George Kennedy
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.
178 acting credits
Acting · 178
Saturday Night Live
1975
Perry Mason
1957
Dallas
1978
Bonanza
1959
The Mike Douglas Show
1961
The Andy Griffith Show
1960
Ironside
1967
Maverick
1957
Wings
1990
The Alfred Hitchcock Hour
1962
The Virginian
1962
Dr. Kildare
1961
Have Gun, Will Travel
1957
The Merv Griffin Show
1962
Cheyenne
1955
Daniel Boone
1964
Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre
1963
The Big Valley
1965
Late Night with Conan O'Brien
1993
Route 66
1960
Rawhide
1959
Lawman
1958
Duckman
1994
Bat Masterson
1958
Thriller
1960
Gunsmoke
1955
The Oscars
1953
77 Sunset Strip
1958
Peter Gunn
1958
The Commish
1991
Sugarfoot
1957
Surfside 6
1960
Laredo
1965
Tarzan
1966
The Tall Man
1960
The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest
1996
Riverboat
1959
Outlaws
1960
The Rogues
1964
The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad!
1988
The Great Adventure
1963
The Dean Martin Celebrity Roasts
1973
The Phil Silvers Show
1955
The Legend of Jesse James
1965
The Dirty Dozen
1967
Going My Way
1962
Naked Gun 33⅓: The Final Insult
1994
The Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of Fear
1991
Cool Hand Luke
1967
Charade
1963
Death on the Nile
1978
Small Soldiers
1998
Thunderbolt and Lightfoot
1974
Grindl
1963
Gunslinger
1961
The Delta Force
1986
The Gambler
2014
Kraft Mystery Theatre
1961
Earthquake
1974
The Asphalt Jungle
1961
Santo Bugito
1995
Airport '77
1977
Sarge
1971
The Eiger Sanction
1975
Airport
1970
Backstairs at the White House
1979
In Harm's Way
1965
Airport 1975
1974
Shenandoah
1965
The Flight of the Phoenix
1965
Creepshow 2
1987
The Sons of Katie Elder
1965
The Concorde... Airport '79
1979
View from the Top
2003
Cats Don't Dance
1997
The Boston Strangler
1968
Bandolero!
1968
The Blue Knight
1975
Dennis the Menace Strikes Again!
1998
Hush... Hush, Sweet Charlotte
1964
Proof of the Man
1977
Mirage
1965
Virus
1980
Guns of the Magnificent Seven
1969
Bolero
1984
The Gambler: The Legend Continues
1987
Cahill: United States Marshal
1973
Lonely are the Brave
1962
Don't Come Knocking
2005
Brain Dead
1990
Brass Target
1978
The Good Guys and the Bad Guys
1969
Death Ship
1980
Sands of Oblivion
2007
Another Happy Day
2011
Wacko
1982
Hurry Sundown
1967
Lost Horizon
1973
Savage Dawn
1985
The Ballad of Josie
1968
Dirty Dingus Magee
1970
Uninvited
1988
The Man Who Came Back
2008
Strait-Jacket
1964
2Everything2Terrible2: Tokyo Drift
2010
Island of the Blue Dolphins
1964
Just Before Dawn
1981
Liberty
1986
The Terror Within
1989
Steel
1979
Dallas: War of The Ewings
1998
Gunfight at Black Horses Canyon
1961
The Bull of the West
1972
The Boneyard Collection
2008
McHale's Navy
1964
Modern Romance
1981
Half Nelson
1985
Dallas: J.R. Returns
1996
Driving Me Crazy
1991
The Legend of Lylah Clare
1968
… tick… tick… tick…
1970
Sonic Boom
1974
Mayumi: Virgin Terrorist
1990
Armed and Deadly: The Making of 'The Dirty Dozen'
2006
Fools' Parade
1971
Gaily, Gaily
1969
Radioactive Dreams
1986
Distant Justice
1992
Hangfire
1991
Truce
2005
The Jesse Owens Story
1984
A Great American Tragedy
1972
WWE SummerSlam 1994
1994
The Man from the Diners' Club
1963
The Priest Killer
1971
The Human Factor
1975
Counterforce
1988
International Airport
1985
Sarge: The Badge or the Cross
1971
Nightmare at Noon
1988
The Archer: Fugitive from the Empire
1981
Chattanooga Choo Choo
1984
Demonwarp
1988
The Pink Jungle
1968
Men in White
1998
Good Cops, Bad Cops
1990
The Little Shepherd Of Kingdom Come
1961
Hollyweird
1998
The Double McGuffin
1979
Top Line
1988
Hired to Kill
1990
Esmeralda Bay
1989
Deliver Us from Evil
1973
Airports
2025
Monster Makers
2003
See How They Run
1964
The Lion Roars Again
1975
A Cry in the Wilderness
1974
The Blue Knight
1975
Born to Race
1988
Zig Zag
1970
Search and Destroy
1979
The Gunfighters
1987
Mean Dog Blues
1978
Final Shot: The Hank Gathers Story
1992
Ministry of Vengeance
1989
The Jupiter Menace
1982
Rigged
1985
Intensive Care
1991
Rare Breed
1984
Hotwire
1980
Three Bad Men
2005
Six Days in Paradise
2010
A Natural Born World-Shaker: The Making of 'Cool Hand Luke'
2008
Private Road: No Trespassing
1988
Bayou Ghost
1997
What Price Victory
1988
Death on the Nile: Making of Featurette
1978