George Kennedy Dies at 91

[IDemo]

Source: TMZ

George Kennedy, star of "Cool Hand Luke" and the "Naked Gun" movies, has died at the age of 91 ... TMZ has learned.

George's grandson Cory Schenkel says Kennedy died Sunday morning at 4:30 AM in Boise, ID. He says his grandfather had been in failing health ever since his wife Joan died a little over a year ago. George had been under hospice care for the past month.

Kennedy won the Best Supporting Actor Oscar in 1968 for "Cool Hand Luke." He also starred in all 3 of the "Naked Gun" flicks, "Airport 1975," "Earthquake" and many many more.

His last role was in "The Gambler" with Mark Wahlberg in 2014.

Read more: http://www.tmz.com/2016/02/29/george-kennedy-dies/

[a kennedy]

1. Loved him in Cool Hand Luke......

from one Kennedy to another

[KansDem]

2. "He had that Luke smile"

He added so much to that movie!

[yallerdawg]

5. "Lucille!"

Academy award.

So many roles.

Rest in peace, George Kennedy.

[Raster]

3. Kennedy graced many of my Saturday afternoons at the Gila Theater...

Rest in peace, Mr. Kennedy.

[leftynyc]

4. RIP, Mr. Kennedy

He was great in Cool Hand Luke. I also liked him with Clint Eastwood in The Eiger Sanction (terrific book).

[yallerdawg]

6. And truly despicable...

in Eastwood's "Thunderbolt and Lightfoot"!

[leftynyc]

7. Yup

He's was around a very long time and had a fine film career.

[Kelvin Mace]

12. I was about to mention "The Eiger Sanction"

True story: The librarian at my school (late 70s) was an extra in the movie, appearing briefly on screen serving a drink. Further jobs didn't materialize, so he went back to being a librarian.

I loved Kennedy in the Naked Gun movies, but can't watch them because of O.J. being in them. I really wish they had stuck with Peter Lupus as Nordberg.

[leftynyc]

26. The book was terrific

The acting, the story and the scenery all combined for a great movie. He will be missed.

[FSogol]

34. Great movie. "You carried beer all the way up here? You're nuts"

"No, you carried it. I put it in your pack."

[Faygo Kid]

8. He was EVERYWHERE in the 60s and 70s, and beyond.

A life well lived. RIP, Police Captain Ed Hocken in the Naked Gun. Great actor.

[valerief]

33. Right, and then some. In fact, if you look at his page in the imdb, he never stopped working!

How many actors can say that?

[IkeRepublican]

9. He's got a 50/50 chance...

...and there's only a ten percent chance of that.


RIP

[2naSalit]

10. RIP

He and Clint Eastwood were close friends, they were drinkin' buddies back in "the day". Clint must be bummed.

[PSPS]

11. For those younger DU members...

The 6'4" Kennedy worked in TV westerns beginning in the 50's until his first movie in the 60's after which he worked in both -- over 200 credits! He won an Oscar for Cool Hand Luke. He got to work with many of the greats including Cary Grant, Paul Newman, Clint Eastwood and Bette Davis.

[kentauros]

13. I liked him in "The Dirty Dozen"

And in looking for any clips of him in that movie, I instead found this:

[longship]

14. Wasn't he in many disaster flicks.

All those airport flicks. Certainly he made at least one of them. Yup! He was in all four Airport flicks as the same character.

And I forgot about Charade with Audrey Hepburn, Cary Grant, Walter Matthau. A great flick! He played the guy with the hook on one arm.



"My man can eat 42!!!"

[Akicita]

15. Just watched him yesterday in a McHales Navy movie. He played a Frenchman with a mustache.

Took me a moment to recognize him.

[Enthusiast]

22. I remember George in that role.

[tabasco]

16. Where would 1970s TV be without him?

He was in everything. RIP

[FraDon]

17. I met him on the sets of "Steel" (1979)

. . . a so-called action-adventure movie, see IMDB: <http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0081558/>, filmed in Lexington, Kentucky. Kennedy was a good-humored professional with a small part, killed off early - and gone.

I started as an extra in a large funeral scene, then a crew-member extra in several scenes; and as I was the same height as another of the movie's leads, Art Carney (a second Oscar winner), I became his stand-in. That put me behind the Director for the rest of the shoot.

The several month period was an interesting and traumatic experience. A stuntman quite unnecessarily died (15 feet from me) on a last, unnecessarily added day of shooting.

[whistler162]

18. One of his best roles the bad guy

with one hand who stuck a pin in the corpse of Audrey Hepburns late husband in Charade. Also an author and WWII vet.

[Kingofalldems]

19. Receiving the Academy Award:

[jmowreader]

20. George Kennedy was who you hired if you wanted The Voice of Reason in your movie

I wonder why they only said he was in "Airport 1975" - he was the only character to appear in all four Airport movies.

[Dont call me Shirley]

39. My favorite movies ever and The Naked Gun series.

[jmowreader]

40. Three of them were good, anyway

I have the "Airport Terminal Pack" which has all four...the original was "okay but not great," Airport 1975 was real good, Airport '77 was halfway decent (plus, one of the sailors in it looks suspiciously like the current secretary of state - and there is a "John Kerry" in the credits; there's an actor named John Kerry who isn't the one who was a senator, but it's still strange) but the last one with the Concorde in it? No. Don't watch that.

[Feeling the Bern]

21. Airport '79: The Concorde - One of the most unintentionally funny movies ever

Hokey lines, hammy delivery and a paper thin, transparent plot that made tracing paper seem thick.

Especially when the plane did barrel roles and violated fundamental laws of physics.

[braddy]

23. My favorite movie of all time, Cool Hand Luke.

[FailureToCommunicate]

24. "He's a natural born world-shaker."

Rest In Peace George Kennedy.

?uuid=BbzmMN8zEeWMAIqgN0Hc7Q

[valerief]

25. George Kennedy was the Michael Caine of character actors (Michael Caine being an

ubiquitous lead actor). We knew his face and knew his voice. He could make us love him or hate him.

He was quite a lucky guy to live that long, work that long, and be married that long.

[JimDandy]

31. +1

[sdfernando]

27. RIP Mr. Petroni

Safe flight to the other side.

[burfman]

28. If you were off on an adventure, George was good company.....

burfman.....

[Capt.Rocky300]

29. I had the pleasure of meeting him.....

when I was a teen (talking late sixties here) refueling airplanes at the local airport. I gassed his Cessna Cardinal up and we chatted briefly. He was very down to earth and friendly. He gave me a $20 tip. Nice man.

RIP Mr. Kennedy.

[BumRushDaShow]

30. Wow.

I didn't realize he was still around. He was a fixture as a character actor in so much stuff across genres and formats.

R.I.P., condolences to the family, and thanks for your performances over many decades!

[Plucketeer]

32. It was good entertainment

if George was in it. RIP Mr. Kennedy.

[El Supremo]

35. The greatest scene in ALL moviedom!

[Tom_Foolery]

36. One hell of an actor...

[Nedsdag]

37. I loved him in the Naked Gun movies.

RIP, Mr. Kennedy!

[Dont call me Shirley]

38. George...

Loved George in the Naked Gun Series, just like my beau Leslie Neilsen.