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+ appea ... rances 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.
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| Organization | Category | Movie | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Academy Awards | Best Supporting Actor | The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance | Nominated |
Dallas
as Carter McKay
Episodes: 52
First Aired: Apr 02, 1978
The Blue Knight
as Officer Bumper Morgan
Episodes: 24
First Aired: May 09, 1975
Sarge
as Father Samuel Cavanaugh
Episodes: 14
First Aired: Sep 21, 1971
Backstairs at the White House
as Pres. Warren G. Harding
Episodes: 4
First Aired: Jan 29, 1979
Dr. Kildare
as Joe Cramer
Episodes: 2
First Aired: Sep 27, 1961
Dr. Kildare
as Sergeant Hensley
Episodes: 2
First Aired: Sep 27, 1961
The Phil Silvers Show
as MP Sgt. Kennedy (uncredited)
Episodes: 2
First Aired: Sep 20, 1955
The Andy Griffith Show
as State Police Detective
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Oct 03, 1960
The Great Adventure
as Sergeant Muldaney
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Sep 27, 1963
Cheyenne
as Lee Nelson
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Sep 20, 1955
Wings
as George Kennedy
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Apr 19, 1990
Gunsmoke
as Emil
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Sep 10, 1955
Perry Mason
as George Spangler
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Sep 21, 1957
The Rogues
as Major Vyx
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Sep 13, 1964
Rawhide
as George Wales
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Jan 09, 1959
Daniel Boone
as Zach Morgan
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Sep 24, 1964
The Virginian
as Jack Marshman
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Sep 19, 1962
Thriller
as John Paterson
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Sep 13, 1960
The Big Valley
as Thatcher
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Sep 15, 1965
Bat Masterson
as Sheriff Zeke Armitage
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Oct 08, 1958
Riverboat
as Gunner Slagle
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Sep 13, 1959
The Legend of Jesse James
as Blodgett
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Sep 13, 1965
The Virginian
as Tom 'Bear' Suchette
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Sep 19, 1962
Gunsmoke
as Bayloe
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Sep 10, 1955
Gunsmoke
as Swarner
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Sep 10, 1955
The Virginian
as Huck Harkness
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Sep 19, 1962
Gunsmoke
as Hug
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Sep 10, 1955
Gunsmoke
as Stark
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Sep 10, 1955
Gunsmoke
as Cyrus
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Sep 10, 1955
Gunsmoke
as Ben Payson
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Sep 10, 1955
Santo Bugito
as Ralph (voice)
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Jan 01, 1995
Bonanza
as Waldo Watson
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Sep 12, 1959
Bonanza
as Peter Long
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Sep 12, 1959
The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest
as General Axton (voice)
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Aug 26, 1996
Have Gun, Will Travel
as Deke - Killer
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Sep 14, 1957
Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre
as Der
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Oct 04, 1963
The Commish
as Al Scali
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Sep 28, 1991
Ironside
as Father Samuel Cavanaugh
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Mar 28, 1967
The Alfred Hitchcock Hour
as George Martin
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Sep 20, 1962
Sugarfoot
as Ross Kuhn
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Sep 17, 1957
Have Gun, Will Travel
as Big Jim
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Sep 14, 1957
Have Gun, Will Travel
Episodes: 5
First Aired: Sep 14, 1957
The Oscars
as Self
Episodes: 3
First Aired: Mar 19, 1953
The Tall Man
Episodes: 2
First Aired: Sep 10, 1960
The Asphalt Jungle
Episodes: 2
First Aired: Apr 02, 1961
77 Sunset Strip
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Oct 10, 1958
Route 66
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Oct 07, 1960
Surfside 6
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Oct 06, 1960
Laredo
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Sep 16, 1965
Going My Way
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Oct 03, 1962
Outlaws
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Sep 26, 1960
Peter Gunn
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Sep 22, 1958
Tarzan
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Sep 08, 1966
Grindl
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Sep 15, 1963
Lawman
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Oct 05, 1958
Kraft Mystery Theatre
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Jun 14, 1961
Maverick
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Sep 22, 1957
Saturday Night Live
as Self - Host
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Oct 11, 1975
The Dean Martin Celebrity Roasts
as Self
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Sep 14, 1973
The Mike Douglas Show
as Self
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Dec 11, 1961
Popularity History
| Year | Month | Avg | Max | Min |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 5 | 28 | 28 | 28 |
| 2024 | 6 | 21 | 26 | 14 |
| 2024 | 7 | 25 | 44 | 14 |
| 2024 | 8 | 18 | 34 | 11 |
| 2024 | 9 | 12 | 21 | 6 |
| 2024 | 10 | 11 | 22 | 7 |
| 2024 | 11 | 10 | 17 | 5 |
| 2024 | 12 | 11 | 19 | 7 |
| 2025 | 1 | 19 | 43 | 10 |
| 2025 | 2 | 10 | 18 | 2 |
| 2025 | 3 | 4 | 14 | 0 |
| 2025 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 2025 | 5 | 4 | 9 | 1 |
| 2025 | 6 | 4 | 10 | 1 |
| 2025 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 2025 | 8 | 2 | 4 | 0 |