George Kennedy

George Harris Kennedy Jr. He was raised by his mother, Helen A. (née Kieselbach), a ballet dancer. His maternal grandfather was a German immigrant; his other ancestry was Irish and English.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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. 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

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, Kennedy was an aviator who enjoyed flying and owned a Cessna 210 and Beechcraft Bonanza. Following his experiences working for the Far East Network in the 1950s while still in the Army and professional involvement with Proof of the Man and Virus, Kennedy maintained a lifelong affinity for Japan and its culture. 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.

Lonely Are the Brave Deputy Sheriff Gutierrez directed by David Miller The Silent Witness Gus Jordan

The Man from the Diners' Club George directed by Frank Tashlin Charade Herman Scobie directed by Stanley Donen

Strait-Jacket Leo Krause directed and co-produced by William Castle McHale's Navy Henri Le Clerc based on the 1962–1966 sitcom of the same name and directed by Edward Montagne Island of the Blue Dolphins Aleut Captain directed by James B. Clark Hush... Hush, Sweet Charlotte Foreman directed and produced by Robert Aldrich

In Harm's Way Colonel Gregory produced and directed by Otto Preminger Mirage Willard directed by Edward Dmytryk and based on the novel Fallen Angel written by Howard Fast under the pseudonym Walter Ericson Shenandoah Colonel Fairchild directed by Andrew V. McLaglen The Sons of Katie Elder Curley directed by Henry Hathaway The Flight of the Phoenix Mike Bellamy produced and directed by Robert Aldrich and based on the 1964 novel The Flight of the Phoenix by Elleston Trevor

Hurry Sundown Sheriff Coombs produced and directed by Otto Preminger The Dirty Dozen Major Max Armbruster directed by Robert Aldrich Cool Hand Luke Dragline directed by Stuart Rosenberg The Ballad of Josie Arch Ogden

Bandolero! Sheriff July Johnson The Pink Jungle Sammy Ryderbeit directed by Delbert Mann 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

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 Gaily, Gaily Axel P. Johanson directed by Norman Jewison and based on the autobiographical novel by Ben Hecht

...tick...tick...tick... John Little directed by Ralph Nelson Airport Joe Patroni directed by George Seaton and based on Arthur Hailey's 1968 novel of the same name Zig Zag Paul R. Cameron directed by Richard A. Colla Dirty Dingus Magee Herkimer "Hoke" Birdsill directed and produced by Burt Kennedy 1971 Fools' Parade Dallas "Doc" Council directed by Andrew McLaglen

Lost Horizon Sam Cornelius directed by Charles Jarrott Cahill U.S. Marshal Abe Fraser directed by Andrew V. McLaglen

Thunderbolt and Lightfoot Red Leary written and directed by Michael Cimino Airport 1975 Joe Patroni directed by Jack Smight Earthquake Sergeant Lew Slade directed and produced by Mark Robson

The Eiger Sanction Ben Bowman based on the novel of the same name by Trevanian and directed by and starring Clint Eastwood The "Human" Factor John Kinsdale directed by Edward Dmytryk

Airport '77 Joe Patroni directed by Jerry Jameson Proof of the Man Ken Shuftan directed by Junya Satō

Mean Dog Blues Captain Omar Kinsman directed by Mel Stuart Death on the Nile Andrew Pennington based on the novel of the same name, directed by John Guillermin, and adapted by Anthony Shaffer Brass Target General George S. Patton based on the novel The Algonquin Project by Frederick Nolan and directed by John Hough

Search and Destroy Anthony Fusqua directed by William Fruet The Double McGuffin Chief Talasek directed by Joe Camp Steel Big Lew Cassidy directed by Steve Carver The Concorde... Airport '79 Captain Joe Patroni directed by David Lowell Rich

Death Ship Captain Ashland directed by Alvin Rakoff Virus Admiral Conway directed by Kinji Fukasaku and based on a 1964 novel written by Sakyo Komatsu. Hotwire Farley & Harley Fontenot

Just Before Dawn Roy McLean directed by Jeff Lieberman Modern Romance Himself; Zoron directed by Albert Brooks The Archer: Fugitive from the Empire Brakus written, directed and produced by Nicholas J. Corea

Wacko Mr. Doctor Graves directed by Greydon Clark The Jupiter Menace Himself documentary

Chattanooga Choo Choo Bert directed by Bruce Bilson A Rare Breed Nathan Hill Bolero Cotton written and directed by John Derek Rigged Ben

Radioactive Dreams Spade Chandler directed by Albert Pyun Savage Dawn Tick Rand directed by Simon Nuchtern 1986 The Delta Force Father O'Malley directed by Menahem Golan

Creepshow 2 Ray Spruce directed by Michael Gornick The Gunfighters Deke Turner directed by Clay Borris Uninvited Mike Harvey

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

The Terror Within Hal Ministry of Vengeance Rev. Hughes Esmeralda Bay Wilson directed by Jesús Franco

Brain Dead Vance Hired to Kill Thomas Mayumi Bahraini investigator directed by Shin Sang-ok

Hangfire Warden E. Barles Driving Me Crazy John McCready The Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of Fear Captain Ed Hocken Intensive Care Dr. Bruckner

Final Shot: The Hank Gathers Story Father Dave Distant Justice Tom Bradfield

Naked Gun : The Final Insult Captain Ed Hocken River of Stone

Cats Don't Dance L.B. Mammoth voice Bayou Ghost Officer Lowe

Small Soldiers Brick Bazooka voice Dennis the Menace Strikes Again Grandpa Johnson Direct-to-video 2003 View from the Top Passenger Requesting Vodka uncredited

Three Bad Men Ed Fiske Truce Dr. Peter Gannon Don't Come Knocking director 2008 The Man Who Came Back Judge Duke

Six Days in Paradise Monty Crenshaw Mad Mad Wagon Party JB Scotch 2011 Another Happy Day Joe Baker 2014 The Gambler Ed Television

Awards and nominations

Honors

For his contributions to motion pictures, Kennedy received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, at 6352 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, California.