George Kennedy
Acting
Born February 18, 1925 · 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.
Films (125)
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
Top Line
1988
Nightmare at Noon
1988
Private Road: No Trespassing
1988
Demonwarp
1988
Counterforce
1988
Born to Race
1988
What Price Victory
1988
The Gambler: The Legend Continues
1987
Creepshow 2
1987
The Gunfighters
1987
Radioactive Dreams
1986
Liberty
1986
The Delta Force
1986
Savage Dawn
1985
International Airport
1985
Rigged
1985
Half Nelson
1985
Rare Breed
1984
Bolero
1984
The Jesse Owens Story
1984
Chattanooga Choo Choo
1984
The Jupiter Menace
1982
Wacko
1982
Just Before Dawn
1981
The Archer: Fugitive from the Empire
1981
Modern Romance
1981
Hotwire
1980
Virus
1980
Death Ship
1980
Steel
1979
The Concorde... Airport '79
1979
Search and Destroy
1979
The Double McGuffin
1979
Brass Target
1978
Death on the Nile
1978
Mean Dog Blues
1978
Proof of the Man
1977
Airport '77
1977
The Human Factor
1975
The Eiger Sanction
1975
The Blue Knight
1975
The Lion Roars Again
1975
Earthquake
1974
Airport 1975
1974
Thunderbolt and Lightfoot
1974
A Cry in the Wilderness
1974
Sonic Boom
1974
Deliver Us from Evil
1973
Cahill: United States Marshal
1973
Lost Horizon
1973
A Great American Tragedy
1972
The Bull of the West
1972
The Priest Killer
1971
Fools' Parade
1971
Sarge: The Badge or the Cross
1971
Dirty Dingus Magee
1970
Zig Zag
1970
Airport
1970
… tick… tick… tick…
1970
Gaily, Gaily
1969
The Good Guys and the Bad Guys
1969
Guns of the Magnificent Seven
1969
The Pink Jungle
1968
The Boston Strangler
1968
The Legend of Lylah Clare
1968
Bandolero!
1968
The Ballad of Josie
1968
Cool Hand Luke
1967
The Dirty Dozen
1967
Hurry Sundown
1967
The Flight of the Phoenix
1965
Mirage
1965
The Sons of Katie Elder
1965
Shenandoah
1965
In Harm's Way
1965
Hush... Hush, Sweet Charlotte
1964
See How They Run
1964
Island of the Blue Dolphins
1964
McHale's Navy
1964
Strait-Jacket
1964
Charade
1963
The Man from the Diners' Club
1963
Lonely are the Brave
1962
Gunfight at Black Horses Canyon
1961
The Little Shepherd Of Kingdom Come
1961