Born
18 February 1925 (101)
Place of Birth
New York City, New York, USA
Also known as
George Harris Kennedy Jr.
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 an...
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.
Airports
2025
The Gambler
2014
Another Happy Day
2011
Six Days in Paradise
2010
2Everything2Terrible2: Tokyo Drift
2010
A Natural Born World-Shaker: The Making of 'Cool Hand Luke'
2008
The Man Who Came Back
2008
The Boneyard Collection
2008
Sands of Oblivion
2007
Armed and Deadly: The Making of 'The Dirty Dozen'
2006
Don't Come Knocking
2005
Three Bad Men
2005
Truce
2005
Monster Makers
2003
View from the Top
2003
Men in White
1998
Dennis the Menace Strikes Again!
1998
Small Soldiers
1998
Dallas: War of The Ewings
1998
Hollyweird
1998
Cats Don't Dance
1997
Bayou Ghost
1997
Dallas: J.R. Returns
1996
WWE SummerSlam 1994
1994
Naked Gun 33⅓: The Final Insult
1994
Distant Justice
1992
Final Shot: The Hank Gathers Story
1992
Intensive Care
1991
The Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of Fear
1991
Driving Me Crazy
1991
Hangfire
1991
The Cops Are Robbers
1990
Mayumi: Virgin Terrorist
1990
Hired to Kill
1990
Brain Dead
1990
Ministry of Vengeance
1989
Esmeralda Bay
1989
The Terror Within
1989
The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad!
1988
Uninvited
1988