Edgar Kennedy
Known for Acting · 328 credits
- Born
- 1890-04-25
- Died
- 1948-11-09
- Place of birth
- Monterey, California, USA
- Also known as
- E. Livingston Kennedy · Ed. Kennedy · Edward Kennedy · Ed Kennedy
Biography
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
Movies (328)
Duck Soup
1933
as Street Vendor
A Star Is Born
1937
as Pop Randall
Tango Tangles
1914
as Dance Hall Manager (uncredited)
Anchors Aweigh
1945
as Police Captain
San Francisco
1936
as Sheriff
Professional Sweetheart
1933
as Kelsey
Gridiron Flash
1934
as Officer Thurston
Small Town Girl
1936
as Captain Mack
Heat Lightning
1934
as Herbert
The Knockout
1914
as Cyclone Flynn (uncredited)
Dummy Ache
1936
as Edgar
The Quarterback
1940
as Pops
Bacon Grabbers
1929
as Collis P. Kennedy
Crazy House
1943
as Judge
Twentieth Century
1934
as Oscar McGonigle
In Old California
1942
as Kegs McKeever
Scandal Street
1938
as Daniel Webster Smith
Wrong Direction
1934
as Edgar, Movie Director
Welcome Danger
1929
as SFPD Desk Sergeant (uncredited)
Woman Wanted
1935
as Sweeney
It Happened Tomorrow
1944
as Insp. Mulrooney
Unfaithfully Yours
1948
as Sweeney
Super-Sleuth
1937
as Police Lt. Garrison
King Kelly of the U.S.A.
1934
as Happy Moran
Making a Living
1914
as Wreck Bystander (uncredited)
My Dream Is Yours
1949
as Uncle Charlie
Tillie's Punctured Romance
1914
as Restaurant Owner / Banks' Butler (uncredited)
Double Wedding
1937
as Spike
Bob Hope's World of Comedy
1976
as Self - Tribute Montage (archive footage)
The Rounders
1914
as (uncredited)
Finger Prints
1927
as O.K. McDuff (as Ed Kennedy)
Hitler's Madman
1943
as Nepomuk - the Hermit
Clock Wise
1939
as Edgar
Kid Millions
1934
as Herman Wilson
A Thief Catcher
1914
as Crook (uncredited)
Rockabye
1932
as Water Wagon Driver (uncredited)
Act Your Age
1939
as Edgar
All of Me
1934
as Guard (uncredited)
Little Big Shot
1935
as Onderdonk
Caught in a Cabaret
1914
as Cafe Proprietor (uncredited)
Quick Millions
1931
as Cop (uncredited)
The Sin of Harold Diddlebock
1947
as Jake the Bartender
Hey! Hey! USA
1938
as Bugs Leary
Gentlemen of Nerve
1914
as Policeman
Peck's Bad Boy with the Circus
1938
as Arthur Bailey
It's a Wonderful World
1939
as Lieutenant Miller
Madcap Ambrose
1916
as A City Chap
The Finishing Touch
1928
as Cop (as Ed Kennedy)
The Silver Streak
1934
as O'Brien
Blondie in Society
1941
as Dr. Glenn
Robin Hood of El Dorado
1936
as Sheriff Judd
The Gay Old Bird
1927
as Chauffeur
We're Rich Again
1934
as Healy, Process Server
Bangville Police
1913
as 3rd Deputy
The Golden Princess
1925
as Gewilliker Hay
Crazy Feet
1929
as Policeman
A Flirt's Mistake
1914
as Rajah
Should Married Men Go Home?
1928
as Golfer (uncredited)
Shivering Shakespeare
1930
as Kennedy the Cop (uncredited)
Mad Holiday
1936
as Donovan
Fatty's Tintype Tangle
1915
as Edgar
The Penguin Pool Murder
1932
as Officer Donovan
Two Tars
1928
as Motorist
The Golden Age of Comedy
1957
as archive footage
Dr. Christian Meets the Women
1940
as George Browning
Sandy Gets Her Man
1940
as Fire Chief Galvin
True Confession
1937
as Darsey
Prunes and Politics
1944
as Edgar
Dough and Dynamite
1914
as Striking Baker
Quiet Please!
1933
as Edgar Kennedy
Money Means Nothing
1934
as Herbert Green
Remedy for Riches
1940
as George Browning
Across the Pacific
1926
as Cpl. Ryan
When the Wind Blows
1930
as Kennedy the Cop (uncredited)
The Falcon Strikes Back
1943
as Smiley Dugan
Cruel, Cruel Love
1914
as Butler
Air Raid Wardens
1943
as Joe Bledsoe
Mabel at the Wheel
1914
as Spectator in Grandstand (uncredited)
Feather Your Nest
1944
as Edgar
Westward Passage
1932
as Elmer
Murder on the Blackboard
1934
as Detective Donahue
Their First Execution
1913
A Bath House Beauty
1914
as Jealous Boyfriend
Night Owls
1930
as Officer Kennedy
Captain Tugboat Annie
1945
as Captain Bullwinkle
Living on Velvet
1935
as Counterman
Bad Company
1931
as Buffington-Doorman
$1,000 a Minute
1935
as Police Officer McCarthy
Fatal Lady
1936
as Rudolf Hochstetter
Little Orphan Annie
1932
as Daddy Warbucks
When Comedy Was King
1960
as edited from 'A Pair of Tights' (archive footage)
His Bitter Pill
1916
as Diamond Dan - Jim's Rival
There's One Born Every Minute
1942
as Mayor Moe Carson
King for a Night
1933
as Cop
A Quiet Little Wedding
1913
as Wedding Guest
Heaven Only Knows
1947
as Judd
The Boy Friend
1928
as The Cop
Perfect Day
1929
as Uncle Edgar
Feed 'em and Weep
1928
Radio Rampage
1944
as Edgar
Getting Acquainted
1914
as Policeman (uncredited)
Hold 'Em Jail
1932
as Warden Elmer Jones
Scarlet River
1933
as Sam Gilroy
Yours for the Asking
1936
as Bicarbonate
Li'l Abner
1940
as Cornelius Cornpone
Cosmo Jones, Crime Smasher
1943
as Police Chief Murphy
Hollywood Hotel
1938
as Callaghan
Tillie and Gus
1933
as Judge
The Night Message
1924
as Lem Beeman
Flirting with Danger
1934
as Jimmie Pierson
Dollar Dizzy
1930
as Quimby the Lawyer
Diplomaniacs
1933
as Chairman - Peace Conference
Cross Fire
1933
as Ed Wimpy
The Ghosts
1930
as Kennedy
The Gangsters
1913
as Henchman
Baby Daze
1939
as Edgar Kennedy
Dumb Daddies
1928
as The Cop
All's Swell on the Ocean
1924
Going Crooked
1926
as Detective
Variety Time
1948
as Edgar Kennedy (footage from 'I'll Build It Myself') (archive footage)
About 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 fr… With 328 credits spanning from 1913 to 2024, Edgar Kennedy has appeared in 328 films and 0 TV shows.
Fans searching for Edgar Kennedy movies, Edgar Kennedy filmography, or the latest projects starring Edgar Kennedy can stream many of these titles on Bowood.TV, free and in HD, with no subscription required.
Most Popular Edgar Kennedy Movies
- Duck Soup (1933) — as Street Vendor
- A Star Is Born (1937) — as Pop Randall
- Tango Tangles (1914) — as Dance Hall Manager (uncredited)
- Anchors Aweigh (1945) — as Police Captain
- San Francisco (1936) — as Sheriff
Where to Watch Edgar Kennedy Films
Most Edgar Kennedy movies and series are available to stream on Bowood.TV in full HD, completely free and without signup. Browse the complete filmography above to jump directly to any title. For more films and the latest web series featuring Edgar Kennedy, check our movies catalogue and browse page.