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.
Recent movies
| # | Name | Character | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Gambler (2014) | Ed | 6.2 |
| 2 | Another Happy Day (2011) | Joe Baker | 6 |
| 3 | The Man Who Came Back (2008) | Judge Duke | - |
| 4 | Sands of Oblivion (2007) | John Tevis | - |
| 5 | Monster Makers (2003) | Dexter Brisbane | - |
| 6 | View from the Top (2003) | Passenger Requesting Vodka (uncredited) | 5 |
| 7 | Hollyweird (1998) | George Kennedy | - |
| 8 | Dallas: War of The Ewings (1998) | Carter McKay | 5 |
| 9 | Dennis the Menace Strikes Again! (1998) | Mr. Johnson | 6.3 |
| 10 | Small Soldiers (1998) | Brick Bazooka (voice) | 7 |
| 11 | Cats Don't Dance (1997) | L.B. Mammoth (voice) | 7 |
| 12 | Dallas: J.R. Returns (1996) | Carter McKay | 5 |
| 13 | Naked Gun 33â…“: The Final Insult (1994) | Ed Hocken | 6.8 |
| 14 | Driving Me Crazy (1991) | John McCready | 6.5 |
| 15 | The Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of Fear (1991) | Ed Hocken | 7.4 |
| 16 | The Cops Are Robbers (1990) | - | - |
| 17 | Brain Dead (1990) | Vance | 5.7 |
| 18 | Uninvited (1988) | Mike Harvey | 6.5 |
| 19 | The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! (1988) | Ed Hocken | 7.6 |
| 20 | Creepshow 2 (1987) | Ray Spruce | 7.9 |
| 21 | The Delta Force (1986) | Father O'Malley | 4.9 |
| 22 | Radioactive Dreams (1986) | Spade Chandler | 7 |
| 23 | Bolero (1984) | Cotton | - |
| 24 | Wacko (1982) | Mr. Doctor Graves | 5 |
| 25 | Just Before Dawn (1981) | Roy McLean | 9 |
| 26 | Modern Romance (1981) | George Kennedy / Zeron | - |
| 27 | Virus (1980) | Admiral Conway | 6 |
| 28 | Death Ship (1980) | Captain Ashland | 5.3 |
| 29 | The Double McGuffin (1979) | Chief Talasek | - |
| 30 | The Concorde... Airport '79 (1979) | Joe Patroni | 5.5 |
| 31 | Death on the Nile (1978) | Andrew Pennington | 7.4 |
| 32 | Airport '77 (1977) | Joe Patroni | 7 |
| 33 | The Eiger Sanction (1975) | Ben Bowman | 7 |
| 34 | Airport 1975 (1974) | Joe Patroni | 6.5 |
| 35 | Thunderbolt and Lightfoot (1974) | Red Leary | 6.2 |
| 36 | Earthquake (1974) | Sgt. Lew Slade | 6.7 |
| 37 | Cahill: United States Marshal (1973) | Abe Fraser | 10 |
| 38 | Deliver Us from Evil (1973) | Walter 'Cowboy' McAdams | - |
| 39 | … tick… tick… tick… (1970) | John Little | 7 |
| 40 | Airport (1970) | Joe Patroni | 7 |
| 41 | Guns of the Magnificent Seven (1969) | Chris | - |
| 42 | The Good Guys and the Bad Guys (1969) | McKay | - |
| 43 | The Boston Strangler (1968) | Det. Phil DiNatale | 6.3 |
| 44 | The Legend of Lylah Clare (1968) | Matt Burke | 3 |
| 45 | Cool Hand Luke (1967) | Dragline | 8 |
| 46 | The Dirty Dozen (1967) | Major Max Armbruster | 7.7 |
| 47 | Mirage (1965) | Willard | 6 |
| 48 | The Flight of the Phoenix (1965) | Bellamy | 7 |
| 49 | Shenandoah (1965) | Col. Fairchild | - |
| 50 | The Sons of Katie Elder (1965) | Curley | 7 |
| 51 | Strait-Jacket (1964) | Leo Krause | 8 |
| 52 | Hush... Hush, Sweet Charlotte (1964) | Foreman | 5.3 |
| 53 | McHale's Navy (1964) | Henri Le Clerc | - |
| 54 | The Man from the Diners' Club (1963) | George | 5 |
| 55 | Charade (1963) | Herman Scobie | 7.6 |
| 56 | Lonely are the Brave (1962) | Deputy Sheriff Gutierrez | 10 |
