George Kennedy (New York, USA, February 18, 1925 - Middleton, Idaho, USA, February 28, 2016)
He was born in New York as George Harris Kennedy Jr. and his parents were a dancer and a musician. After graduation from high school in 1943, he joined the military because he wanted to become a pilot. He ended up in infantry and served under General George S. Patton’s command. In 1959, after sixteen years in the service, his military career finished because he injured his back. In mid 1950’s he began working as a technical advisor for the TV comedy show The Phil Silvers Show (1956-1959) about a resourceful military sergeant. Even though he was unaccredited, he also appeared in smaller roles in ten episodes of the show. His first accredited roles were in several TV series during the 1950 and 1960’s. He made his feature film debut in the war drama The Little Shepherd of Kingdom Come (1961). Being a big and strong man, in the beginning of his a career he mostly played bad guy. During the 1960’s he appeared in many smaller roles in many films. Those were mainly westerns such as Lonely Are the Brave (1962), Shenandoah (1965), The Sons of Katie Elder (1965), Bandolero! (1968), and he portrayed the hero in Guns of the Magnificent Seven (1969). Other important films from this period include: romantic crime comedy Charade (1963), psychological thriller Hush...Hush, Sweet Charlotte (1964), war drama In Harm's Way (1965), thriller Mirage (1965), adventure drama The Flight of the Phoenix (1965), war drama The Dirty Dozen (1967), drama Cool Hand Luke (1967) and thriller The Boston Strangler (1968). For his supporting role in the drama Cool Hand Luke he won an Oscar in 1968. The very successful disaster film Airport (1970), and he was the only actor from the original film who appeared in the next three sequels (Airport 1975 (1974), Airport '77 (1977) and The Concorde... Airport '79 (1979). His next disaster film Earthquake (1974) was also quite popular. He shortly returned to westerns with Cahill U.S. Marshal (1973) in which he was joined by John Wayne, Thunderbolt and Lightfoot (1974) also starring Clint Eastwood. Afterwards he starred in the popular thriller The Eiger Sanction (1975), and appeared in the film adaptation of Agatha Christie’s novel Death on the Nile (1978). During the 1980’s he had some bigger roles, but they were mostly in B productions. Some of them stand out: Just Before Dawn (1981); Bolero (1984) that was somewhat more popular but destroyed from the film critics; action drama with Chuck Norris The Delta Force (1986) and horror omnibus Creepshow 2 (1987). He starred in his most successful film in late 1980’s - together with Leslie Nielson in the comedy The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! (1988). Besides, he starred in the popular TV show Dallas from 1988 to 1991. He received his star at the Walk of Fame in Hollywood in 1991. During the 1990’s he starred in more B films and among them several stand out: sequels to The Naked Gun (The Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of Fear, 1991 and Naked Gun 33 1/3: The Final Insult, 1994). Among his last films is the musical drama by Wim Wenders Don't Come Knocking (2005), comedy Another Happy Day (2011) and crime drama The Gambler (2014), which was his last film. He wrote two crime novels and his autobiography entitled Trust me in 2011. He passed away ten days after his 91st birthday.
Filmography:
The Gambler (2014)
Another Happy Day (2011)
Mad Mad Wagon Party (2010)
Six Days in Paradise (2010)
The Man Who Came Back (2008)
Sands of Oblivion (2007) (TV)
Don't Come Knocking (2005)
Truce (2005)
Three Bad Men (2005)
The Devil's Due at Midnight (2004) (video)
Monster Makers (2003) (TV)
View from the Top (2003) (uncredited)
Men in White (1998) (TV)
Dennis the Menace Strikes Again! (1998) (video)
Small Soldiers (1998) (voice)
Dallas: War of the Ewings (1998) (TV)
Cats Don't Dance (1997) (video)
Bayou Ghost (1997)
Dallas: J.R. Returns (1996) (TV)
Naked Gun 33 1/3: The Final Insult (1994)
River of Stone (1994)
Distant Justice (1992)
Final Shot: The Hank Gathers Story (1992) (TV)
Intensive Care (1991)
The Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of Fear (1991)
Driving Me Crazy (1991)
Hangfire (1991)
Good Cops, Bad Cops (1990) (TV)
Mayumi (1990)
Hired to Kill (1990)
Brain Dead (1990)
Ministry of Vengeance (1989)
The Terror Within (1989)
La bahía esmeralda (1989)
The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! (1988)
Uninvited (1988) (video)
Top Line (1988)
Nightmare at Noon (1988)
Demonwarp (1988)
Escuadrón (1988)
Born to Race (1988)
What Price Victory (1988) (TV)
Kenny Rogers as The Gambler, Part III: The Legend Continues (1987) (TV)
The Gunfighters (1987) (TV)
Creepshow 2 (1987) (segment "Old Chief Wood'nhead")
Private Road: No Trespassing (1987) (video)
Liberty (1986) (TV)
The Delta Force (1986)
Savage Dawn (1985)
Radioactive Dreams (1985)
International Airport (1985) (TV)
Rigged (1985)
Half Nelson (1985) (TV)
Bolero (1984)
The Jesse Owens Story (1984) (TV)
Rare Breed (1984)
Chattanooga Choo Choo (1984)
Wacko (1982)
Just Before Dawn (1981)
The Archer: Fugitive from the Empire (1981) (TV)
Hotwire (1980)
Fukkatsu no hi (1980)
Death Ship (1980)
The Concorde... Airport '79 (1979)
Steel (1979)
Never Say Never (1979) (TV)
The Double McGuffin (1979)
Search and Destroy (1979)
Brass Target (1978)
Death on the Nile (1978)
Mean Dog Blues (1978)
Ningen no shômei (1977)
Aerodrom '77 (Airport '77, 1977)
The 'Human' Factor (1975)
The Eiger Sanction (1975)
Earthquake (1974)
Airport 1975 (1974)
Thunderbolt and Lightfoot (1974)
A Cry in the Wilderness (1974) (TV)
Sonic Boom (1974)
Deliver Us from Evil (1973) (TV)
Cahill U.S. Marshal (1973)
Lost Horizon (1973)
A Great American Tragedy (1972) (TV)
Fools' Parade (1971)
Dirty Dingus Magee (1970)
Zig Zag (1970)
Airport (1970)
Gaily, Gaily (1969)
The Good Guys and the Bad Guys (1969)
Guns of the Magnificent Seven (1969)
The Boston Strangler (1968)
The Legend of Lylah Clare (1968) (uncredited)
The Pink Jungle (1968)
Bandolero! (1968)
Cool Hand Luke (1967)
The Dirty Dozen (1967)
Hurry Sundown (1967)
The Ballad of Josie (1967)
The Flight of the Phoenix (1965)
The Sons of Katie Elder (1965)
Shenandoah (1965)
Mirage (1965)
In Harm's Way (1965)
Hush...Hush, Sweet Charlotte (1964)
See How They Run (1964) (TV)
Island of the Blue Dolphins (1964)
McHale's Navy (1964)
Strait-Jacket (1964)
Charade (1963)
The Man from the Diners' Club (1963)
The Silent Witness (1962)
Lonely Are the Brave (1962)
The Little Shepherd of Kingdom Come (1961)