George Kennedy

Born: 18th February 1925
Where: New York

The son of showbiz parents, Kennedy first appeared on stage at age two and later moved into radio.

He enlisted in the Army during World War II, and after a 16-year stint, both in combat and as an Armed Forces Radio and Television officer, he decided on acting as a full-time career.

In 1955 he made his TV debut in The Phil Silvers Show/Sgt. Bilko, and also acted as technical advisor.

His feature film debut came with Little Shepard of Kingdom Come in 1961. George made his TV-movie debut with See How They Run and won the 1967 Best Supporting Actor Oscar as prisoner on a chain gang with Paul Newman in Cool Hand Luke.

During the 1980s George continued to appear regularly onscreen, but in less memorable movies like Bolero, Radioactive Dreams, and Nightmare at Noon. Also in 1988 he joined the cast of the long-running series Dallas as Carter McKay, a business rival of the Ewing brothers.