Hey folks, Harry here... We've mourned the passing of a great many men and women over the twenty year history of this site... but none more integral to the very survival of mankind, than George Kennedy. George Kennedy was a sweaty rotund god in our presence. Watch Kennedy in COOL HAND LUKE - and he's sweaty awesome, so magnetic that he attracted an Academy Award for it. Watch his Captain Joe Patroni in the AIRPORT series, again he glistens... but no matter how bad it got on those planes, no matter how desperate, no matter how impossible... if Joe Patroni existed on the Planet - we... we lowly mortals would look to George Kennedy... a human Winnie the Pooh... a cuddly sweet toothed bear of a man, but if you endangered his honey he'd destroy you like DiCaprio in the REVENANT.
George Kennedy's first role went uncredited... but it was Stanley Kubrick in SPARTACUS! Behold Kennedy as he first appeared on screen!
As a large man, I've always loved George Kennedy. The earliest work of his that I've shown at BUTT-NUMB-A-THON was his work as a Deputy Sheriff in LONELY ARE THE BRAVE, a brilliant under worshipped movie that led to the creation of the character of John Rambo. No shit. Gena Rowlands is also amazing in this film. His part isn't large, but you can never not notice George Kennedy in a film... He's a force of awesome. The films he was a part of in the Sixties just was amazing. CHARADE, MCHALE'S NAVY, STRAIGHT-JACKET, HUSH HUSH SWEET CHARLOTTE, THE FLIGHT OF THE PHOENIX, SHENANDOAH, SONS OF KATIE ELDER, THE DIRTY DOZEN, COOL HAND LUKE, THE BOSTON STRANGLER and ...TICK...TICK...TICK! Every single one of those movies is fantastic. And George is great in each of them. Probably none, moreso than COOL HAND LUKE... though I love love love BOSTON STRANGLER and ...TICK...TICK...TICK. Those two are seen less, but truly great!
Once the 1970's hit, mankind decided it was time for a George Kennedy franchise... This was... obviously FUCKING BRILLIANT! We got 4 Joe Patroni AIRPORT movies. First we had AIRPORT (1970), then AIRPORT 1975 (1974), then AIRPORT '77 and then the one that made me obsessed with Supersonic travel, THE CONCORDE: AIRPORT '79! He slamdunked this! These 4 films are pure Seventies Bliss. And it's one of those moments in film history where one of the greatest character actors got the center stage he deserved! When Terrorism first gripped America's Fear Psyche - our first line of defense was Joe Patroni.
But George Kennedy wasn't just making great AIRPORT movies in the Seventies... the man was a machine! CAHILL U.S. MARSHALL was great, but THUNDERBOLT & LIGHTFOOT had Kennedy as a Villain and I loved it! When watching EARTHQUAKE - the spectacular disaster film - I felt at ease cuz not only was Moses there to save us, so was Patroni! THE EIGER SANCTION... If you've not watched this film, you're missing out. Clint Eastwood as a spy. George Kennedy running a mountain climbing school with hot women! It's glorious! And Kennedy is great in it. So great. He is irreplacable in cinema.
That said, he wasn't restricted to the Silver Screen - his television work was massive. You can hardly think of a Western TV Show that he didn't at least appear in... including all the way up to LONESOME DOVE. But his role in DALLAS as Carter McKay was his most loved TV role.
The 80s were an odd time for George Kennedy on film. From being Bo Derek's chauffeur in BOLERO to his strange Captain in DEATH SHIP to his admiral in the crazy Kinji Fukasaku flick VIRUS to his priest in THE DELTA FORCE to his great encounter with Chief Wood'enhead in CREEPSHOW 2 to beginning his run in the NAKED GUN series!
George Kennedy was a great soul on film. He's comforting in the way your favorite blanket is. He loved the characters he became and he embodied them with everything he had. I regret that I never had an opportunity to ever meet the man. He was and always shall be a Legend. But with him gone... truly... who can calmly save us from the unknown? Whoever it will be, you better believe that the soul of any hero has George Kennedy smiling inside of them. He was a true hero of film!
Keep it cool,
Harry
P.S. - Here, for your enjoyment is a playlist of 197 GEORGE KENNEDY related videos on YouTube - a combination of Interviews, Trailers, Clips, Tributes and more. As for me, I'll be watching the AIRPORT series to honor Mr Kennedy! Give your throughts to the family, friends and work associates that knew George best. They've lost a Mountain of a man
