George Kennedy (February 18, 1925 — February 28, 2016) was an American actor. 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.
George Kennedy (February 18, 1925 — February 28, 2016) was an American actor. 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.
External links
IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/nm0001421
Wikipedia: https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q298818
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Filmography (Movies)
Airports
Character:
Release Date:17/09/2025
The Gambler
Character:Ed
Release Date:25/12/2014
Another Happy Day
Character:Joe Baker
Release Date:18/11/2011
2Everything2Terrible2: Tokyo Drift
Character:(archive footage)
Release Date:03/08/2010
A Natural Born World-Shaker: The Making of 'Cool Hand Luke'
Character:Self
Release Date:16/12/2008
The Man Who Came Back
Character:Judge Duke
Release Date:08/02/2008
The Boneyard Collection
Character:Professor Zebediah Jones (segment "The Devil's Due at Midnight")
Release Date:01/01/2008
Sands of Oblivion
Character:John Tevis
Release Date:28/07/2007
Armed and Deadly: The Making of 'The Dirty Dozen'
Character:Self
Release Date:01/01/2006
Don't Come Knocking
Character:Director
Release Date:25/08/2005
Three Bad Men
Character:Ed Fiske
Release Date:15/01/2005
Truce
Character:Dr. Peter Gannon
Release Date:01/01/2005
Monster Makers
Character:Dexter Brisbane
Release Date:26/10/2003
View from the Top
Character:Passenger Requesting Vodka (uncredited)
Release Date:21/03/2003
Men in White
Character:Army
Release Date:16/08/1998
Dennis the Menace Strikes Again!
Character:Mr. Johnson
Release Date:14/07/1998
Small Soldiers
Character:Brick Bazooka (voice)
Release Date:10/07/1998
Dallas: War of The Ewings
Character:Carter McKay
Release Date:24/04/1998
Hollyweird
Character:George Kennedy
Release Date:01/01/1998
Cats Don't Dance
Character:L.B. Mammoth (voice)
Release Date:26/03/1997
Bayou Ghost
Character:Officer Lowe
Release Date:01/01/1997
Dallas: J.R. Returns
Character:Carter McKay
Release Date:15/11/1996
WWE SummerSlam 1994
Character:Himself
Release Date:29/08/1994
Naked Gun 33⅓: The Final Insult
Character:Ed Hocken
Release Date:18/03/1994
Distant Justice
Character:Tom Bradfield
Release Date:01/12/1992
Final Shot: The Hank Gathers Story
Character:Father Dave Hagan
Release Date:01/04/1992
Intensive Care
Character:Dr. Bruckner
Release Date:31/10/1991
The Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of Fear
Character:Ed Hocken
Release Date:28/06/1991
Driving Me Crazy
Character:John McCready
Release Date:16/05/1991
Hangfire
Character:Warden Barles
Release Date:11/01/1991
The Cops Are Robbers
Character:
Release Date:09/12/1990
Mayumi: Virgin Terrorist
Character:Bahraini Investigator
Release Date:09/06/1990
Hired to Kill
Character:Thomas
Release Date:28/04/1990
Brain Dead
Character:Vance
Release Date:16/01/1990
Ministry of Vengeance
Character:Rev. Hughes
Release Date:03/11/1989
Esmeralda Bay
Character:Wilson
Release Date:18/05/1989
The Terror Within
Character:Hal
Release Date:20/01/1989
The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad!
Character:Ed Hocken
Release Date:02/12/1988
Uninvited
Character:Mike Harvey
Release Date:24/08/1988
Top Line
Character:Heinrich Holzmann
Release Date:16/08/1988
Nightmare at Noon
Character:Sherrif Hanks
Release Date:29/06/1988
Private Road: No Trespassing
Character:Sam Milshaw
Release Date:15/06/1988
Demonwarp
Character:Bill Crafton
Release Date:01/03/1988
Counterforce
Character:Vince Colby
Release Date:05/02/1988
Born to Race
Character:Vincent Duplain
Release Date:29/01/1988
What Price Victory
Character:Big Buck Brayton
Release Date:18/01/1988
The Gambler: The Legend Continues
Character:General Nelson Miles
Release Date:22/11/1987
Creepshow 2
Character:Ray Spruce
Release Date:01/05/1987
The Gunfighters
Character:Deke Turner
Release Date:01/01/1987
Radioactive Dreams
Character:Spade Chandler
Release Date:19/09/1986
Liberty
Character:Seamus Reilly
Release Date:23/06/1986
The Delta Force
Character:Father O'Malley
Release Date:14/02/1986
Savage Dawn
Character:Tick Rand
Release Date:21/12/1985
International Airport
Character:Rudy Van Leuven
Release Date:25/05/1985
Rigged
Character:Ben
Release Date:15/05/1985
Half Nelson
Character:Parsons
Release Date:24/03/1985
Rare Breed
Character:
Release Date:10/10/1984
Bolero
Character:Cotton
Release Date:31/08/1984
The Jesse Owens Story
Character:Charles 'Charley' Riley
Release Date:09/07/1984
Chattanooga Choo Choo
Character:Bert
Release Date:18/05/1984
The Jupiter Menace
Character:Himself
Release Date:19/11/1982
Wacko
Character:Mr. Doctor Graves
Release Date:12/11/1982
Just Before Dawn
Character:Roy McLean
Release Date:14/10/1981
The Archer: Fugitive from the Empire
Character:Brakus
Release Date:12/04/1981
Modern Romance
Character:George Kennedy / Zeron
Release Date:13/03/1981
Hotwire
Character:Farley & Harley Fontenot
Release Date:01/09/1980
Virus
Character:Admiral Conway
Release Date:26/06/1980
Death Ship
Character:Captain Ashland
Release Date:07/03/1980
Steel
Character:Big Lew Cassidy
Release Date:21/10/1979
The Concorde... Airport '79
Character:Joe Patroni
Release Date:17/08/1979
Search and Destroy
Character:Anthony Fusqua
Release Date:05/07/1979
The Double McGuffin
Character:Chief Talasek
Release Date:01/06/1979
Brass Target
Character:Gen. George S. Patton
Release Date:22/12/1978
Death on the Nile
Character:Andrew Pennington
Release Date:29/09/1978
Mean Dog Blues
Character:Captain Omar Kinsman
Release Date:03/03/1978
Proof of the Man
Character:Ken Shuftan
Release Date:08/10/1977
Airport '77
Character:Joe Patroni
Release Date:11/03/1977
The Human Factor
Character:John Kinsdale
Release Date:19/11/1975
The Eiger Sanction
Character:Ben Bowman
Release Date:21/05/1975
The Blue Knight
Character:Bumper Morgan
Release Date:09/05/1975
The Lion Roars Again
Character:Self
Release Date:01/01/1975
Earthquake
Character:Sgt. Lew Slade
Release Date:15/11/1974
Airport 1975
Character:Joe Patroni
Release Date:18/10/1974
Thunderbolt and Lightfoot
Character:Red Leary
Release Date:23/05/1974
A Cry in the Wilderness
Character:Sam Hadley
Release Date:26/03/1974
Sonic Boom
Character:Ben Dover
Release Date:01/01/1974
Deliver Us from Evil
Character:Walter 'Cowboy' McAdams
Release Date:11/09/1973
Cahill: United States Marshal
Character:Abe Fraser
Release Date:11/07/1973
Lost Horizon
Character:Sam Cornelius
Release Date:14/03/1973
A Great American Tragedy
Character:Brad Wilkes
Release Date:18/10/1972
The Bull of the West
Character:'Bear' Suchette
Release Date:04/05/1972
The Priest Killer
Character:Father Samuel Cavanaugh
Release Date:14/09/1971
Fools' Parade
Character:Dallas 'Doc' Council
Release Date:18/08/1971
Sarge: The Badge or the Cross
Character:Sarge Swanson
Release Date:22/02/1971
Dirty Dingus Magee
Character:Herkimer 'Hoke' Birdsill
Release Date:18/11/1970
Zig Zag
Character:Paul R. Cameron
Release Date:01/05/1970
Airport
Character:Joe Patroni
Release Date:25/03/1970
… tick… tick… tick…
Character:John Little
Release Date:09/01/1970
Gaily, Gaily
Character:Axel P. Johanson
Release Date:16/12/1969
The Good Guys and the Bad Guys
Character:McKay
Release Date:10/10/1969
Guns of the Magnificent Seven
Character:Chris
Release Date:14/07/1969
The Pink Jungle
Character:Sammy Ryderbeit
Release Date:16/10/1968
The Boston Strangler
Character:Det. Phil DiNatale
Release Date:08/10/1968
The Legend of Lylah Clare
Character:Matt Burke
Release Date:21/08/1968
Bandolero!
Character:Sheriff July Johnson
Release Date:01/06/1968
The Ballad of Josie
Character:Arch Ogden
Release Date:01/02/1968
Cool Hand Luke
Character:Dragline
Release Date:01/11/1967
The Dirty Dozen
Character:Major Max Armbruster
Release Date:15/06/1967
Hurry Sundown
Character:Sheriff Coombs
Release Date:09/02/1967
The Flight of the Phoenix
Character:Bellamy
Release Date:15/12/1965
Mirage
Character:Willard
Release Date:29/10/1965
The Sons of Katie Elder
Character:Curley
Release Date:23/06/1965
Shenandoah
Character:Col. Fairchild
Release Date:03/06/1965
In Harm's Way
Character:Colonel Gregory
Release Date:06/04/1965
Hush... Hush, Sweet Charlotte
Character:Foreman
Release Date:16/12/1964
See How They Run
Character:Rudy
Release Date:07/10/1964
Island of the Blue Dolphins
Character:Aleut Captain
Release Date:10/09/1964
McHale's Navy
Character:Henri Le Clerc
Release Date:25/06/1964
Strait-Jacket
Character:Leo Krause
Release Date:19/01/1964
Charade
Character:Herman Scobie
Release Date:01/12/1963
The Man from the Diners' Club
Character:George
Release Date:17/04/1963
Lonely are the Brave
Character:Deputy Sheriff Gutierrez
Release Date:24/05/1962
Gunfight at Black Horses Canyon
Character:Hawk
Release Date:17/10/1961
The Little Shepherd Of Kingdom Come
Character:Nathan Dillon
Release Date:01/06/1961
Television Appearances
The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest
Character:General Axton (voice)
Santo Bugito
Character:Ralph (voice)
Duckman
Character:Movie Director (voice)
The Commish
Character:Al Scali
Wings
Character:George Kennedy
Backstairs at the White House
Character:Pres. Warren G. Harding
Dallas
Character:Carter McKay
Saturday Night Live
Character:Self - Host
The Blue Knight
Character:Officer Bumper Morgan
The Dean Martin Celebrity Roasts
Character:Self
Sarge
Character:Samuel Cavanaugh
Ironside
Character:Father Samuel Cavanaugh
Tarzan
Character:
Laredo
Character:
The Big Valley
Character:Thatcher
The Legend of Jesse James
Character:Blodgett
Daniel Boone
Character:Zach Morgan
The Rogues
Character:Major Vyx
Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre
Character:Der
The Great Adventure
Character:Sergeant Muldaney
Grindl
Character:
Going My Way
Character:
The Merv Griffin Show
Character:Self
The Alfred Hitchcock Hour
Character:George Martin
The Virginian
Character:Jack Marshman
The Virginian
Character:Tom 'Bear' Suchette
The Virginian
Character:Huck Harkness
The Mike Douglas Show
Character:Self
Dr. Kildare
Character:Joe Cramer
Dr. Kildare
Character:Sergeant Hensley
Kraft Mystery Theatre
Character:
The Asphalt Jungle
Character:
Gunslinger
Character:Sheriff
Route 66
Character:
Surfside 6
Character:Gabe Buchanan
The Andy Griffith Show
Character:State Police Detective
Outlaws
Character:
Thriller
Character:John Paterson
The Tall Man
Character:
Riverboat
Character:Gunner Slagle
Bonanza
Character:Waldo Watson
Bonanza
Character:Peter Long
Rawhide
Character:George Wales
77 Sunset Strip
Character:
Bat Masterson
Character:Sheriff Zeke Armitage
Lawman
Character:
Peter Gunn
Character:
Maverick
Character:
Perry Mason
Character:George Spangler
Sugarfoot
Character:Ross Kuhn
Sugarfoot
Character:Sykes
Have Gun, Will Travel
Character:
Have Gun, Will Travel
Character:Deke - Killer
Have Gun, Will Travel
Character:Big Jim
Have Gun, Will Travel
Character:Sam Tarnitzer
Cheyenne
Character:Lee Nelson
The Phil Silvers Show
Character:Kennedy (uncredited)
Gunsmoke
Character:Emil
Gunsmoke
Character:Swarner
Gunsmoke
Character:Bayloe
Gunsmoke
Character:Hug
Gunsmoke
Character:Stark
Gunsmoke
Character:Cyrus
Gunsmoke
Character:Ben Payson
The Oscars
Character:Self
Images
