--- name: "George Kennedy" canonical: "https://film.one/person/george-kennedy" fi1m_id: "george-kennedy" imdb_id: "nm0001421" tmdb_id: 12950 wikidata_id: "Q298818" roles: ["Actor"] born: "18 February 1925" died: "28 February 2016" reviewed_on_fi1m: 4 average_fi1m_score: 75 average_as: "actor" average_over: 4 updated: "2026-10-04T23:42:37.909837+00:00" licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # George Kennedy ## Identity George Kennedy - **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/george-kennedy - **Type:** Person - **Fi1m ID:** george-kennedy - **IMDb ID:** nm0001421 - **TMDB ID:** 12950 - **Wikidata ID:** Q298818 - **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Kennedy, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q298818, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001421/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/12950 Actor. Born 18 February 1925 in New York City, New York, USA. Died 28 February 2016. ## Details - **Work:** Actor - **Born:** 18 February 1925, New York City, New York, USA - **Died:** 28 February 2016 - **Active:** 1967–1994 - **Also known as:** George Harris Kennedy Jr., جورج کندی - **Frequently works with:** [David Zucker](https://film.one/person/david-zucker.md), [Leslie Nielsen](https://film.one/person/leslie-nielsen.md), [O. J. Simpson](https://film.one/person/o-j-simpson.md), [Pat Proft](https://film.one/person/pat-proft.md), [Priscilla Presley](https://film.one/person/priscilla-presley.md), [Robert K. Weiss](https://film.one/person/robert-k-weiss.md) - **Academy Awards:** 1 Oscar (1 won) - **Average Fi1m score:** 75, as actor, over 4 titles - **Fi1m score by decade:** 1960s 84 (1), 1970s 56 (1), 1980s 88 (1), 1990s 72 (1) - **Fi1m against the critics:** 75 to 69 across 4 titles - **Score spread:** 2 at 80+, 1 at 60–79, 1 under 60 - **Lead roles:** 1 of 4 acting credits billed first or second - **Genres:** Crime 3, Comedy 2, Drama 2, Action 1, Thriller 1 - **Screen time:** 7 hours of reviewed films - **Box office:** $461m across 4 films with figures - **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Kennedy, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q298818, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001421/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/12950 ## Streaming the US now - **Hulu:** [*The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad!*](https://film.one/film/the-naked-gun-from-the-files-of-police-squad.md) (88), [*The Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of Fear*](https://film.one/film/the-naked-gun-212-the-smell-of-fear.md) (72) For United States; add `?region=XX` for another country. ## Fi1m on George Kennedy > A big man who made himself useful. George Kennedy spent half a century playing the sergeant, the mechanic and the captain, and was at his best when a film let him take the job entirely seriously while the audience laughed. Cigar in his teeth, voice up, George Kennedy is standing on a runway in *Airport* (1970) trying to shift a jet that does not want to be shifted. Everyone else in the film is having an affair or a breakdown. Joe Patroni is having a shift. Our review called him the only person on screen who appears to enjoy his job, and that is Kennedy in one line: a large man who would rather fix the thing than talk about it. He came to films late, after sixteen years in the US Army, and by way of television westerns and small parts from the mid-1950s. The size got him cast as heavies first, Herman Scobie in *Charade* (1963) among them. Then came the late 1960s, *The Dirty Dozen* (1967) and, the same year, Dragline in *Cool Hand Luke*, the chain-gang heavy whose contempt for a new prisoner does not last. That is the performance people mean when they say he could act rather than merely stand there, and it is the one we would send a newcomer to first. The 1970s made him the disaster film's handyman. He played Patroni in all four *Airport* films, from 1970 to 1979, the only actor to last the whole series, and by the end the part had stopped asking anything of him. Critics have called him a lug, and the later sequels give them their evidence. The bulk that made Dragline frightening became a costume, and the studios were happy to hire the costume. Then, at sixty-three, he found the best use for it. As Ed Hocken in *The Naked Gun* (1988), and in its two sequels, Kennedy plays Frank Drebin's captain exactly as he would have played a captain in a film with no jokes in it. Our review noted that he fitted comfortably alongside Priscilla Presley and Ricardo Montalban as ordinary acting that had wandered into the wrong film, and that is the whole trick. Nielsen is the star, but Nielsen needs somebody to nod. We laughed hardest at Hocken not when he did anything but when he simply listened to Drebin, brow furrowed, taking nonsense down as if it were evidence, because thirty years of playing men who mean it had taught him never to blink. He went on working in supporting parts until *The Gambler* (2014), much of it in films nobody will ask you about. Asked once where he trained, he said "In life", and you can see what he meant and also what it cost him: a man who looked that much like the real thing was offered little else. If you want him, take the two ends. Dragline in 1967 and Hocken in 1988 are the same man, once in earnest and once in on the joke, and the joke is funnier for knowing how earnest he had been. ## Biography George Kennedy (1925–2016) was an American actor who appeared in more than 200 film and television productions. He won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance as Dragline in *Cool Hand Luke* (1967). Kennedy played Joe Patroni in all four *Airport* films (1970–1979) and Captain Ed Hocken in the *Naked Gun* trilogy (1988–1994). A World War II veteran, he began his screen career in television westerns in the late 1950s before taking film roles including *Charade* (1963) and *The Dirty Dozen* (1967). *Sources: en.wikipedia.org, imdb.com, theguardian.com.* ## On Fi1m (4) - *The Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of Fear* (1991), Fi1m 72, as Ed Hocken — [page](https://film.one/film/the-naked-gun-212-the-smell-of-fear.md) - *The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad!* (1988), Fi1m 88, as Ed Hocken — [page](https://film.one/film/the-naked-gun-from-the-files-of-police-squad.md) - *Airport* (1970), Fi1m 56, as Joe Patroni — [page](https://film.one/film/airport.md) - *Cool Hand Luke* (1967), Fi1m 84, as Dragline — [page](https://film.one/film/cool-hand-luke.md) ## Complete filmography (165) Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page. - *Airports* (2025), Actor - *The Gambler* (2014), as Ed - *Another Happy Day* (2011), as Joe Baker - *Six Days in Paradise* (2010), as Monty Crenshaw - *2Everything2Terrible2: Tokyo Drift* (2010), as (archive footage) - *The Man Who Came Back* (2008), as Judge Duke - *The Boneyard Collection* (2008), as Professor Zebediah Jones (segment "The Devil's Due at Midnight") - *Sands of Oblivion* (2007), as John Tevis - *Don't Come Knocking* (2005), as Director - *Three Bad Men* (2005), as Ed Fiske - *Truce* (2005), as Dr. Peter Gannon - *Monster Makers* (2003), as Dexter Brisbane - *View from the Top* (2003), as Passenger Requesting Vodka (uncredited) - *Men in White* (1998), as Army - *Dennis the Menace Strikes Again!* (1998), as Mr. Johnson - *Small Soldiers* (1998), as Brick Bazooka (voice) - *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 - *Dallas: J.R. Returns* (1996), as Carter McKay - *The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest* (1996), series, as General Axton (voice) - *Santo Bugito* (1995), series, as Ralph (voice) - *Naked Gun 33⅓: The Final Insult* (1994), as Ed Hocken - *Duckman* (1994), series, as Movie Director (voice) - *Distant Justice* (1992), as Tom Bradfield - *Final Shot: The Hank Gathers Story* (1992), as Father Dave Hagan - *Intensive Care* (1991), as Dr. Bruckner - *The Commish* (1991), series, as Al Scali - *The Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of Fear* (1991), as Ed Hocken — Fi1m 72, [page](https://film.one/film/the-naked-gun-212-the-smell-of-fear.md) - *Driving Me Crazy* (1991), as John McCready - *Hangfire* (1991), as Warden Barles - *Good Cops, Bad Cops* (1990), Actor - *Mayumi: Virgin Terrorist* (1990), as Bahraini Investigator - *Hired to Kill* (1990), as Thomas - *Wings* (1990), series, as George Kennedy - *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 — Fi1m 88, [page](https://film.one/film/the-naked-gun-from-the-files-of-police-squad.md) - *Uninvited* (1988), as Mike Harvey - *Top Line* (1988), as Heinrich Holzmann - *Nightmare at Noon* (1988), as Sherrif Hanks - *Private Road: No Trespassing* (1988), as Sam Milshaw - *Demonwarp* (1988), as Bill Crafton - *Counterforce* (1988), as Vince Colby - *Born to Race* (1988), as Vincent Duplain - *What Price Victory* (1988), as Big Buck Brayton - *The Gambler: The Legend Continues* (1987), as General Nelson Miles - *Creepshow 2* (1987), as Ray Spruce - *The Gunfighters* (1987), as Deke Turner - *Radioactive Dreams* (1986), as Spade Chandler - *Liberty* (1986), as Seamus Reilly - *The Delta Force* (1986), as Father O'Malley - *Savage Dawn* (1985), as Tick Rand - *International Airport* (1985), as Rudy Van Leuven - *Rigged* (1985), as Ben Wheeler - *Half Nelson* (1985), as Parsons - *A Rare Breed* (1984), Actor - *Bolero* (1984), as Cotton - *The Jesse Owens Story* (1984), as Charles 'Charley' Riley - *Chattanooga Choo Choo* (1984), as Bert - *Wacko* (1982), as Mr. Doctor Graves - *Just Before Dawn* (1981), as Roy McLean - *The Archer: Fugitive from the Empire* (1981), as Brakus - *Modern Romance* (1981), as George Kennedy / Zeron - *Hotwire* (1980), as Farley & Harley Fontenot - *Virus* (1980), as Admiral Conway - *Death Ship* (1980), as Captain Ashland - *Steel* (1979), as Big Lew Cassidy - *The Concorde... Airport '79* (1979), as Joe Patroni - *Search and Destroy* (1979), as Anthony Fusqua - *The Double McGuffin* (1979), as Chief Talasek - *Backstairs at the White House* (1979), series, as Pres. Warren G. Harding - *Brass Target* (1978), as Gen. George S. Patton - *Death on the Nile* (1978), as Andrew Pennington - *Dallas* (1978), series, as Carter McKay - *Mean Dog Blues* (1978), as Captain Omar Kinsman - *Proof of the Man* (1977), as Ken Shuftan - *Airport '77* (1977), as Joe Patroni - *The Human Factor* (1975), as John Kinsdale - *The Eiger Sanction* (1975), as Ben Bowman - *The Blue Knight* (1975), series, as Officer Bumper Morgan - *The Blue Knight* (1975), as Bumper Morgan - *Earthquake* (1974), as Sgt. Lew Slade - *Airport 1975* (1974), as Joe Patroni - *Thunderbolt and Lightfoot* (1974), as Red Leary - *A Cry in the Wilderness* (1974), as Sam Hadley - *Sonic Boom* (1974), as Ben Dover - *Deliver Us from Evil* (1973), as Walter 'Cowboy' McAdams - *Cahill: United States Marshal* (1973), as Abe Fraser - *Lost Horizon* (1973), as Sam Cornelius - *A Great American Tragedy* (1972), as Brad Wilkes - *The Bull of the West* (1972), as 'Bear' Suchette - *The Priest Killer* (1971), as Father Samuel Cavanaugh - *Fools' Parade* (1971), as Dallas 'Doc' Council - *Sarge* (1971), series, as Samuel Cavanaugh - *Sarge: The Badge or the Cross* (1971), as Sarge Swanson - *Dirty Dingus Magee* (1970), as Herkimer 'Hoke' Birdsill - *Zig Zag* (1970), as Paul R. Cameron - *Airport* (1970), as Joe Patroni — Fi1m 56, [page](https://film.one/film/airport.md) - *… tick… tick… tick…* (1970), as John Little - *Gaily, Gaily* (1969), as Axel P. Johanson - *The Good Guys and the Bad Guys* (1969), as McKay - *Guns of the Magnificent Seven* (1969), as Chris - *The Pink Jungle* (1968), as Sammy Ryderbeit - *The Boston Strangler* (1968), as Det. Phil DiNatale - *The Legend of Lylah Clare* (1968), as Matt Burke - *Bandolero!* (1968), as Sheriff July Johnson - *The Ballad of Josie* (1967), as Arch Ogden - *Cool Hand Luke* (1967), as Dragline — Fi1m 84, [page](https://film.one/film/cool-hand-luke.md) - *The Dirty Dozen* (1967), as Major Max Armbruster - *Ironside* (1967), series, as Father Samuel Cavanaugh - *Hurry Sundown* (1967), as Sheriff Coombs - *Tarzan* (1966), series, Actor - *The Flight of the Phoenix* (1965), as Bellamy - *Mirage* (1965), as Willard - *Laredo* (1965), series, Actor - *The Big Valley* (1965), series, as Thatcher - *The Legend of Jesse James* (1965), series, as Blodgett - *The Sons of Katie Elder* (1965), as Curley - *Shenandoah* (1965), as Col. Fairchild - *In Harm's Way* (1965), as Colonel Gregory - *Hush... Hush, Sweet Charlotte* (1964), as Foreman - *See How They Run* (1964), as Rudy - *Daniel Boone* (1964), series, as Zach Morgan - *The Rogues* (1964), series, as Major Vyx - *Island of the Blue Dolphins* (1964), as Aleut Captain - *McHale's Navy* (1964), as Henri Le Clerc - *Strait-Jacket* (1964), as Leo Krause - *Charade* (1963), as Herman Scobie - *The Great Adventure* (1963), series, as Sergeant Muldaney - *Grindl* (1963), series, Actor - *The Man from the Diners' Club* (1963), as George - *Going My Way* (1962), series, Actor - *The Alfred Hitchcock Hour* (1962), series, as George Martin - *The Virginian* (1962), series, as Jack Marshman, Tom 'Bear' Suchette, Huck Harkness - *Lonely are the Brave* (1962), as Deputy Sheriff Gutierrez - *Gunfight at Black Horses Canyon* (1961), as Hawk - *Dr. Kildare* (1961), series, as Joe Cramer, Sergeant Hensley - *Kraft Mystery Theatre* (1961), series, Actor - *The Little Shepherd Of Kingdom Come* (1961), as Nathan Dillon - *The Asphalt Jungle* (1961), series, Actor - *Gunslinger* (1961), series, as Sheriff - *Route 66* (1960), series, Actor - *Surfside 6* (1960), series, as Gabe Buchanan - *The Andy Griffith Show* (1960), series, as State Police Detective - *Outlaws* (1960), series, Actor - *Thriller* (1960), series, as John Paterson - *The Tall Man* (1960), series, Actor - *Riverboat* (1959), series, as Gunner Slagle - *Bonanza* (1959), series, as Waldo Watson, Peter Long - *Rawhide* (1959), series, as George Wales - *77 Sunset Strip* (1958), series, Actor - *Bat Masterson* (1958), series, as Sheriff Zeke Armitage - *Lawman* (1958), series, Actor - *Peter Gunn* (1958), series, Actor - *Maverick* (1957), series, as Deputy Jones - *Perry Mason* (1957), series, as George Spangler - *Sugarfoot* (1957), series, as Ross Kuhn, Sykes - *Have Gun, Will Travel* (1957), series, as Deke - Killer, Big Jim, Sam Tarnitzer - *Cheyenne* (1955), series, as Lee Nelson - *The Phil Silvers Show* (1955), series, as Kennedy (uncredited) - *Gunsmoke* (1955), series, as Emil, Bayloe, Swarner, Hug, Stark, Cyrus, Ben Payson ## Gallery - ![Anne Schedeen and George Kennedy (1979) publicity still.](https://film.one/media/person/119362/gallery-8c8076c9b5e9.jpg) Anne Schedeen and George Kennedy (1979) publicity still. — CBS, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/50/Anne_Schedeen_and_George_Kennedy_%281979%29.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled) - ![Hollywood Walk of Fame (2013)](https://film.one/media/person/119362/gallery-36523384b231.jpg) Hollywood Walk of Fame (2013) — Hcallas, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/dc/George_Kennedy%27s_Star.JPG/1280px-George_Kennedy%27s_Star.JPG?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail) - ![This photo depicts the handprints of George Kennedy in front of The Great Movie Ride at Walt Disney World's Disney's Hollywood Studios theme park.](https://film.one/media/person/119362/gallery-8d817a09e828.jpg) This photo depicts the handprints of George Kennedy in front of The Great Movie Ride at Walt Disney World's Disney's Hollywood Studios theme park. — Neelix at English Wikipedia, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e7/George_Kennedy_%28handprints_in_cement%29.jpg/1280px-George_Kennedy_%28handprints_in_cement%29.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail) - ![George Kennedy](https://film.one/media/person/119362/gallery-fa3b497734d3.jpg) George Kennedy — CBS Television, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/06/George_Kennedy_1975.JPG?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled) - ![George Kennedy](https://film.one/media/person/119362/gallery-53c141a8b771.jpg) George Kennedy — Image via TMDB - ![George Kennedy](https://film.one/media/person/119362/gallery-3464bcd781ca.jpg) George Kennedy — Image via TMDB - ![George Kennedy](https://film.one/media/person/119362/gallery-72bcff09c6e4.jpg) George Kennedy — Image via TMDB - ![Photo of actor George Kennedy from the television program The Blue Knight. (1975)](https://film.one/media/person/119362/gallery-ca65caee8b89.jpg) Photo of actor George Kennedy from the television program The Blue Knight. (1975) — CBS Television, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/ca/George_Kennedy_Blue_Knight_1975.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled) - ![George Kennedy](https://film.one/media/person/119362/gallery-770757a6aa94.jpg) George Kennedy — Image via TMDB ## Awards ### Academy Awards — 1 won - 1968: Best Supporting Actor (won), for *Cool Hand Luke* ### Other awards — 0 won, 1 nominated - Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Supporting Actor - Razzie Award 1985: Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Supporting Actor - Razzie Award (nominated), for *Bolero* *From Wikidata, which records wins more completely than nominations.* --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/george-kennedy