WWII veteran, sandy haired, stocky actor who at one stage cornered the market at playing tough no-nonsense characters that were either quite crooked or possessed hearts of gold. Kennedy has notched up an impressive 200+ appearances in both TV & film productions, and is well respected within the Hollywood community. Started out in TV westerns in the late 1950s & early 1960s (Have Gun Will Travel, R ...
show all WWII veteran, sandy haired, stocky actor who at one stage cornered the market at playing tough no-nonsense characters that were either quite crooked or possessed hearts of gold. Kennedy has notched up an impressive 200+ appearances in both TV & film productions, and is well respected within the Hollywood community. Started out in TV westerns in the late 1950s & early 1960s (Have Gun Will Travel, Rawhide, Maverick, Colt .45 etc ) before scoring minor roles in films including "The Lonely Are the Brave (1962)", "Sons of Katie Elder (1965)" and "The Flight of the Phoenix (1965)". The late 1960s was then a very busy period for Kennedy, and he was strongly in favor with casting agents appearing in "The Hurry Sundown (1967)", "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 80s saw Kennedy appear in a mish mash 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 2 1/2: The Smell of Fear (1991)", plus "Naked Gun 33 1/3: The Final Insult (1994)".
George Kennedy has remained busy in Hollywood and has lent his distinctive voice to the animated "Cats Don't Dance (1997)" and the children's action film "Small Soldiers (1998)". A Hollywod stalwart for nearly 50 years, he is one of the most enjoyable actors to watch on screen.
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