George Kennedy, 'Cool Hand Luke' Actor, Dies at 91

Mar 02, 2016, 16:28

George Kennedy, an actor who appeared in over 180 movies or TV roles, died on Sunday, February 29, 2016 in Boise, Idaho, his grandson, Cory Schenkel, announced on his Facebook page. Schenkel said that his grandfather's health was worsening after the death of his wife Joan.

Fellow actor and comedian Albert Brooks, who was Oscar-nominated for The Shipping News, led the online tributes, tweeting: "R.I.P. George Kennedy".

Born into a showbiz family living in New York City, Kennedy was familiar with the spotlight from a young age, making his stage debut at two. "Over all of Raymond's movies and TV shows, I remember him as a guy who'd giggle with me and didn't care". Spartacusand many more. Kennedy also famously played villainous Texan oil baron "Carter Mckay" in the last three seasons of classic US Drama Dallas.

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His father was a pianist and orchestra leader who died when Kennedy was 4, and his mother was a classical dancer.

The Hollywood Chamber of Commerce said flowers would be placed on his star on the Walk of Fame. From there, he started to score more and more work on television, notching up credits in vast array of shows including Maverick, The Tall Man, Perry Mason, Have Gun - Will Travel, McHale's Navy, Bonanza, Dr. Kildare, Ironside, The Love Boat, Dallas and The Commish. "But believe me, if you tell a joke 40 times in front of a camera it isn't necessarily even funny anymore".

Cool Hand Luke starred Paul Newman in the title role, but Kennedy would be the one to earn Academy Award honours as he was named Best Supporting Actor for his role as Newman's sidekick.

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"The marvelous thing about that movie was that as my part progresses, I changed from a bad guy to a good guy", Kennedy said in 1978, according to the Hollywood Reporter.

His last big screen outing was 2014's Mark Wahlberg-starring The Gambler.

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