Arthur Kennedy
John Arthur Kennedy was an American stage and film actor known for his versatility in supporting film roles and his ability to create "an exceptional honesty and naturalness on stage", especially in the original casts of Arthur Miller plays on Broadway. He won the 1949 Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play for Miller's Death of a Salesman. He also won the [Golden Globe Award for Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor|Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture|Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actor] for the 1955 film Trial, and was a five-time Academy Award nominee.
Early life and education
Kennedy was born on February 17, 1914, in Worcester, Massachusetts, the son of Helen 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.Career
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 and The Man from Laramie, 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. He inaugurated three other major characters in Miller plays: Chris Keller in All My Sons, John Proctor in The Crucible and Walter Franz in The Price. 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.
Waning interest, ill-health, then comeback
With the death of his wife in 1975, failing eyesight, alcoholism, and thyroid cancer, Kennedy was reported as having lost interest in filmmaking. After Covert Action, his next films were The Humanoid and Signs of Life.Awards and honors
In 1949, Kennedy won a Tony Award for best supporting actor as Biff in Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman at the Morosco Theatre.The New York Film Critics named him Best Actor for Bright Victory.
His performance in Trial won him a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor.
His portrayal of the newspaper reporter in Elmer Gantry gained him a Film Daily Award and a Limelight Award.
Oscar nominations
Personal life
Kennedy married Mary Cheffey in March 1938. They had two children: actress Laurie Kennedy and Terence.Death
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.Filmography
City for Conquest as Eddie KennyHigh Sierra as RedKnockout as Johnny RocketStrange Alibi as Joe GearyBad Men of Missouri as Jim YoungerHighway West as George FosterThey Died with Their Boots On as Ned SharpDesperate Journey as Flying Officer Jed ForrestReconnaissance Pilot as Decoration Announcer Resisting Enemy Interrogation as Sgt. Alfred Mason Ditch and Live as Captain Scott H. Reynolds Time to Kill as Narrator Target – Invisible as Narrator Devotion as Branwell BrontëIt's Your America as Soldier Boomerang as John WaldronCheyenne as ChalkThe Walking Hills as ChalkChampion as ConnieThe Window as Ed WoodryToo Late for Tears as Alan PalmerChicago Deadline as Tommy DitmanThe Glass Menagerie as Tom WingfieldBright Victory as Larry NevinsRed Mountain as Lane WaldronBend of the River as Emerson ColeRancho Notorious as Vern HaskellThe Girl in White as Dr. Ben BarringerThe Lusty Men as Wes MerrittImpulse as Alan CurtisCrashout as Joe QuinnThe Man From Laramie as Vic HansbroThe Desperate Hours as Deputy Sheriff Jesse BardTrial as BarneyThe Naked Dawn as SantiagoThe Rawhide Years as Rick HarperPeyton Place as Lucas CrossTwilight for the Gods as First Mate RamsaySome Came Running as Frank HirshThe Ten Commandments Home Is the Hero as Willie O'ReillyA Summer Place as Bart HunterElmer Gantry as Jim LeffertsClaudelle Inglish as Clyde InglishMurder, She Said as Dr. QuimperBarabbas as Pontius PilateHemingway's Adventures of a Young Man as Dr. AdamsLawrence of Arabia as Jackson Bentley Attack and Retreat as Ferro Maria FerriCheyenne Autumn as Doc HollidayMurieta as Capt. LoveJoy in the Morning as Patrick BrownNevada Smith as Bill BowdreFantastic Voyage as Dr. DuvalMonday's Child as Peter RichardsonDay of the Evil Gun as Owen ForbesA Minute to Pray, a Second to Die as Tuscosa Marshal Roy W. ColbyAnzio as Maj. Gen. Jack LesleyHail, Hero! as Albert DixonShark! as DocThe Movie Murderer as Angus MacGregorMy Old Man's Place as Walter PellA Death of Innocence as Mark HirschCrawlspace as Albert GravesI Kiss the Hand as Don Angelino FerranteRicco the Mean Machine as Don VitoThe President's Plane Is Missing as Gunther DamonThe Man from Independence as Tom PendergastLet Sleeping Corpses Lie as The InspectorThe Antichrist as Bishop Ascanio OderisiKiller Cop as Armando Di FedericoThe Tough Ones as RuiniAs of Tomorrow as Mike JannaconeLa spiaggia del desiderio as AntonioThe Sentinel as Monsignor FranchinoNine Guests for a Crime as UbertoGli ultimi angeli as Il nonnoBermuda: Cave of the Sharks as Mr. JacksonCyclone as The PriestPorco mondo as Senator MerelliCovert Action as CIA Chief of Station, AthensThe Humanoid as Dr. KraspinSigns of Life as Owen CoughlinI figli del vento- ''Grandpa''