George Kennedy
Biography
George Kennedy was a European-American actor. He was born on February 18, 1925, in New York City, New York, USA. Kennedy appeared in numerous films and television shows, with over 200 credits to his name. He started his career in television westerns in the late 1950s and early 1960s, appearing in shows such as Have Gun - Will Travel and Rawhide. Kennedy's acting career spanned many decades, with a notable role in the film Cool Hand Luke. He passed away on February 28, 2016, at the age of 91.
Career overview
George Kennedy began his acting career in television westerns during the late 1950s and early 1960s. He appeared in various shows, including Have Gun - Will Travel, Rawhide, Maverick, and Colt .45. Kennedy's early work laid the foundation for his future success in the film industry.
Kennedy's film career took off with minor roles in movies such as Lonely Are the Brave and The Sons of Kat. He went on to accumulate a significant number of acting credits, with over 178 known credits to his name. Kennedy's versatility as an actor allowed him to play a wide range of characters, often portraying tough, no-nonsense individuals with complex personalities.
Kennedy's most notable achievement in his acting career was his role in the 1967 film Cool Hand Luke. Although the specific details of his performance are not mentioned in the provided sources, it is stated that he won an Oscar for his supporting role in this film. This recognition marked a significant milestone in Kennedy's career, cementing his status as a talented and respected actor in the Hollywood community.
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Frequent co-stars
Career timeline
Full filmography
- Airports (2025)
- The Gambler (2014) as Ed
- Another Happy Day (2011) as Joe Baker
- 2Everything2Terrible2: Tokyo Drift (2010) as (archive footage)
- Six Days in Paradise (2010) as Monty Crenshaw
- The Boneyard Collection (2008) as Professor Zebediah Jones (segment "The Devil's Due at Midnight")
- The Man Who Came Back (2008) as Judge Duke
- A Natural Born World-Shaker: The Making of 'Cool Hand Luke' (2008) as Self
- Sands of Oblivion (2007) as John Tevis
- Armed and Deadly: The Making of 'The Dirty Dozen' (2006) as Self
- Don't Come Knocking (2005) as Director
- Three Bad Men (2005) as Ed Fiske
- Truce (2005) as Dr. Peter Gannon
- View from the Top (2003) as Passenger Requesting Vodka (uncredited)
- Monster Makers (2003) as Dexter Brisbane
- Small Soldiers (1998) as Brick Bazooka (voice)
- Dennis the Menace Strikes Again! (1998) as Mr. Johnson
- Men in White (1998) as Army
- Dallas: War of The Ewings (1998) as Carter McKay
- Hollyweird (1998) as George Kennedy
- Cats Don't Dance (1997) as L.B. Mammoth (voice)
- Bayou Ghost (1997) as Officer Lowe
- The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest (1996) as General Axton (voice)
- Dallas: J.R. Returns (1996) as Carter McKay
- Santo Bugito (1995) as Ralph (voice)
- Duckman (1994) as Movie Director (voice)
- Naked Gun 33⅓: The Final Insult (1994) as Ed Hocken
- WWE SummerSlam 1994 (1994) as Himself
- Late Night with Conan O'Brien (1993) as Self - Guest
- Distant Justice (1992) as Tom Bradfield
- Final Shot: The Hank Gathers Story (1992) as Father Dave Hagan
- The Commish (1991) as Al Scali
- The Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of Fear (1991) as Ed Hocken
- Intensive Care (1991) as Dr. Bruckner
- Driving Me Crazy (1991) as John McCready
- Hangfire (1991) as Warden Barles
- Wings (1990) as George Kennedy
- Hired to Kill (1990) as Thomas
- Good Cops, Bad Cops (1990)
- Mayumi: Virgin Terrorist (1990) as Bahraini Investigator
- Brain Dead (1990) as Vance
- Ministry of Vengeance (1989) as Rev. Hughes
- Esmeralda Bay (1989) as Wilson
- The Terror Within (1989) as Hal
- The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! (1988) as Ed Hocken
- Demonwarp (1988) as Bill Crafton
- Top Line (1988) as Heinrich Holzmann
- Nightmare at Noon (1988) as Sherrif Hanks
- Born to Race (1988) as Vincent Duplain
- Counterforce (1988) as Vince Colby
- What Price Victory (1988) as Big Buck Brayton
- Uninvited (1988) as Mike Harvey
- Private Road: No Trespassing (1988) as Sam Milshaw
- Creepshow 2 (1987) as Ray Spruce
- The Gambler: The Legend Continues (1987) as General Nelson Miles
- The Gunfighters (1987) as Deke Turner
- The Delta Force (1986) as Father O'Malley
- Radioactive Dreams (1986) as Spade Chandler
- Liberty (1986) as Seamus Reilly
- Savage Dawn (1985) as Tick Rand
- International Airport (1985) as Rudy Van Leuven
- Half Nelson (1985) as Parsons
- Rigged (1985) as Ben Wheeler
- The Jesse Owens Story (1984) as Charles 'Charley' Riley
- Bolero (1984) as Cotton
- Chattanooga Choo Choo (1984) as Bert
- A Rare Breed (1984)
- Wacko (1982) as Mr. Doctor Graves
- The Jupiter Menace (1982) as Himself
- Modern Romance (1981) as George Kennedy / Zeron
- Just Before Dawn (1981) as Roy McLean
- The Archer: Fugitive from the Empire (1981) as Brakus
- Hotwire (1980) as Farley & Harley Fontenot
- Virus (1980) as Admiral Conway
- Death Ship (1980) as Captain Ashland
- The Concorde... Airport '79 (1979) as Joe Patroni
- The Double McGuffin (1979) as Chief Talasek
- Backstairs at the White House (1979) as Pres. Warren G. Harding
- Steel (1979) as Big Lew Cassidy
- Search and Destroy (1979) as Anthony Fusqua
- Dallas (1978) as Carter McKay
- Death on the Nile (1978) as Andrew Pennington
- Brass Target (1978) as Gen. George S. Patton
- Mean Dog Blues (1978) as Captain Omar Kinsman
- Death on the Nile: Making of Featurette (1978) as Self
- Proof of the Man (1977) as Ken Shuftan
- Airport '77 (1977) as Joe Patroni
- Saturday Night Live (1975) as Self - Host
- The Blue Knight (1975) as Bumper Morgan
- The Eiger Sanction (1975) as Ben Bowman
- The Blue Knight (1975) as Officer Bumper Morgan
- The Human Factor (1975) as John Kinsdale
- The Lion Roars Again (1975) as Self
- Thunderbolt and Lightfoot (1974) as Red Leary
- Earthquake (1974) as Sgt. Lew Slade
- Airport 1975 (1974) as Joe Patroni
- Sonic Boom (1974) as Ben Dover
- A Cry in the Wilderness (1974) as Sam Hadley
- The Dean Martin Celebrity Roasts (1973) as Self
- Lost Horizon (1973) as Sam Cornelius
- Cahill: United States Marshal (1973) as Abe Fraser
- Deliver Us from Evil (1973) as Walter 'Cowboy' McAdams
- The Bull of the West (1972) as 'Bear' Suchette
- A Great American Tragedy (1972) as Brad Wilkes
- Fools' Parade (1971) as Dallas 'Doc' Council
- Sarge (1971) as Samuel Cavanaugh
- The Priest Killer (1971) as Father Samuel Cavanaugh
- Sarge: The Badge or the Cross (1971) as Sarge Swanson
- … tick… tick… tick… (1970) as John Little
- Airport (1970) as Joe Patroni
- Zig Zag (1970) as Paul R. Cameron
- Dirty Dingus Magee (1970) as Herkimer 'Hoke' Birdsill
- The Good Guys and the Bad Guys (1969) as McKay
- Guns of the Magnificent Seven (1969) as Chris
- Gaily, Gaily (1969) as Axel P. Johanson
- Bandolero! (1968) as Sheriff July Johnson
- The Legend of Lylah Clare (1968) as Matt Burke
- The Ballad of Josie (1968) as Arch Ogden
- The Boston Strangler (1968) as Det. Phil DiNatale
- The Pink Jungle (1968) as Sammy Ryderbeit
- Ironside (1967) as Father Samuel Cavanaugh
- The Dirty Dozen (1967) as Major Max Armbruster
- Cool Hand Luke (1967) as Dragline
- Hurry Sundown (1967) as Sheriff Coombs
- Tarzan (1966)
- The Big Valley (1965) as Thatcher
- Laredo (1965)
- The Legend of Jesse James (1965) as Blodgett
- The Sons of Katie Elder (1965) as Curley
- In Harm's Way (1965) as Colonel Gregory
- The Flight of the Phoenix (1965) as Bellamy
- Mirage (1965) as Willard
- Shenandoah (1965) as Col. Fairchild
- Daniel Boone (1964) as Zach Morgan
- The Rogues (1964) as Major Vyx
- Island of the Blue Dolphins (1964) as Aleut Captain
- Hush... Hush, Sweet Charlotte (1964) as Foreman
- McHale's Navy (1964) as Henri Le Clerc
- See How They Run (1964) as Rudy
- Strait-Jacket (1964) as Leo Krause
- Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre (1963) as Der
- The Great Adventure (1963) as Sergeant Muldaney
- Grindl (1963)
- Charade (1963) as Herman Scobie
- The Man from the Diners' Club (1963) as George
- The Merv Griffin Show (1962) as Self
- The Virginian (1962) as Jack Marshman
- The Virginian (1962) as Tom 'Bear' Suchette
- The Virginian (1962) as Huck Harkness
- The Alfred Hitchcock Hour (1962) as George Martin
- Going My Way (1962)
- Lonely are the Brave (1962) as Deputy Sheriff Gutierrez
- The Mike Douglas Show (1961) as Self
- Dr. Kildare (1961) as Joe Cramer
- Dr. Kildare (1961) as Sergeant Hensley
- Gunslinger (1961) as Sheriff
- Kraft Mystery Theatre (1961)
- The Asphalt Jungle (1961)
- Gunfight at Black Horses Canyon (1961) as Hawk
- The Little Shepherd Of Kingdom Come (1961) as Nathan Dillon
- The Andy Griffith Show (1960) as State Police Detective
- Thriller (1960) as John Paterson
- Route 66 (1960)
- The Tall Man (1960)
- Surfside 6 (1960) as Gabe Buchanan
- Outlaws (1960)
- Bonanza (1959) as Waldo Watson
- Bonanza (1959) as Peter Long
- Rawhide (1959) as George Wales
- Riverboat (1959) as Gunner Slagle
- Bat Masterson (1958) as Sheriff Zeke Armitage
- Peter Gunn (1958)
- Lawman (1958)
- 77 Sunset Strip (1958)
- Perry Mason (1957) as George Spangler
- Maverick (1957) as Deputy Jones
- Have Gun, Will Travel (1957)
- Have Gun, Will Travel (1957) as Deke - Killer
- Have Gun, Will Travel (1957) as Big Jim
- Have Gun, Will Travel (1957) as Sam Tarnitzer
- Sugarfoot (1957) as Ross Kuhn
- Sugarfoot (1957) as Sykes
- Cheyenne (1955) as Lee Nelson
- Gunsmoke (1955) as Emil
- Gunsmoke (1955) as Swarner
- Gunsmoke (1955) as Bayloe
- Gunsmoke (1955) as Hug
- Gunsmoke (1955) as Stark
- Gunsmoke (1955) as Cyrus
- Gunsmoke (1955) as Ben Payson
- The Phil Silvers Show (1955) as Kennedy (uncredited)
- The Oscars (1953) as Self