George Kennedy
Born February 18, 1925 (Age: 101)
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New York City, New York, USA
Biography
George Kennedy (February 18, 1925 — February 28, 2016) was a European-American businessman, entrepreneur, A World War II veteran, actor, adviser, radio dj, and author. Kennedy at one stage in his career cornered the market at playing tough, no-nonsense characters who were either quite crooked or possessed hearts of gold. Kennedy notched up an impressive 200+ appearances in both TV and film, and was well respected within the Hollywood community. He started out in TV westerns in the late 1950s and early 1960s: Have Gun - Will Travel (1957), Rawhide (1959), Maverick (1957), Colt .45 (1957), among others; before scoring minor roles in films including Lonely Are the Brave (1962), The Sons of Katie Elder (1965) and The Flight of the Phoenix (1965). The late 1960s was a very busy period for Kennedy, and he was strongly in favor with casting agents, appearing in Hurry Sundown (1967), The Dirty Dozen (1967) and scoring an Oscar win as Best Supporting Actor for his performance in Cool Hand Luke (1967). The disaster film boom of the 1970s was kind to Kennedy, too, and his talents were in demand for Airport(1970) and the three subsequent sequels, as a grizzled cop in Earthquake (1974), plus the buddy/road film Thunderbolt and Lightfoot (1974) as vicious bank robber Red Leary. The 1980s saw Kennedy appear in a mishmash of roles, playing various characters; however, Kennedy and Leslie Nielsen surprised everyone with their comedic talents in the hugely successful The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! (1988), and the two screen veterans hammed it up again in, The Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of Fear (1991), plus Naked Gun 33 1/3: The Final Insult (1994). Kennedy remained busy in Hollywood and lent his distinctive voice to the animated Cats Don't Dance (1997) and the children's action film Small Soldiers (1998). A Hollywood stalwart for nearly 50 years, he is one of the most enjoyable actors to watch on screen. His last role was in the film The Gambler (2014), as Mark Wahlberg's character's grandfather. George Kennedy died on February 28, 2016 in Middleton, Idaho.
George Kennedy (February 18, 1925 — February 28, 2016) was a European-American businessman, entrepreneur, A World War II veteran, actor, adviser, radio dj, and author. Kennedy at one stage in his career cornered the market at playing tough, no-nonsense characters who were either quite crooked or possessed hearts of gold. Kennedy notched up an impressive 200+ appearances in both TV and film, and was well respected within the Hollywood community. He started out in TV westerns in the late 1950s and early 1960s: Have Gun - Will Travel (1957), Rawhide (1959), Maverick (1957), Colt .45 (1957), among others; before scoring minor roles in films including Lonely Are the Brave (1962), The Sons of Katie Elder (1965) and The Flight of the Phoenix (1965). The late 1960s was a very busy period for Kennedy, and he was strongly in favor with casting agents, appearing in Hurry Sundown (1967), The Dirty Dozen (1967) and scoring an Oscar win as Best Supporting Actor for his performance in Cool Hand Luke (1967). The disaster film boom of the 1970s was kind to Kennedy, too, and his talents were in demand for Airport(1970) and the three subsequent sequels, as a grizzled cop in Earthquake (1974), plus the buddy/road film Thunderbolt and Lightfoot (1974) as vicious bank robber Red Leary.
The 1980s saw Kennedy appear in a mishmash of roles, playing various characters; however, Kennedy and Leslie Nielsen surprised everyone with their comedic talents in the hugely successful The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! (1988), and the two screen veterans hammed it up again in, The Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of Fear (1991), plus Naked Gun 33 1/3: The Final Insult (1994).
Kennedy remained busy in Hollywood and lent his distinctive voice to the animated Cats Don't Dance (1997) and the children's action film Small Soldiers (1998). A Hollywood stalwart for nearly 50 years, he is one of the most enjoyable actors to watch on screen. His last role was in the film The Gambler (2014), as Mark Wahlberg's character's grandfather.
George Kennedy died on February 28, 2016 in Middleton, Idaho.
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Filmography
The Gambler
2014
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as Ed
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Age: 89
Another Happy Day
2011
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as Joe Baker
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Age: 86
Six Days in Paradise
2010
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as Monty Crenshaw
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Age: 85
Don't Come Knocking
2005
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as Director
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Age: 80
Three Bad Men
2005
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as Ed Fiske
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Age: 79
View from the Top
2003
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as Passenger Requesting Vodka (uncredited)
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Age: 78
Men in White
1998
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as Army
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Age: 73
Dennis the Menace Strikes Again!
1998
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as Mr. Johnson
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Age: 73
Small Soldiers
1998
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as Brick Bazooka (voice)
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Age: 73
Dallas: War of The Ewings
1998
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as Carter McKay
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Age: 73
Hollyweird
1998
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as George Kennedy
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Age: 72
Cats Don't Dance
1997
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as L.B. Mammoth (voice)
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Age: 72
Bayou Ghost
1997
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as Officer Lowe
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Age: 71
Dallas: J.R. Returns
1996
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as Carter McKay
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Age: 71
Naked Gun 33⅓: The Final Insult
1994
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as Ed Hocken
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Age: 69
Distant Justice
1992
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as Tom Bradfield
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Age: 67
Final Shot: The Hank Gathers Story
1992
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as Father Dave Hagan
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Age: 67
Intensive Care
1991
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as Dr. Bruckner
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Age: 66
The Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of Fear
1991
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as Ed Hocken
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Age: 66
Driving Me Crazy
1991
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as John McCready
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Age: 66
Hangfire
1991
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as Warden Barles
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Age: 65
The Cops Are Robbers
1990
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as
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Age: 65
Mayumi: Virgin Terrorist
1990
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as Bahraini Investigator
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Age: 65
Hired to Kill
1990
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as Thomas
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Age: 65
Brain Dead
1990
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as Vance
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Age: 64
Ministry of Vengeance
1989
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as Rev. Hughes
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Age: 64
Esmeralda Bay
1989
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as Wilson
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Age: 64
The Terror Within
1989
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as Hal
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Age: 63
The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad!
1988
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as Ed Hocken
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Age: 63
Uninvited
1988
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as Mike Harvey
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Age: 63
Top Line
1988
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as Heinrich Holzmann
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Age: 63
Nightmare at Noon
1988
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as Sherrif Hanks
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Age: 63
Private Road: No Trespassing
1988
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as Sam Milshaw
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Age: 63
Demonwarp
1988
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as Bill Crafton
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Age: 63
Counterforce
1988
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as Vince Colby
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Age: 62
Born to Race
1988
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as Vincent Duplain
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Age: 62
What Price Victory
1988
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as Big Buck Brayton
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Age: 62
The Gambler: The Legend Continues
1987
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as General Nelson Miles
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Age: 62
Creepshow 2
1987
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as Ray Spruce
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Age: 62
The Gunfighters
1987
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as Deke Turner
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Age: 61
Radioactive Dreams
1986
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as Spade Chandler
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Age: 61
The Delta Force
1986
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as Father O'Malley
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Age: 60
Savage Dawn
1985
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as Tick Rand
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Age: 60
International Airport
1985
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as Rudy Van Leuven
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Age: 60
Rigged
1985
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as Ben
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Age: 60
Half Nelson
1985
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as Parsons
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Age: 60
Bolero
1984
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as Cotton
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Age: 59
Just Before Dawn
1981
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as Roy McLean
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Age: 56
The Archer: Fugitive from the Empire
1981
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as Brakus
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Age: 56
Modern Romance
1981
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as George Kennedy / Zeron
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Age: 56
Hotwire
1980
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as Farley & Harley Fontenot
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Age: 55
Virus
1980
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as Admiral Conway
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Age: 55
Death Ship
1980
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as Captain Ashland
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Age: 55
The Concorde... Airport '79
1979
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as Joe Patroni
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Age: 54
Brass Target
1978
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as Gen. George S. Patton
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Age: 53
Death on the Nile
1978
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as Andrew Pennington
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Age: 53
Mean Dog Blues
1978
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as Captain Omar Kinsman
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Age: 53
Airport '77
1977
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as Joe Patroni
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Age: 52
The Eiger Sanction
1975
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as Ben Bowman
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Age: 50
The Blue Knight
1975
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as Bumper Morgan
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Age: 50
Earthquake
1974
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as Sgt. Lew Slade
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Age: 49
Airport 1975
1974
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as Joe Patroni
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Age: 49
Thunderbolt and Lightfoot
1974
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as Red Leary
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Age: 49
A Cry in the Wilderness
1974
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as Sam Hadley
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Age: 49
Sonic Boom
1974
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as Ben Dover
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Age: 48
Deliver Us from Evil
1973
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as Walter 'Cowboy' McAdams
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Age: 48
Cahill: United States Marshal
1973
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as Abe Fraser
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Age: 48
Lost Horizon
1973
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as Sam Cornelius
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Age: 48
A Great American Tragedy
1972
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as Brad Wilkes
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Age: 47
The Bull of the West
1972
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as 'Bear' Suchette
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Age: 47
The Priest Killer
1971
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as Father Samuel Cavanaugh
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Age: 46
Sarge: The Badge or the Cross
1971
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as Sarge Swanson
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Age: 46
Airport
1970
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as Joe Patroni
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Age: 45
Gaily, Gaily
1969
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as Axel P. Johanson
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Age: 44
The Good Guys and the Bad Guys
1969
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as McKay
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Age: 44
Guns of the Magnificent Seven
1969
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as Chris
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Age: 44
Bandolero!
1968
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as Sheriff July Johnson
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Age: 43
The Flight of the Phoenix
1965
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as Bellamy
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Age: 40
Mirage
1965
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as Willard
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Age: 40
The Sons of Katie Elder
1965
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as Curley
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Age: 40
Shenandoah
1965
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as Col. Fairchild
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Age: 40
In Harm's Way
1965
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as Colonel Gregory
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Age: 40
Hush... Hush, Sweet Charlotte
1964
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as Foreman
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Age: 39
See How They Run
1964
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as Rudy
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Age: 39
Island of the Blue Dolphins
1964
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as Aleut Captain
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Age: 39
McHale's Navy
1964
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as Henri Le Clerc
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Age: 39
Strait-Jacket
1964
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as Leo Krause
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Age: 38
Charade
1963
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as Herman Scobie
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Age: 38
The Man from the Diners' Club
1963
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as George
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Age: 38
Lonely are the Brave
1962
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as Deputy Sheriff Gutierrez
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Age: 37
Gunfight at Black Horses Canyon
1961
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as Hawk
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Age: 36
The Little Shepherd Of Kingdom Come
1961
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as Nathan Dillon
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Age: 36