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George Kennedy 1925 - 2016

George Kennedy was born on February 18, 1925, and died at age 91 years old on February 28, 2016.

George Kennedy

Middleton, Idaho

February 18, 1925

February 28, 2016

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George Kennedy George Kennedy (1925 - 2016)

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George Kennedy's History: 1925 - 2016

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02/18

1925

Birthday

February 18, 1925

Birthdate

Unknown

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Ethnicity & Family History

George Kennedy Born George Harris Kennedy Jr. February 18, 1925 New York City, U.S. Died February 28, 2016 (aged 91) Middleton, Idaho, U.S. Occupation Actor Years active 1956–2014 Spouses Dorothy Gillooly (m. 1946; div. 1959) Norma Wurman (m. 1959; div. 1971) Joan McCarthy (m. 1973; div. 1978) (m. 1978; died 2015) Children 6 George Harris Kennedy Jr.[1] (February 18, 1925 – February 28, 2016) was an American actor who appeared in more than 100 film and television productions. He played "Dragline" in Cool Hand Luke (1967), winning the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for the role and being nominated for the corresponding Golden Globe. He received a second Golden Globe nomination for portraying Joe Patroni in Airport (1970). Among other films in which he had a significant role are Lonely Are the Brave, Charade, Strait-Jacket, McHale's Navy, Hush… Hush, Sweet Charlotte, Mirage, Shenandoah, The Sons of Katie Elder, The Flight of the Phoenix, In Harm's Way, The Dirty Dozen, The Boston Strangler, Guns of the Magnificent Seven, tick… tick… tick…, Cahill U.S. Marshal, Thunderbolt and Lightfoot, The Good Guys and the Bad Guys, Earthquake, The Eiger Sanction and The Delta Force. Kennedy is the only actor to appear in all four films in the Airport series, reprising the role of Joe Patroni three times. He also portrays Police Captain Ed Hocken in the Naked Gun series of films, and corrupt oil tycoon Carter McKay on the original Dallas television series. Early life, education and military service Kennedy was born on February 18, 1925, in New York City,[1] into a show business family. His father, George Harris Kennedy, a musician and orchestra leader, died when Kennedy was four years old.[2] He was raised by his mother, Helen A. (née Kieselbach), a ballet dancer.[1] His maternal grandfather was a German immigrant; his other ancestry was Irish and English.[1] Kennedy made his stage debut at age 2 in a touring company of Bringing Up Father, and by age 7, he was a New York City radio DJ. Kennedy graduated in 1943 from Chaminade High School in Mineola, Long Island, New York. Kennedy enlisted in the United States Army during World War II in 1943. He served 16 years, reaching the rank of captain. Kennedy served in the infantry under George S. Patton, fought in the Battle of the Bulge, and earned two Bronze Stars. He re-enlisted after the war, and he was discharged in the late 1950s due to a back injury. Illness and death Kennedy resided in Eagle, Idaho, at the time of his death. He died on the morning of February 28, 2016, of a heart ailment at an assisted-living facility in Middleton, Idaho, 10 days after his 91st birthday. He had a history of heart disease.
Military Service

Kennedy enlisted in the United States Army during World War II in 1943. He served 16 years, reaching the rank of captain. Kennedy served in the infantry under George S. Patton, fought in the Battle of the Bulge, and earned two Bronze Stars. He re-enlisted after the war, and he was discharged in the late 1950s due to a back injury.
Professional Career

Filmography Film Year Title Role Notes 1961 The Little Shepherd of Kingdom Come Nathan Dillon directed by Andrew V. McLaglen[15] 1962 Lonely Are the Brave Deputy Sheriff Gutierrez directed by David Miller[16] The Silent Witness Gus Jordan 1963 The Man from the Diners' Club George directed by Frank Tashlin[17] Charade Herman Scobie directed by Stanley Donen[18] 1964 Strait-Jacket Leo Krause directed and co-produced by William Castle[19] McHale's Navy Henri Le Clerc based on the 1962–1966 sitcom of the same name and directed by Edward Montagne[20] Island of the Blue Dolphins Aleut Captain directed by James B. Clark[21] Hush... Hush, Sweet Charlotte Foreman directed and produced by Robert Aldrich[22] 1965 In Harm's Way Colonel Gregory produced and directed by Otto Preminger[23] Mirage Willard directed by Edward Dmytryk and based on the novel Fallen Angel written by Howard Fast under the pseudonym Walter Ericson[24] Shenandoah Colonel Fairchild directed by Andrew V. McLaglen[25] The Sons of Katie Elder Curley directed by Henry Hathaway[26] The Flight of the Phoenix Mike Bellamy produced and directed by Robert Aldrich[27] and based on the 1964 novel The Flight of the Phoenix by Elleston Trevor 1967 Hurry Sundown Sheriff Coombs produced and directed by Otto Preminger[28] The Dirty Dozen Major Max Armbruster directed by Robert Aldrich[29] Cool Hand Luke Dragline directed by Stuart Rosenberg[30] The Ballad of Josie Arch Ogden directed by Andrew V. McLaglen[31] 1968 Bandolero! Sheriff July Johnson directed by Andrew V. McLaglen[32] The Pink Jungle Sammy Ryderbeit directed by Delbert Mann[33] The Legend of Lylah Clare Matt Burke uncredited The Boston Strangler Det. Phil DiNatale based on the true story of the Boston Strangler and the book by Gerold Frank; directed by Richard Fleischer[34] 1969 Guns of the Magnificent Seven Chris Adams directed by Paul Wendkos The Good Guys and the Bad Guys Big John McKay directed by Burt Kennedy[35] Gaily, Gaily Axel P. Johanson directed by Norman Jewison and based on the autobiographical novel by Ben Hecht 1970 ...tick...tick...tick... John Little directed by Ralph Nelson[36] Airport Joe Patroni directed by George Seaton[37] and based on Arthur Hailey's 1968 novel of the same name Zig Zag Paul R. Cameron directed by Richard A. Colla[38] Dirty Dingus Magee Herkimer "Hoke" Birdsill directed and produced by Burt Kennedy[39] 1971 Fools' Parade Dallas "Doc" Council directed by Andrew McLaglen[40] 1973 Lost Horizon Sam Cornelius directed by Charles Jarrott[41] Cahill U.S. Marshal Abe Fraser directed by Andrew V. McLaglen[42] 1974 Thunderbolt and Lightfoot Red Leary written and directed by Michael Cimino[43] Airport 1975 Joe Patroni directed by Jack Smight[44] Earthquake Sergeant Lew Slade directed and produced by Mark Robson[45] 1975 The Eiger Sanction Ben Bowman based on the novel of the same name by Trevanian[N 1] and directed by and starring Clint Eastwood[46] The "Human" Factor John Kinsdale directed by Edward Dmytryk[47][48] 1977 Airport '77 Joe Patroni directed by Jerry Jameson[49] Ningen no shōmei Ken Shuftan directed by Junya Satō[50] 1978 Mean Dog Blues Captain Omar Kinsman directed by Mel Stuart[51] Death on the Nile Andrew Pennington based on the novel of the same name, directed by John Guillermin, and adapted by Anthony Shaffer[52] Brass Target General George S. Patton based on the novel The Algonquin Project by Frederick Nolan and directed by John Hough[53] 1979 Search and Destroy Anthony Fusqua directed by William Fruet[54] The Double McGuffin Chief Talasek directed by Joe Camp[55] Steel Big Lew Cassidy directed by Steve Carver[56] The Concorde... Airport '79 Captain Joe Patroni directed by David Lowell Rich[57] 1980 Death Ship Captain Ashland directed by Alvin Rakoff[58] Virus Admiral Conway directed by Kinji Fukasaku[59] and based on a 1964 novel written by Sakyo Komatsu. Hotwire Farley & Harley Fontenot 1981 Just Before Dawn Roy McLean directed by Jeff Lieberman[60] Modern Romance Himself; Zoron directed by Albert Brooks The Archer: Fugitive from the Empire Brakus written, directed and produced by Nicholas J. Corea 1982 Wacko Mr. Doctor Graves directed by Greydon Clark[61] The Jupiter Menace Himself documentary[62] 1984 Chattanooga Choo Choo Bert directed by Bruce Bilson[63] A Rare Breed Nathan Hill Bolero Cotton written and directed by John Derek[64] Rigged Ben 1985 Radioactive Dreams Spade Chandler directed by Albert Pyun[65] Savage Dawn Tick Rand directed by Simon Nuchtern[66] 1986 The Delta Force Father O'Malley directed by Menahem Golan[67] 1987 Creepshow 2 Ray Spruce directed by Michael Gornick[68] The Gunfighters Deke Turner directed by Clay Borris[69] Uninvited Mike Harvey 1988 Born to Race Vincent Duplain Counterforce Vince Colby Demonwarp Bill Crafton Nightmare at Noon Sheriff Hanks Alien Terminator Heinrich Holzmann The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! Captain Ed Hocken start of the Naked Gun franchise 1989 The Terror Within Hal Ministry of Vengeance Rev. Hughes Esmeralda Bay Wilson directed by Jesús Franco 1990 Brain Dead Vance Hired to Kill Thomas Mayumi Bahraini investigator directed by Shin Sang-ok 1991 Hangfire Warden E. Barles Driving Me Crazy John McCready The Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of Fear Captain Ed Hocken Intensive Care Dr. Bruckner 1992 Final Shot: The Hank Gathers Story Father Dave Distant Justice Tom Bradfield 1994 Naked Gun 33+1⁄3: The Final Insult Captain Ed Hocken River of Stone 1997 Cats Don't Dance L.B. Mammoth voice Bayou Ghost Officer Lowe 1998 Small Soldiers Brick Bazooka voice Dennis the Menace Strikes Again Grandpa Johnson 2003 View from the Top Passenger Requesting Vodka uncredited 2005 Three Bad Men Ed Fiske Truce Dr. Peter Gannon Don't Come Knocking director 2007 Sands of Oblivion John Tevis 2008 The Man Who Came Back Judge Duke 2010 Six Days in Paradise Monty Crenshaw Mad Mad Wagon Party JB Scotch 2011 Another Happy Day Joe Baker 2014 The Gambler Ed Television Year Title Role Notes 1956–1959 The Phil Silvers Show MP Sergeant Kennedy 14 episodes 1959 Cheyenne Lee Nelson Episode: "Prisoner of Moon Mesa" Colt .45 Hank Episode: "The Rival Gun" The Deputy Tex Episode: "The Big Four" Sugarfoot Sykes Episode: "The Canary Kid, Inc." 1960 Gunsmoke Emil Episode: "The Blacksmith" Route 66 Thad Skinner Pilot Episode: "Black November" Peter Gunn Karl Episode: "The Crossbow" Sugarfoot Ross Kuhn Episode: "Funeral at Forty Mile" Shotgun Slade Tex Episode: "The Spanish Box" Laramie Gallagher Henchman Episode: "Duel at Alta Mesa" Maverick Deputy Jones Episode: "Hadley's Hunters" Lawman Burt Episode: "To Capture the West" Have Gun – Will Travel Tarnitzer Episode: "The Legacy" Lieutenant John Bryson Episode: "A Head of Hair" 1961 Bat Masterson Sheriff Zeke Armitage Episode: "The Fourth Man" Have Gun – Will Travel Preston Episode: "The Road" Deke Episode: "The Vigil" Rud Saxon Episode: "A Proof of Life" Brother Grace Episode: "Squatter's Rights" Gunsmoke Pat Swooner Episode: "Big Man" The Untouchables Birdie Episode: "The King of Champagne" Gunslinger Sheriff Episode: "The Buried People" Bonanza Peter Long Episode: "The Infernal Machine" Gunsmoke Jake Bayloe Episode: "Kitty Shot" 1962 The Tall Man Hyram Killgore Episode: "One for All" Rawhide George Wales Episode: "The Peddler" Gunsmoke Hug Episode: "The Boys" Have Gun – Will Travel Big John Episode: "Don't Shoot the Piano Player" Going My Way Mike Episode: "A Man for Mary" Death Valley Days Steamboat Sully Episode: "Miracle at Whiskey Gulch" Outlaws Joe Ferris Episode: "Farewell Performance" 1963 The Andy Griffith Show State Police Detective Episode: "The Big House" Have Gun – Will Travel Brother Grace Episode: "The Eve of St. Elmo" Dr. Kildare Joe Cramer Episode: "To Each His Own Prison" Perry Mason George Spangler Episode: "The Case of the Greek Goddess" The Travels of Jaimie McPheeters Angus Episode: "The Day of the Long Night" 1963–1964 McHale's Navy Big Frenchy Episodes: "French Leave for McHale", "The Return of Big Frenchy" 1964 Gunsmoke Cyrus Episode: "Crooked Mile" Bonanza Waldo Watson Episode: "The Scapegoat" The Virginian Jack Marshman Episode: "A Gallows for Sam Horn" Gunsmoke Warden Stark Episode: "The Warden" 1965 Daniel Boone Zach Morgan S2/E11 "A Rope for Mingo" Laredo Jess Moran Episode: "Pride of the Rangers" The Virginian Tom "Bear" Suchette Episode: "Nobility of Kings" A Man Called Shenandoah Mitchell Canady Episode: "A Special Talent for Killing" 1966 Gunsmoke Ben Payson Episode: "Harvest" The Legend of Jesse James Blodgett Episode: "Return to Lawrence" Dr. Kildare Sergeant Hensley Episodes: "Mercy or Murder", "Strange Sort of Accident" The Virginian Huck Harkness Episode: "The Trail to Ashley Mountain" The Big Valley Jack Thatcher Episode: "Barbary Red" 1967 Tarzan Crandell Episode: "Thief Catcher" 1971 Ironside Father Samuel Cavanaugh Episode: "The Priest Killer" Sarge Father Samuel Patrick "Sarge" Cavanaugh (Swanson) 16 episodes 1972 A Great American Tragedy Brad Wilkes Television Film 1974 A Cry in the Wilderness Sam Hadley Television film 1975 The Blue Knight Bumper Morgan 24 episodes 1979 Backstairs at the White House President Warren G. Harding Episode: #1.2 1981 Saturday Night Live Himself/host Episode: "George Kennedy/Miles Davis" 1983 Fantasy Island Adam Cobb Episode: "God Child/Curtain Call" 1984 The Jesse Owens Story Charles 'Charley' Riley Television film 1986 Benson Himself Episodes: "Reel Murder" parts 1 & 2 1988–1991 Dallas Carter McKay 67 episodes 1994 Lonesome Dove Judge J.T. "Rope" Calder Episode: "Judgement Day" 1995 The Commish Al Scali Episode: "The Golden Years" The Gambler Part III: The Legend Continues General Nelson Miles Television miniseries 1996 Wings Himself Episode: "What About Larry?" The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest General Axton Episode: "DNA Doomsday" Dallas: J.R. Returns Carter McKay Television film 1998 Dallas: War of the Ewings Carter McKay Television film 2003 The Young and the Restless Albert Miller Episodes: #1.7762, #1.7763, #1.7764 2004 The Complete History of U.S. Wars 1700–2004 Host 8 episodes 2010 The Young and the Restless Albert Miller (ghost) Episode: #1.9553 Awards and nominations Year Category Award Work Result Ref. 1967 Academy Awards Best Supporting Actor Cool Hand Luke Won [2] 1967 Laurel Awards Top Male Supporting Performance [70] 1967 Golden Globe Awards Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture Nominated [4] 1970 Airport [71] 1970 Laurel Awards Top Male Supporting Performance Honors The hand prints of Kennedy in front of The Great Movie Ride at Walt Disney World's Disney's Hollywood Studios theme park. For his contributions to motion pictures, Kennedy received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, at 6352 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, California.[12] Writing career Kennedy wrote three books. In 1983, he wrote the murder mystery Murder On Location, set on a film shoot. A second novel, Murder on High, was released in 1984. In 2011, he wrote his autobiography, Trust Me.[72] Career In Sarge, 1971 His first notable screen role was a military policeman on the TV sitcom The Phil Silvers Show,[citation needed] for which he also served as a technical adviser to ensure accuracy for the show's military base setting. Kennedy later described the Silvers show as "a great training ground".[2] His film career began in 1961 in The Little Shepherd of Kingdom Come. He appeared in several Hollywood movies, including as a sadistic jail guard in the Kirk Douglas modern Western Lonely Are the Brave (1962), a ruthless criminal in the Cary Grant suspense film Charade (1963) and in the Joan Crawford thriller Strait-Jacket (1964). Kennedy was busy in 1965. He appeared with Gregory Peck in the mystery Mirage, with a large cast led by James Stewart in the plane-crash adventure The Flight of the Phoenix, with John Wayne in the war film In Harm's Way, and with Wayne and Dean Martin in the Western The Sons of Katie Elder. He played the character Blodgett in a 1966 episode "Return to Lawrence" of the series The Legend of Jesse James. He won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor in Cool Hand Luke (1967) for his performance as Dragline, a chain-gang convict who at first resents the new prisoner in camp played by Paul Newman, then comes to idolize the rebellious Luke. Kennedy followed with films such as The Dirty Dozen, Bandolero! and The Boston Strangler. In 1970, he appeared in the disaster film Airport, in which he plays one of its main characters, airline troubleshooter Joe Patroni. He reprises this role in Airport 1975, Airport '77 and The Concorde ... Airport '79, the only cast member to appear in each film of the series. As Bumper Morgan in The Blue Knight, 1976 The Airport franchise helped inspire the Zucker, Abrahams, and Zucker satire Airplane!, in which the filmmakers hoped to cast Kennedy as the bumbling plane dispatcher. The role went to Lloyd Bridges because Kennedy "couldn't kill off his Airport cash-cow", Jerry Zucker said in 2010.[5] Kennedy co-starred with Clint Eastwood in Thunderbolt and Lightfoot and The Eiger Sanction, and with ensemble casts in the disaster film Earthquake and the Agatha Christie mystery Death on the Nile. He also starred in two television series: Sarge, which aired from 1971 to 1972 and The Blue Knight from 1975 to 1976. Kennedy starred in two Japanese productions, Junya Satō's Proof of the Man in 1977 and Kinji Fukasaku's Virus in 1980. Both films were produced by Haruki Kadokawa and featured extensive international casts and shooting locations. Although Proof of the Man was only released theatrically in Japan and Virus saw a financially unsuccessful truncated cut in the U.S., Kennedy was highly enthusiastic about his involvement.[6] In 1984, Kennedy starred with Bo Derek in the box-office bomb Bolero. His other films during the 1980s included Savage Dawn, The Delta Force and Creepshow 2. He played Captain Ed Hocken in all three entries of The Naked Gun film trilogy (1988, 1991, 1994) alongside Leslie Nielsen, Priscilla Presley and O. J. Simpson. With Karen Black, 2008 In 1990, Kennedy appeared in the Korean film Mayumi directed by Shin Sang-ok. Despite featuring Kennedy, it saw no wide release outside of South Korea and was ultimately a box-office failure.[7] On television, Kennedy starred as Carter McKay in the TV series Dallas (1978–1991), appearing from 1988 to 1991. From the mid-to-late 1990s, he promoted "BreathAsure" antacid tablets in radio and television commercials.[8][9] Around this time, he reprised his role as McKay in the television films Dallas: J.R. Returns and Dallas: War of the Ewings. In the late 1970s, Kennedy also appeared as a celebrity guest on the game show Match Game. In 1998, he voiced Brick Bazooka for the film Small Soldiers. He then made several independent films, before making a 2003 comeback to television in The Young and the Restless, playing the character Albert Miller, the biological father to character Victor Newman. In 2005, he made a cameo in the film Don't Come Knocking, playing the director of an ill-fated western. Kennedy made his final film appearance in The Gambler (2014) as Ed, the dying grandfather of Mark Wahlberg's Jim Bennett. His role lasts for less than two minutes during the film's opening scene, wherein Ed (moments before his death) bequeaths the responsibilities of patriarch to a heartbroken Jim.
Personal Life & Family

Personal life Marriages and children Kennedy was married four times, to three women. In the 1940s, he married Dorothy Gillooly, who had served in the Women's Army Corps. They were divorced in the 1950s; Dorothy returned to her hometown Buffalo, New York. In 1959, Kennedy married Norma Wurman, also known as Revel Wurman. The couple had two children. Kennedy and Norma divorced the first time in 1971, remarried in 1973, and divorced a second and final time in 1978. The same year, Kennedy married Joan McCarthy (née Castagna). They remained married until her death in September 2015. The couple adopted three children. Interests Kennedy was friends with James Stewart, and he provided the voiceover in a mini-tribute to Stewart on TCM. Kennedy was an aviator who enjoyed flying and owned a Cessna 210 and Beechcraft Bonanza. Following his experiences working for the Far East Network during WWII and professional involvement with Proof of the Man and Virus, Kennedy maintained a lifelong affinity for Japan and its culture.
02/28

2016

Death

February 28, 2016

Death date

Unknown
Cause of death

Unknown
Death location

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Obituary

George Kennedy Dies at 91; Versatile Actor Won Oscar for ‘Cool Hand Luke’ Share full article George Kennedy, right, with Paul Newman, in 1967’s “Cool Hand Luke,” for which he won a Best Supporting Actor Oscar.Credit...Warner Bros.-Seven Arts By Robert D. McFadden Feb. 29, 2016 George Kennedy, who played tough guys, oafs, G.I.’s and a bonanza of cowboys as one of Hollywood’s most versatile and durable character actors, and who won an Oscar as the best supporting actor of 1967 for his performance in the Paul Newman film “Cool Hand Luke,” died on Sunday in Boise, Idaho. He was 91. His death was confirmed by his grandson Cory Schenkel. Vicious killers, bumbling lawmen, saddle tramps, bank robbers, scowling bullies — anybody you’d be foolish to mess with or trust in an emergency — Mr. Kennedy portrayed them all in more than 200 films and television productions in an acting career that spanned nearly five decades. No critic ever spoke of a George Kennedy oeuvre. Many of his films were hokey, with absurd plots and over-the-top acting. And, with the exception of his Academy Award performance and his work in about a dozen other films, he was most often a peripheral player, a sidekick of the star or the straight man with setup lines for the comedian. But from the early 1960s on, hardly a year went by without a Kennedy picture — often there were four or five a year — and he was memorable as the heavy in “Charade” (1963), with Audrey Hepburn and Cary Grant; as an Army major in “The Dirty Dozen” (1967); as a regular in the “Airport” pictures, and later as Leslie Nielsen’s dumbstruck captain in the “Naked Gun” comedies. He was perhaps best known for his role in “Cool Hand Luke”: Dragline, a chain-gang prisoner whose brutality and compassion as the gang leader not only revealed Mr. Kennedy’s rarely seen range as an actor, but also deftly illuminated the character of his tormented fellow convict, played by Mr. Newman. Image George Kennedy, in “The Concorde ... Airport ’79,” was the only cast member to appear in all four “Airport” films. Credit...Universal Pictures, via Everett Collexction Besides winning the Academy Award, Mr. Kennedy’s performance won wide critical acclaim. “George Kennedy is powerfully obsessive as the top dog who handles things his way as effectively and finally as destructively as does the warden or the guards,” Bosley Crowther wrote in The New York Times. How The Times decides who gets an obituary. There is no formula, scoring system or checklist in determining the news value of a life. We investigate, research and ask around before settling on our subjects. If you know of someone who might be a candidate for a Times obituary, please suggest it here. Learn more about our process. Mr. Kennedy typically helped to make other stars look good, and he worked with a pantheon of them: Bette Davis, James Stewart, Burt Lancaster, Charlton Heston, John Wayne, Clint Eastwood and many more. Occasionally Mr. Kennedy headlined the cast of a B-movie, like “The Human Factor,” a 1975 vigilante-justice film, in which he wiped out terrorists who killed his family. He also starred in two television series: He was a cop turned priest in “Sarge,” seen on NBC in the early 1970s, and a patrolman in “The Blue Knight,” on CBS in 1975-76. Editors’ Picks A Marmalade to Make Paddington Proud The Gene That Made Mice Squeak Strangely Jane Fonda, Sneakerhead But his stock in trade was the supporting role, and his rugged but bland looks were right for almost any part. He was tall and burly, with a bull neck, eyes that widened with shock or narrowed to menacing slits, a disingenuous smile and big ham hands to grip the gun or slap the girl. In the mold of Lee Marvin or Lee Van Cleef, he was a first-rate thug, and his deadpan look was perfect for disaster pictures or comedies. Airport (1970) - Mechanic and Pilot ArgueCredit...CreditVideo by transitcheck In 1970 he played the improbable rescuer, Joe Patroni, in “Airport,” a soapy melodrama with an all-star cast about a bomber on a plane, an airport socked in by a blizzard and desperation aloft and on the ground. He reprised his role in the sequels, “Airport ’75,” “Airport ’77” and “The Concorde ... Airport ‘79.” He was the only cast member to appear in all four. In the cult favorite “The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad!” (1988) and its sequels, “Naked Gun 2 ½: The Smell of Fear” (1991) and “Naked Gun 331/3: The Final Insult” (1994), Mr. Kennedy played Capt. Ed Hocken, wincing and grimacing at the wreckage wrought by Mr. Nielsen’s bumbling Lt. Frank Drebin. George Kennedy after winning an Academy Award for best supporting actor. In 1991, Mr. Kennedy was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. “Ever since I was a little boy,” he said, “my primary heroes were movie stars.” George Harris Kennedy Jr. was born in New York City on Feb. 18, 1925, the son of George and Helen Kennedy. His father, a musician and bandleader, died when he was 4, and his mother, a ballet dancer, raised him. His parents put him on the stage at 2, and he later worked in radio. But his entertainment career got off to a late start. A military career seemed more likely. After graduating from Chaminade High School in Mineola, N.Y., he joined the Army, fought in the infantry in Europe in World War II and spent 16 years in the service. He opened the Army’s first office of technical assistance for films and television, and in the late 1950s retired and became an adviser to “The Phil Silvers Show.” Soon, he was speaking lines on that program, and by the early 1960s, he was playing roles on shows like “Maverick,” “Peter Gunn” and “Route 66.” From 1988 to 1991 he was on the prime-time CBS soap opera “Dallas,” playing Carter McKay, a rival of the Ewing brothers. He made occasional appearances in films and television shows in recent years. In 2014 he was in the film “The Gambler,” starring Mark Wahlberg and Jessica Lange. He published a memoir, “Trust Me,” in 2011. His first marriage, to Revel Wurman in 1959, ended in divorce in 1978. He married Joan McCarthy in 1978. She died in 2014. In addition to his grandson Mr. Schenkel, Mr. Kennedy, who lived in Eagle, Idaho, near Boise, is survived by a daughter, Shannon Sullivan; four other grandchildren; and one great-grandson. A correction was made on March 1, 2016: An earlier version of this obituary referred incorrectly to the character Mr. Kennedy played in “The Dirty Dozen.” He was an Army major, not “a condemned trooper on a World War II mission.” A correction was made on March 3, 2016: An obituary on Tuesday about the actor George Kennedy misidentified the high school from which he graduated. It is Chaminade High School in Mineola, N.Y. — not W. C. Mepham High School in Bellmore, N.Y. When we learn of a mistake, we acknowledge it with a correction. If you spot an error, please let us know at [contact link]. Daniel E. Slotnik contributed reporting.

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George Kennedy lived 19 years longer than the average family member when died at the age of 91.

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Amanda S. Stevenson

17.7k+ favorites

02/19/2025

George Kennedy

Oscar for Cool Hand Luke.

Date & Place: Not specified or unknown.

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Amanda S. Stevenson

17.7k+ favorites

02/19/2025

George Kennedy

Denise Cutrone Binder

Birthday remembrance
GEORGE KENNEDY

February 18, 1925 – February 28, 2016 (91)
George Harris Kennedy Jr appeared in more than 200 film and television productions.
He graduated from Chaminade High School in Mineola, New York (1943) and John Tarleton Agricultural College (now Tarleton State University, Stephenville, Texas).
He enlisted in the United States Army during World War II and went on to serve 16 years, both in combat, and in his later years, as an Armed Forces Radio and Television officer.
His film career began in 1961 in The Little Shepherd of Kingdom Come. He appeared in several Hollywood movies, including as a sadistic jail guard in the Kirk Douglas western Lonely Are the Brave (1962), a ruthless criminal in the Cary Grant film Charade (1963), and in a Joan Crawford thriller, Strait-Jacket (1964).
He is best remembered for portraying "Dragline" opposite Paul Newman in Cool Hand Luke (1967), for which he won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor and was nominated for the Golden Globe. He received a second Golden Globe nomination for portraying Joe Patroni in Airport (1970).
Among the notable films he had a significant role in are McHale's Navy, Shenandoah, The Sons of Katie Elder, The Flight of the Phoenix, The Dirty Dozen, The Boston Strangler, Guns of the Magnificent Seven, Thunderbolt and Lightfoot, The Good Guys and the Bad Guys, Airport 1975, Earthquake and The Eiger Sanction.
Kennedy was the only actor to appear in all four films in the Airport series, having reprised the role of Joe Patroni three times. He also played Police Captain Ed Hocken in the Naked Gun series of comedy films, and corrupt oil tycoon Carter McKay on the original Dallas television series.
He also starred in two television series, Sarge, which aired from 1971-72 on NBC, and The Blue Knight, a CBS series that ran for 24 episodes from 1975-76.
Kennedy made his final film appearance in The Gambler (2014) as Ed, the dying grandfather of Mark Wahlberg's Jim Bennett.
Kennedy wrote three books. In 1983, he wrote the murder mystery Murder On Location, set on a film shoot. A second novel, Murder on High, was released in 1984. In 2011, he wrote his autobiography, Trust Me.

Date & Place: Not specified or unknown.

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