BOISE, Idaho, Feb. 29, 2016 (Gephardt Daily) — George Kennedy, who won on Oscar for his performance in “Cool Hand Luke” has died. He was 91.
Kennedy, who was having health issues associated with old age, passed away at his home in Boise, his grandson Cory Schenkel said in a statement.
Kennedy, who worked mostly as a stuntman and movie extra during the late 1950s and early 60s, rocketed to stardom in 1967’s “Cool Hand Luke,” in which he played Dragline, a convict who befriends Paul Newman’s character, Luke.
His performance won him an Oscar for best supporting actor.
Kennedy was, by then, a go-to character actor. He played Joe Patroni, the mechanic and problem solver who was the one constant in the 1970s “Airport” movies. He also starred in 1974’s “Earthquake,” another disaster flick, about a quake that hits Los Angeles.
In the 1970s, Kennedy had a number of TV roles, including “Sarge” and “The Blue Knight.”
The actor, who kept performing well into his 80s, worked on the soap opera “The Young and the Restless” for seven years.
