George Kennedy
Known for: Acting
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.
Filmography
Series
The Mike Douglas Show
Self
1961
Series
Saturday Night Live
Self - Host
1975
Series
Perry Mason
George Spangler
1957
Series
The Merv Griffin Show
Self
1962
Series
Late Night with Conan O'Brien
Self - Guest
1993
Series
Bonanza
Waldo Watson
1959
Series
Bonanza
Peter Long
1959
Series
Dallas
Carter McKay
1978
Series
The Andy Griffith Show
State Police Detective
1960
Series
Ironside
Father Samuel Cavanaugh
1967
Series
The Alfred Hitchcock Hour
George Martin
1962
Series
Maverick
Deputy Jones
1957
Series
Wings
George Kennedy
1990
Series
The Virginian
Jack Marshman
1962
Series
The Virginian
Tom 'Bear' Suchette
1962
Series
The Virginian
Huck Harkness
1962
Series
Have Gun, Will Travel
1957
Series
Have Gun, Will Travel
Deke - Killer
1957
Series
Have Gun, Will Travel
Big Jim
1957
Series
Have Gun, Will Travel
Sam Tarnitzer
1957
Series
Dr. Kildare
Joe Cramer
1961
Series
Dr. Kildare
Sergeant Hensley
1961
Series
Daniel Boone
Zach Morgan
1964
Series
Cheyenne
Lee Nelson
1955
Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre
Der
1963
Series
The Big Valley
Thatcher
1965
Series
Route 66
1960
Series
Rawhide
George Wales
1959
Series
Lawman
1958
Series
Duckman
Movie Director (voice)
1994
Series
Peter Gunn
1958
Series
77 Sunset Strip
1958
Series
Bat Masterson
Sheriff Zeke Armitage
1958
Series
Gunsmoke
Emil
1955
Series
Gunsmoke
Swarner
1955
Series
Gunsmoke
Bayloe
1955
Series
Gunsmoke
Hug
1955
Series
Gunsmoke
Stark
1955
Series
Gunsmoke
Cyrus
1955
Series
Gunsmoke
Ben Payson
1955
Series
The Commish
Al Scali
1991
Series
Surfside 6
Gabe Buchanan
1960
Series
The Oscars
Self
1953
Series
Thriller
John Paterson
1960
Series
The Phil Silvers Show
Kennedy (uncredited)
1955
Series
Sugarfoot
Ross Kuhn
1957
Series
Sugarfoot
Sykes
1957
Series
The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest
General Axton (voice)
1996
Series
The Tall Man
1960
Series
Laredo
1965
Series
Tarzan
1966
Series
Outlaws
1960
Series
Riverboat
Gunner Slagle
1959
Film
The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad!
Ed Hocken
1988
Series
The Dean Martin Celebrity Roasts
Self
1973
Series
The Rogues
Major Vyx
1964
Film
Small Soldiers
Brick Bazooka (voice)
1998
Series
The Great Adventure
Sergeant Muldaney
1963
Film
Cool Hand Luke
Dragline
1967
Film
The Dirty Dozen
Major Max Armbruster
1967
Film
The Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of Fear
Ed Hocken
1991
Series
The Legend of Jesse James
Blodgett
1965
Film
Naked Gun 33⅓: The Final Insult
Ed Hocken
1994
Series
Going My Way
1962
Film
The Gambler
Ed
2014
Film
The Delta Force
Father O'Malley
1986
Film
Death on the Nile
Andrew Pennington
1978
Film
Charade
Herman Scobie
1963
Series
Santo Bugito
Ralph (voice)
1995
Film
View from the Top
Passenger Requesting Vodka (uncredited)
2003
Series
Kraft Mystery Theatre
1961
Series
Gunslinger
Sheriff
1961
Film
Virus
Admiral Conway
1980
Series
The Asphalt Jungle
1961
Series
Grindl
1963
Series
Backstairs at the White House
Pres. Warren G. Harding
1979
Film
Cats Don't Dance
L.B. Mammoth (voice)
1997
Film
Creepshow 2
Ray Spruce
1987
Series
Sarge
Samuel Cavanaugh
1971
Film
The Flight of the Phoenix
Bellamy
1965
Film
Thunderbolt and Lightfoot
Red Leary
1974
Film
Earthquake
Sgt. Lew Slade
1974
Film
The Sons of Katie Elder
Curley
1965
Film
The Eiger Sanction
Ben Bowman
1975
Film
Airport
Joe Patroni
1970
Film
Dennis the Menace Strikes Again!
Mr. Johnson
1998
Film
In Harm's Way
Colonel Gregory
1965
Film
Airport 1975
Joe Patroni
1974
Film
Bandolero!
Sheriff July Johnson
1968
Film
Airport '77
Joe Patroni
1977
Film
Guns of the Magnificent Seven
Chris
1969
Film
The Concorde... Airport '79
Joe Patroni
1979
Film
Cahill: United States Marshal
Abe Fraser
1973
Film
The Boston Strangler
Det. Phil DiNatale
1968
Series
The Blue Knight
Officer Bumper Morgan
1975
Film
Lonely are the Brave
Deputy Sheriff Gutierrez
1962
Film
Sands of Oblivion
John Tevis
2007
Film
The Good Guys and the Bad Guys
McKay
1969
Film
Death Ship
Captain Ashland
1980
Film
Just Before Dawn
Roy McLean
1981
Film
Another Happy Day
Joe Baker
2011
Film
Hush... Hush, Sweet Charlotte
Foreman
1964
Film
Don't Come Knocking
Director
2005
Film
Brain Dead
Vance
1990
Film
Hurry Sundown
Sheriff Coombs
1967
Film
Shenandoah
Col. Fairchild
1965
Film
The Legend of Lylah Clare
Matt Burke
1968
Film
Strait-Jacket
Leo Krause
1964
Film
Lost Horizon
Sam Cornelius
1973
Film
Fools' Parade
Dallas 'Doc' Council
1971
Film
Hired to Kill
Thomas
1990
Film
Demonwarp
Bill Crafton
1988
Film
The Ballad of Josie
Arch Ogden
1967
Film
Mirage
Willard
1965
Film
Savage Dawn
Tick Rand
1985
Film
Proof of the Man
Ken Shuftan
1977
Film
Brass Target
Gen. George S. Patton
1978
Film
The Archer: Fugitive from the Empire
Brakus
1981
Film
The Bull of the West
'Bear' Suchette
1972
Film
Bolero
Cotton
1984
Film
Dirty Dingus Magee
Herkimer 'Hoke' Birdsill
1970
Film
The Man Who Came Back
Judge Duke
2008
Film
Nightmare at Noon
Sherrif Hanks
1988
Film
Uninvited
Mike Harvey
1988
Film
Driving Me Crazy
John McCready
1991
Film
Top Line
Heinrich Holzmann
1988
Film
Radioactive Dreams
Spade Chandler
1986
Film
Modern Romance
George Kennedy / Zeron
1981
Film
The Priest Killer
Father Samuel Cavanaugh
1971
Film
The Boneyard Collection
Professor Zebediah Jones (segment "The Devil's Due at Midnight")
2008
Film
The Gambler: The Legend Continues
General Nelson Miles
1987
Film
Bayou Ghost
Officer Lowe
1997
Film
The Man from the Diners' Club
George
1963
Film
Island of the Blue Dolphins
Aleut Captain
1964
Film
The Terror Within
Hal
1989
Film
A Cry in the Wilderness
Sam Hadley
1974
Film
Deliver Us from Evil
Walter 'Cowboy' McAdams
1973
Film
Dallas: War of The Ewings
Carter McKay
1998
Film
Gaily, Gaily
Axel P. Johanson
1969
Film
Intensive Care
Dr. Bruckner
1991
Film
McHale's Navy
Henri Le Clerc
1964
Film
WWE SummerSlam 1994
Himself
1994
Film
Wacko
Mr. Doctor Graves
1982
Film
Men in White
Army
1998
Film
Dallas: J.R. Returns
Carter McKay
1996
The Lion Roars Again
Self
1975
Film
Steel
Big Lew Cassidy
1979
Film
The Double McGuffin
Chief Talasek
1979
Film
… tick… tick… tick…
John Little
1970
Film
2Everything2Terrible2: Tokyo Drift
(archive footage)
2010
Film
The Blue Knight
Bumper Morgan
1975
Film
The Jesse Owens Story
Charles 'Charley' Riley
1984
Film
Sarge: The Badge or the Cross
Sarge Swanson
1971
Film
Gunfight at Black Horses Canyon
Hawk
1961
Film
See How They Run
Rudy
1964
Film
Six Days in Paradise
Monty Crenshaw
2010
Film
Good Cops, Bad Cops
1990
Film
The Human Factor
John Kinsdale
1975
Film
What Price Victory
Big Buck Brayton
1988
Film
Final Shot: The Hank Gathers Story
Father Dave Hagan
1992
Film
A Great American Tragedy
Brad Wilkes
1972
Film
The Pink Jungle
Sammy Ryderbeit
1968
Film
Ministry of Vengeance
Rev. Hughes
1989
Film
Airports
2025
Film
Armed and Deadly: The Making of 'The Dirty Dozen'
Self
2006
Death on the Nile: Making of Featurette
Self
1978
Film
Three Bad Men
Ed Fiske
2005
Film
Mean Dog Blues
Captain Omar Kinsman
1978
Film
Sonic Boom
Ben Dover
1974
Film
Liberty
Seamus Reilly
1986
Film
A Rare Breed
1984
Film
Hangfire
Warden Barles
1991
Film
Mayumi: Virgin Terrorist
Bahraini Investigator
1990
Film
Half Nelson
Parsons
1985
Film
Zig Zag
Paul R. Cameron
1970
Film
Private Road: No Trespassing
Sam Milshaw
1988
Film
Born to Race
Vincent Duplain
1988
Film
Chattanooga Choo Choo
Bert
1984
Film
Distant Justice
Tom Bradfield
1992
Film
Hotwire
Farley & Harley Fontenot
1980
Film
A Natural Born World-Shaker: The Making of 'Cool Hand Luke'
Self
2008
Film
Counterforce
Vince Colby
1988
Film
International Airport
Rudy Van Leuven
1985
Film
The Little Shepherd Of Kingdom Come
Nathan Dillon
1961
Film
Monster Makers
Dexter Brisbane
2003
Film
Esmeralda Bay
Wilson
1989
Film
The Gunfighters
Deke Turner
1987
Film
The Jupiter Menace
Himself
1982
Film
Search and Destroy
Anthony Fusqua
1979
Film
Hollyweird
George Kennedy
1998
Film
Truce
Dr. Peter Gannon
2005
Film
Rigged
Ben Wheeler
1985