Edgar Kennedy
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Edgar Livingston Kennedy (April 26, 1890 – November 9, 1948) was an American comedic film character actor, known as "Slow Burn". A slow burn is an exasperated facial expression, performed very deliberately; Kennedy embellished this by rubbing his hand over his bald head and across his face, in an attempt to hold his temper. Kennedy is best known for a small role as a lemonade vendor in the Marx Brothers film Duck Soup, as well as the many Hal Roach films he appeared in.
Kennedy became so identified with frustration that practically every studio hired him to play hotheads. He often played dumb cops, detectives, and even a prison warden; sometimes he was a grouchy moving man, truck driver, or blue-collar workman. His character usually lost his temper at least once. In Diplomaniacs, Kennedy presides over an international tribunal, where Wheeler & Woolsey want to do something about world peace. "Well, ya can't do anything about it here", yells Kennedy, "this is a peace conference!" Kennedy, established as the poster boy for frustration, even starred in an instructional film titled The Other Fellow, in which loudmouthed roadhog Edgar always vents his anger on other drivers (each one played by Kennedy as well), little realizing that, to them, he is "the other fellow."
Perhaps his most unusual roles were as a puppeteer in the detective mystery The Falcon Strikes Back and as a philosophical bartender inspired to create exotic cocktails in Harold Lloyd's last film, The Sin of Harold Diddlebock (1947). He also played comical detectives opposite two titans of acting: John Barrymore in Twentieth Century (1934) and Rex Harrison in Unfaithfully Yours (1948); in the latter, he tells conductor Harrison that "Nobody handles Handel like you handle Handel."
Kennedy died of throat cancer at the Motion Picture Hospital, San Fernando Valley on 9 November 1948. His body was interred at the Holy Cross Cemetery, Culver City, Los Angeles County, California.
Known for
The Ghosts
Kennedy
Unfaithfully Yours
Sweeney
Crazy Feet
Policeman
Love and Rubbish
1st Cop
Bad Company
Buffington-Doorman
Baby Daze
Edgar Kennedy
Night Owls
Officer Kennedy
Madcap Ambrose
A City Chap
Duck Soup
Street Vendor
It Happened Tomorrow
Insp. Mulrooney
Carnival Boat
Baldy
Hurdy Gurdy
Officer Ed Kennedy
Professional Sweetheart
Kelsey
In Love at 40
Edgar Kennedy
Rockabye
Water Wagon Driver (uncredited)
Gentlemen of Nerve
Policeman
Tramp Trouble
Edgar
Clock Wise
Edgar
Woman Wanted
Sweeney
King for a Night
Cop
Dough and Dynamite
Striking Baker
We're Rich Again
Healy, Process Server
Caught in a Cabaret
Cafe Proprietor (uncredited)
The Booster
Brother Knows Best
Edgar Kennedy
Laugh It Off
Judge John J. McGuinnis
Pardon My Stripes
Warden Bingham
Hitler's Madman
Nepomuk - the Hermit
The Head Guy
Station Master Kennedy (uncredited)
'Curses!' They Remarked
Ethel's Former Boyfriend
Their First Execution
Super-Sleuth
Police Lt. Garrison
Imagine My Embarrassment
Dollar Dizzy
Quimby the Lawyer
Mother's Boy
Mug
His Favorite Pastime
Tough Guy in Bar
An Incompetent Hero
Fatty's Neighbor
Mabel at the Wheel
Spectator in Grandstand (uncredited)
Bacon Grabbers
Collis P. Kennedy
Margie
Chauncey
Off to Buffalo
Small Town Girl
Captain Mack
Hillbilly Blitzkrieg
Sgt. Homer Gatling
His Bitter Pill
Diamond Dan - Jim's Rival
The Gay Old Bird
Chauffeur
Contest Crazy
Edgar
The Gangsters
Henchman
Air Raid Wardens
Joe Bledsoe
He's a Honey
Limousine Love
The Husband, Mr Glenders
Hotter Than Hot
I'll Fix It
Edgar
In Old California
Kegs McKeever
Twenty Minutes of Love
Lover
Diplomaniacs
Chairman - Peace Conference
A Flirt's Mistake
Rajah
Perfect Day
Uncle Edgar
Quick Millions
Cop (uncredited)
A Thief Catcher
Crook (uncredited)
My Old Dutch
Bill Sproat
Feather Your Nest
Edgar
The Big Kick
Detective
Heaven Only Knows
Judd
Fatty’s Plucky Pup
Shell Game Operator
Hey! Hey! USA
Bugs Leary
Tango Tangles
Dance Hall Manager (uncredited)
The Bowling Match
Bowling Alley Operator
When Comedy Was King
edited from 'A Pair of Tights' (archive footage)
The Gas Station
Detective
I'll Build It Myself
Edgar
The Chinese Parrot
Maydorf
Captain Tugboat Annie
Captain Bullwinkle
Westward Passage
Elmer
The Boy Friend
The Cop
The Big Beef
Edgar Kennedy
Peeping Pete
The Cop
Fatty's Tintype Tangle
Edgar
Dumb's the Word
Edgar Kennedy
Private Snuffy Smith
Sgt. Ed Cooper
Brick-a-Brac
Edgar
Maid to Order
Edgar
Trouble or Nothing
Edgar
Girl Shock
Fiancee's Father
The Gusher
Cop (uncredited)
The Cowboy Millionaire
Willy 'Persimmon' Bates
High Gear
Cop
It's a Wonderful World
Lieutenant Miller
The Late Lamented
Art Gallery Operator
Gasoloons
Edgar Kennedy
$1,000 a Minute
Police Officer McCarthy
Moonlight and Monkey Business
Detective
Gangs Of The City
Biff
The Knockout
Cyclone Flynn (uncredited)
Westward Ho-Hum
Edgar
Do or Diet
Edgar
The Guide
An American Tourist
Quiet Please!
Edgar Kennedy
A Star Is Born
Pop Randall
Whose Baby?
The Detective
The First Seven Years
Kennedy the Cop (uncredited)
Kid Millions
Herman Wilson
The Fight Pest
Help Wanted, Female
Two Tars
Motorist
Duck Soup
Edgar
She Loved Him Plenty
My Dream Is Yours
Uncle Charlie
Giggle Water
Edgar
Poisoned Ivory
Edgar Kennedy
Cruel, Cruel Love
Butler
Fish Feathers
Edgar Kennedy
Motor Maniacs
Edgar Kennedy
The Golden Princess
Gewilliker Hay
Blondie in Society
Dr. Glenn
Chasing Husbands
Angora Love
Landlord
Anchors Aweigh
Police Captain
Ladies Last
Man in Phone Booth
What Fur
Edgar
Radio Rampage
Edgar
In the Clutches of the Gang
Cop
Madame Q
Judge Kennedy
Twentieth Century
Oscar McGonigle
Edgar Hamlet
Edgar
Moan & Groan, Inc.
Kennedy the Cop (uncredited)
Great Gobs!
2nd Sailor
Vocalizing
Edgar Kennedy
King Kelly of the U.S.A.
Happy Moran
Tillie and Gus
Judge
Love and Bullets
The Trouble Mender
Rough on Rents
Edgar Kennedy
Rebecca's Wedding Day
The Groom
Dummy Ache
Edgar
Love on a Ladder
Edgar
Flirting with Danger
Jimmie Pierson
Something for Nothing
Ptomaine Tommy
San Francisco
Sheriff
The Wandering Two
The Family Group
A Photographer
Making a Living
Wreck Bystander (uncredited)
The Night Message
Lem Beeman
His Luckless Love
The Maid's Boyfriend
Charlie McCarthy, Detective
Inspector Dailey
The Sky Pirate
The Sky Pirate
The Finishing Touch
Cop (as Ed Kennedy)
Finger Prints
O.K. McDuff (as Ed Kennedy)
Prunes and Politics
Edgar
Tillie's Punctured Romance
Restaurant Owner / Banks' Butler (uncredited)
Double Wedding
Spike
Hollywood Hotel
Callaghan
Good Housewrecking
Dad's Day
Michael Kennedy
A Film Johnnie
Director (uncredited)
Thieves
The Bride Comes Home
Henry
The Rounders
(uncredited)
The Other Fellow
Four Roles
The Sin of Harold Diddlebock
Jake the Bartender
Crazy House
Judge
The Falcon Strikes Back
Smiley Dugan
The Golden Age of Comedy
archive footage
Li'l Abner
Cornelius Cornpone
Robin Hood of El Dorado
Sheriff Judd
Hold 'Em Jail
Warden Elmer Jones
Doctor's Orders
Mary's Father / Gertie's Uncle
All Parts
Yours for the Asking
Bicarbonate
Little Big Shot
Onderdonk
Murder on the Blackboard
Detective Donahue
Across the Pacific
Cpl. Ryan
Mabel and Fatty's Wash Day
The cafe waiter (uncredited)
Sandy Is a Lady
Officer Rafferty
The Great Alaskan Mystery
Bosun Higgins
Hearts and Flowers
Pete
Cosmo Jones, Crime Smasher
Police Chief Murphy
Hot Foot
Edgar
Four Times Foiled
Algy on the Force
Cop
Son of the Border
Windy
The Silver Streak
O'Brien
Scarlet River
Sam Gilroy
Paths to Paradise
Detective (uncredited)
Cross Fire
Ed Wimpy
The Adventures of Daredevil Jack
Fatty Joins the Force
Jealous Cop
Little Orphan Annie
Daddy Warbucks
All of Me
Guard (uncredited)
High and Dry
The Penguin Pool Murder
Officer Donovan
True Confession
Darsey
Welcome Danger
SFPD Desk Sergeant (uncredited)
Going Ga-Ga
Cop
Laurel & Hardy: Year Two
(archive footage) (uncredited)
Oh! What a Nurse!
Eric Johnson
Trent's Last Case
Inspector Murch
Mad Holiday
Donovan
Skirts
Yankee Doodle in Berlin
German Prison Guard (uncredited)
The Wrong Mr. Wright
Trayguard
Bangville Police
3rd Deputy
Getting Acquainted
Policeman (uncredited)
Mabel's Busy Day
Tough Hot Dog Customer (uncredited)
Scandal Street
Daniel Webster Smith
Little Accident
Paper Hanger
A Night at the Biltmore Bowl
Edgar Kennedy
Money Means Nothing
Herbert Green
A Blasted Event
Edgar
Racing for Life
Tom Grady
A Pair of Tights
Marion's Boyfriend's Boss
Heat Lightning
Herbert - the Husband
Three Men on a Horse
Harry, the Bartender
When's Your Birthday?
Mr. Basscombe
Stepping Out
Diner's Owner
A Bath House Beauty
Jealous Boyfriend
Going Crooked
Detective
Sandy Gets Her Man
Fire Chief Galvin
The Our Gang Story
Officer (archive footage)
The Black Doll
Sheriff Renick
The Quarterback
Pops
The Best of Laurel and Hardy
Officer Kennedy (archive footage)
Who Killed Aunt Maggie?
Sheriff Gregory
Living on Velvet
Counterman
Fatal Lady
Rudolf Hochstetter
The Better 'Ole
Corporal Austin
That Little Band Of Gold
Diner / Man in Audience (uncredited)
Peck's Bad Boy with the Circus
Arthur Bailey
There's One Born Every Minute
Mayor Moe Carson
Wished on Mabel
Cop
The Big Squawk
Orchestra Leader
It's Your Move
Edgar Kennedy
All's Swell on the Ocean
Feed 'em and Weep
Leading Lizzie Astray
The Slicker's Chauffeur
The Marines Are Coming
Sgt. Buck Martin
They Had to See Paris
Ed Eggers (uncredited)
When the Wind Blows
Kennedy the Cop (uncredited)
The Noise of Bombs
Police Chief
Should Married Men Go Home?
Golfer (uncredited)
Gridiron Flash
Officer Thurston
The Girl from Monterrey
Doc Hogan, Fight Promoter
Fifty Million Husbands
Officer Kennedy
Leave 'Em Laughing
Cop
The Stolen Triumph
Edwin Rowley, Jr.
Fatty's New Role
Handout-Giver (uncredited)
The Riot
Cop
Love Fever
Thelma's Last Rescuer
Rendezvous at Midnight
Mahoney
What, No Cigarettes
Edgar Kennedy
You Drive Me Crazy
Edgar
A Muddy Romance
Water Policeman
Miss Fatty's Seaside Lovers
Suitor
Ambrose's First Falsehood
Café Proprietor
Now's the Time
The Trouble With Wives
Detective (as Edward Kennedy)
The Great Vacuum Robbery
2nd Thief
Remedy for Riches
George Browning
A Quiet Fourth
Edgar
Puppets of Fate
Mike Reynolds
Variety Time
Edgar Kennedy (footage from 'I'll Build It Myself') (archive footage)
Sunk by the Census
Edgar
Unaccustomed as We Are
Officer Kennedy
Mabel’s Awful Mistakes
Mabel’s Wilful Way
Fatty's Pal
The Star Boarder
Landlady's Husband (uncredited)
The Love Thief
The Rival
Why Is a Plumber?
Mabel's New Hero
Cop
A Noise from the Deep
Next Door Neighbors
Howard J. Green
Kennedy the Great
Edgar Kennedy
Little Billy's Triumph
A Quiet Little Wedding
Wedding Guest
'Taint Legal
Edgar
Fatty’s Reckless Fling
Neighbor
Will Power
Edgar Kennedy
The Battling Fool
Dan O'Leary (as Ed Kennedy)
Shivering Shakespeare
Kennedy the Cop (uncredited)
Art in the Raw
Safe in Jail
1st Crook
The Blue Streak
The Rural Third Degree
Cop
A Merchant of Menace
Edgar
Dumb Daddies
The Cop
Wall Street Blues
The Crook
A Clean Sweep
Edgar
Everything's on Ice
Joe Barton
Looser Than Loose
Night Club Patron
Dig That Gold
Edgar Kennedy
Wrong Direction
Edgar, Movie Director
Bombs!
Tony Peanutty - Italian Ward Leader
The Little Girl Next Door
Hank Hall
Beaux and Errors
Edgar Kennedy
All Teed Up
Thelma's Father (uncredited)
He Loved the Ladies
The Wife's Brother
Rastus and the Game Cock
Spectator
Dr. Christian Meets the Women
George Browning
The Real McCoy
Cicero the Cop
Cooks and Crooks
Edgar
Mabel's Dramatic Career
Audience Member / Cop in Movie
Bad Housekeeping
Edgar
A Trailer Tragedy
Edgar Kennedy
Hold Your Temper
Edgar
Edgar & Goliath
Edgar
Fatty and Mabel at the San Diego Exposition
1st Street Crowd Participant (uncredited)
Bigger and Better
Uncle Ed Sutton
Fight and Win
A Ride for a Bride
Mustached Man
The Speed Kings
Laughing Spectator
Zuzu, the Band Leader
Caesar - Zuzu's Rival
Ears of Experience
Edgar
Inferior Decorator
Edgar
The People vs. Nancy Preston
Gloomy Gus
An Apple in His Eye
Edgar Kennedy
Mutiny in the County
Edgar Kennedy
Drafted in the Depot
Edgar Kennedy
A Scoundrel's Toll
Peter X. Bush - Streetcar Superintendent