George Kennedy

Personal Info

Known For Acting

Known Credits 166

Gender Male

Birthday February 18, 1925

Day of Death February 28, 2016 (91 years old)

Place of Birth New York City, New York, USA

Also Known As

  • George Harris Kennedy Jr.

Content Score 

100

Yes! Looking good!

Looks like we're missing the following data in en-US or en-US...

Login to report an issue

Biography

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 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

2014
2011
2008
2008
2008
2007
2006
2005
2005
2005
2003
2003
1998
1998
1998
1998
1998
1997
1996
1996
1995
1994
1994
1992
1992
1991
1991
1991
1991
1991
1990
1990
1990
1990
1990
1989
1989
1989
1988
1988
1988
1988
1988
1988
1988
1988
1988
1987
1987
1987
1986
1986
1986
1986
1985
1985
1985
1984
1984
1984
1984
1982
1982
1981
1981
1981
1980
1980
1980
1979
1979
1979
1979
1979
1978
1978
1978
1978
1978
1977
1977
1975
1975
1975
1975
1975
1975
1974
1974
1974
1974
1974
1973
1973
1973
1973
1972
1972
1971
1971
1971
1970
1970
1970
1970
1969
1969
1969
1968
1968
1968
1968
1968
1967
1967
1967
1966
1965
1965
1965
1965
1965
1965
1965
1965
1964
1964
1964
1964
1964
1964
1964
1963
1963
1963
1963
1963
1962
1962
1962
1962
1961
1961
1961
1961
1961
1960
1960
1960
1960
1960
1960
1959
1959
1959
1958
1958
1958
1958
1957
1957
1957
1955
1955
1955
1953

You need to be logged in to continue. Click here to login or here to sign up.

Can't find a movie or TV show? Login to create it.

Global

s focus the search bar
p open profile menu
esc close an open window
? open keyboard shortcut window

On media pages

b go back (or to parent when applicable)
e go to edit page

On TV season pages

(right arrow) go to next season
(left arrow) go to previous season

On TV episode pages

(right arrow) go to next episode
(left arrow) go to previous episode

On all image pages

a open add image window

On all edit pages

t open translation selector
ctrl+ s submit form

On discussion pages

n create new discussion
w toggle watching status
p toggle public/private
c toggle close/open
a open activity
r reply to discussion
l go to last reply
ctrl+ enter submit your message
(right arrow) next page
(left arrow) previous page

Settings

Want to rate or add this item to a list?

Login