Arthur Kennedy

Arthur Kennedy studied at Carnegie Mellon College of Fine Arts, South High Community School and Worcester Academy. The recorded working language is English. Subjects and genres recorded for the work are Western film. Distinctions recorded are Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play, star on Hollywood Walk of Fame, Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture and Donaldson Awards.

• Name — Arthur Kennedy • Birth Name — John Arthur Kennedy • Born — 17 February 1914 • Birthplace — Worcester, Massachusetts, U.S. • Died — 5 January 1990 • Place of death — Branford, Connecticut, U.S. • Education — Carnegie Mellon University (BFA) • Occupation — Actor • Years Active — 1937–1990 • Children — 2, including Laurie • Awards — See below

Kennedy was born on February 17, 1914, in Worcester, Massachusetts, the son of Helen (née Thompson) and John Timothy "J.T." Kennedy, a dentist. He attended South High School, Worcester, and graduated from Worcester Academy. He studied drama at the Carnegie Institute of Technology in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, graduating with a B.A. in 1934.

Kennedy moved to New York City and, billed as John Kennedy, joined the Group Theatre. He then toured with a classical repertory company. In September 1937, he made his Broadway debut as Bushy in Maurice Evans' Richard II at the St. James Theatre. In 1939 he played Sir Richard Vernon in Evans' Henry IV, Part 1. Kennedy's first film role was of James Cagney's younger brother in City for Conquest in 1940. He appeared in many Western films and police dramas. Kennedy appeared in many notable films from the early 1940s through mid-1960s, including High Sierra, Champion, They Died with Their Boots On, The Glass Menagerie, The Desperate Hours, Trial, Peyton Place, Some Came Running, A Summer Place, Elmer Gantry, The Man from Laramie, Barabbas, Lawrence of Arabia, Nevada Smith and Fantastic Voyage. Of Kennedy's film work, he is perhaps best-remembered for his collaborations with director Anthony Mann and co-star James Stewart on Bend of the River (1952) and The Man from Laramie (1955), in both of which he played sympathetic villains. He also enjoyed a distinguished stage career over the same period, receiving a Tony Award for his role of Biff Loman in Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman (1949). He inaugurated three other major characters in Miller plays: Chris Keller in All My Sons (1947), John Proctor in The Crucible (1953) and Walter Franz in The Price (1968). In 1961 he played the title role in Becket, opposite Laurence Olivier as Henry II. On February 5, 1959, Kennedy appeared on the episode "Make It Look Good" of CBS's Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre. In 1974, Kennedy was a regular on the short-lived ABC police drama Nakia, as Sheriff Sam Jericho. With the death of his wife in 1975, failing eyesight, alcoholism, and thyroid cancer, Kennedy was reported as having lost interest in acting. After 1979's The Humanoid, Kennedy retired from acting for a decade, until 1989's Signs of Life.

Kennedy married Mary Cheffey in March 1938. They had two children: actress Laurie Kennedy and Terence.

During the last years of his life, Kennedy had thyroid cancer and eye disease. He spent much of his later life in Savannah, Georgia, out of the public eye. He died of cancer on January 5, 1990 at age 75.

• Ford Theatre (1954, 1 episode) as Larry Morton • Ethel Barrymore Theatre (1956, 1 episode) • Schilling Playhouse (1958, 1 episode) • The Ten Commandments (1959, TV Movie) • Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre (1959, 1 episode) as Sam Carter • Our American Heritage (1959-60, 2 episodes) as Alexander Hamilton • General Electric Theater (1960, 1 episode) as Whitney Barton) • Playhouse 90 (1960, 1 episode) as Paul Heller • NBC Sunday Showcase (1960, 1 episode) as Alexander Hamilton • Alcoa Premiere (1961, 1 episode) as Dr. Harry A. Wilmer • The DuPont Show of the Week (1962-64, 2 episodes) as Hans Maasdijk, Colin Ryan • Espionage (1963, 1 episode) as Ed Pierce • Kraft Suspense Theatre (1964, 1 episode) as Dr. Walter Meade Taylor • Suspense (1964, 1 episode) as Sgt. Mike Kenny • Alfred Hitchcock Presents (1964, 1 episode) as Keith Hollands • ABC Stage 67 (1966, 2 episodes) as Lt. Hammond, Narrator • CBS Playhouse (1969, 1 episode) as Rome • The Movie Murderer (1970, TV Movie) as Angus MacGregor • A Death of Innocence (1971, TV Movie) as Mark Hirsch • Crawlspace (1972, TV Movie) as Albert Graves • The Man from Independence (1974, TV Movie) as Tom Pendergast • The President's Plane Is Missing (1973, TV Movie) as Gunther Damon • Nakia (1974, 14 episodes) as Sheriff Sam Jericho • I figli del vento (1989, TV Movie)

Arthur Kennedy is recorded as having studied at Carnegie Mellon College of Fine Arts, South High Community School and Worcester Academy.

Kennedy has two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame: one for Motion Pictures at 6681 Hollywood Boulevard and one for Television at 1620 Vine Street.

• Institution — Year — Category — Work — Result — Refs. Reference(s) • Academy Awards — 1950 — Best Supporting Actor — Champion • 1952 — Best Actor — Bright Victory • 1956 — Best Supporting Actor — Trial • 1958 — Peyton Place • 1959 — Some Came Running • Golden Globes — 1952 — Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama — Bright Victory • 1956 — Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture — Trial • Laurel Awards — 1958 — Top Male Supporting Performance — Peyton Place • 1959 — Some Came Running • 1960 — A Summer Place • New York Film Critics Circle — 1951 — Best Actor — Bright Victory • Tony Awards — 1949 — Best Featured Actor in a Play — Death of a Salesman