George Kennedy
- Known for
- Acting
- Born
- February 18, 1925
- Died
- February 28, 2016
- Birthplace
- New York City, New York, USA
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
Airports 2025
Actor
The Gambler 2014
as Ed
Another Happy Day 2011
as Joe Baker
Six Days in Paradise 2010
as Monty Crenshaw
2Everything2Terrible2: Tokyo Drift 2010
as (archive footage)
A Natural Born World-Shaker: The Making of 'Cool Hand Luke' 2008
as Self
The Man Who Came Back 2008
as Judge Duke
The Boneyard Collection 2008
as Professor Zebediah Jones (segment "The Devil's Due at Midnight")
Sands of Oblivion 2007
as John Tevis
Armed and Deadly: The Making of 'The Dirty Dozen' 2006
as Self
Don't Come Knocking 2005
as Director
Three Bad Men 2005
as Ed Fiske
Truce 2005
as Dr. Peter Gannon
Monster Makers 2003
as Dexter Brisbane
View from the Top 2003
as Passenger Requesting Vodka (uncredited)
Men in White 1998
as Army
Dennis the Menace Strikes Again! 1998
as Mr. Johnson
Small Soldiers 1998
as Brick Bazooka (voice)
Dallas: War of The Ewings 1998
as Carter McKay
Hollyweird 1998
as George Kennedy
Cats Don't Dance 1997
as L.B. Mammoth (voice)
Bayou Ghost 1997
as Officer Lowe
Dallas: J.R. Returns 1996
as Carter McKay
WWE SummerSlam 1994 1994
as Himself
Naked Gun 33⅓: The Final Insult 1994
as Ed Hocken
Distant Justice 1992
as Tom Bradfield
Final Shot: The Hank Gathers Story 1992
as Father Dave Hagan
Intensive Care 1991
as Dr. Bruckner
The Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of Fear 1991
as Ed Hocken
Driving Me Crazy 1991
as John McCready
Hangfire 1991
as Warden Barles
Good Cops, Bad Cops 1990
Actor
Mayumi: Virgin Terrorist 1990
as Bahraini Investigator
Hired to Kill 1990
as Thomas
Brain Dead 1990
as Vance
Ministry of Vengeance 1989
as Rev. Hughes
Esmeralda Bay 1989
as Wilson
The Terror Within 1989
as Hal
The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! 1988
as Ed Hocken
Uninvited 1988
as Mike Harvey
Top Line 1988
as Heinrich Holzmann
Nightmare at Noon 1988
as Sherrif Hanks
Private Road: No Trespassing 1988
as Sam Milshaw
Demonwarp 1988
as Bill Crafton
Counterforce 1988
as Vince Colby
Born to Race 1988
as Vincent Duplain
What Price Victory 1988
as Big Buck Brayton
The Gambler: The Legend Continues 1987
as General Nelson Miles
Creepshow 2 1987
as Ray Spruce
The Gunfighters 1987
as Deke Turner
Radioactive Dreams 1986
as Spade Chandler
Liberty 1986
as Seamus Reilly
The Delta Force 1986
as Father O'Malley
Savage Dawn 1985
as Tick Rand
International Airport 1985
as Rudy Van Leuven
Rigged 1985
as Ben Wheeler
Half Nelson 1985
as Parsons
A Rare Breed 1984
Actor
Bolero 1984
as Cotton
The Jesse Owens Story 1984
as Charles 'Charley' Riley
Chattanooga Choo Choo 1984
as Bert
The Jupiter Menace 1982
as Himself
Wacko 1982
as Mr. Doctor Graves
Just Before Dawn 1981
as Roy McLean
The Archer: Fugitive from the Empire 1981
as Brakus
Modern Romance 1981
as George Kennedy / Zeron
Hotwire 1980
as Farley & Harley Fontenot
Virus 1980
as Admiral Conway
Death Ship 1980
as Captain Ashland
Steel 1979
as Big Lew Cassidy
The Concorde... Airport '79 1979
as Joe Patroni
Search and Destroy 1979
as Anthony Fusqua
The Double McGuffin 1979
as Chief Talasek
Brass Target 1978
as Gen. George S. Patton
- Death on the Nile: Making of Featurette
Death on the Nile: Making of Featurette 1978
as Self
Death on the Nile 1978
as Andrew Pennington
Mean Dog Blues 1978
as Captain Omar Kinsman
Proof of the Man 1977
as Ken Shuftan
Airport '77 1977
as Joe Patroni
The Human Factor 1975
as John Kinsdale
The Eiger Sanction 1975
as Ben Bowman
The Blue Knight 1975
as Bumper Morgan
- The Lion Roars Again
The Lion Roars Again 1975
as Self
Earthquake 1974
as Sgt. Lew Slade
Airport 1975 1974
as Joe Patroni
Thunderbolt and Lightfoot 1974
as Red Leary
A Cry in the Wilderness 1974
as Sam Hadley
Sonic Boom 1974
as Ben Dover
Deliver Us from Evil 1973
as Walter 'Cowboy' McAdams
Cahill: United States Marshal 1973
as Abe Fraser
Lost Horizon 1973
as Sam Cornelius
A Great American Tragedy 1972
as Brad Wilkes
The Bull of the West 1972
as 'Bear' Suchette
The Priest Killer 1971
as Father Samuel Cavanaugh
Fools' Parade 1971
as Dallas 'Doc' Council
Sarge: The Badge or the Cross 1971
as Sarge Swanson
Dirty Dingus Magee 1970
as Herkimer 'Hoke' Birdsill
Zig Zag 1970
as Paul R. Cameron
Airport 1970
as Joe Patroni
… tick… tick… tick… 1970
as John Little
Gaily, Gaily 1969
as Axel P. Johanson
The Good Guys and the Bad Guys 1969
as McKay
Guns of the Magnificent Seven 1969
as Chris
The Pink Jungle 1968
as Sammy Ryderbeit
The Boston Strangler 1968
as Det. Phil DiNatale
The Legend of Lylah Clare 1968
as Matt Burke
Bandolero! 1968
as Sheriff July Johnson
The Ballad of Josie 1967
as Arch Ogden
Cool Hand Luke 1967
as Dragline
The Dirty Dozen 1967
as Major Max Armbruster
Hurry Sundown 1967
as Sheriff Coombs
The Flight of the Phoenix 1965
as Bellamy
Mirage 1965
as Willard
The Sons of Katie Elder 1965
as Curley
Shenandoah 1965
as Col. Fairchild
In Harm's Way 1965
as Colonel Gregory
Hush... Hush, Sweet Charlotte 1964
as Foreman
See How They Run 1964
as Rudy
Island of the Blue Dolphins 1964
as Aleut Captain
McHale's Navy 1964
as Henri Le Clerc
Strait-Jacket 1964
as Leo Krause
Charade 1963
as Herman Scobie
The Man from the Diners' Club 1963
as George
The Silent Witness 1962
as Gus Jordan
Lonely are the Brave 1962
as Deputy Sheriff Gutierrez
Gunfight at Black Horses Canyon 1961
as Hawk
The Little Shepherd Of Kingdom Come 1961
as Nathan Dillon
Credits from TMDB.