 years, 4 months ago

darthjoker12 added this to a list 6 years, 2 months ago

Face/Off (1987) (11 movies items)

"Victor Lazzaro!"

David Panther posted a comment 6 years, 4 months ago

“why isn't 1973 made for t.v movie "Deliver us from evil not listed? george kennedy.. about hikers then seeing a parachuter and find out he is a bank robber with lots stollen money and decide go after him”

Brian G added this to a list 6 years, 6 months ago

Famous Guest Stars; The Big Valley (77 person items)

Brian G added this to a list 6 years, 6 months ago

Famous Bonanza Guest Stars (307 person items)

Kandi voted for an image 7 years, 9 months ago

Milena added this to a list 7 years, 11 months ago

Death in 2016 year (55 person items)

SA-512 posted 10 images [View All] 8 years, 5 months ago

ercer added this to a list 8 years, 7 months ago

Rest in Peace (475 person items)

SwtChaos added this to a list 8 years, 7 months ago

In Memoriam 2016 (177 person items)

"Sunset: February 28, 2016 (Age: 91) Cause of death: Heart Disease Claim to fame: American Actor, best known for his role as Dragline in the 1967 film "Cool Hand Luke""


Condition
Added date
Private notes Only visible to you
or cancel