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)
Bacon Grabbers
1929
as Collis P. Kennedy
Westward Passage
1932
as Elmer
Tramp Trouble
1937
as Edgar
Limousine Love
1928
as The Husband, Mr Glenders
Ladies Last
1930
as Man in Phone Booth
Two Tars
1928
as Motorist
Professional Sweetheart
1933
as Kelsey
Thieves
1930
Perfect Day
1929
as Uncle Edgar
The Guide
1921
as An American Tourist
Motor Maniacs
1946
as Edgar Kennedy
Chasing Husbands
1928
Peeping Pete
1913
as The Cop
Diplomaniacs
1933
as Chairman - Peace Conference
Poisoned Ivory
1934
as Edgar Kennedy
What Fur
1933
as Edgar
Duck Soup
1933
as Street Vendor
A Star Is Born
1937
as Pop Randall
Air Raid Wardens
1943
as Joe Bledsoe
It's a Wonderful World
1939
as Lieutenant Miller
Anchors Aweigh
1945
as Police Captain
Edgar Hamlet
1935
as Edgar
All Parts
1928
Angora Love
1929
as Landlord
The Penguin Pool Murder
1932
as Officer Donovan
Good Housewrecking
1933
Caught in a Cabaret
1914
as Cafe Proprietor (uncredited)
Wedding Bills
1927
as Detective
When Comedy Was King
1960
as (archive footage) (uncredited)
Great Gobs!
1929
as 2nd Sailor
'Curses!' They Remarked
1914
as Ethel's Former Boyfriend
Clock Wise
1939
as Edgar
Bob Hope's World of Comedy
1976
as Self - Tribute Montage (archive footage)
Hitler's Madman
1943
as Nepomuk - the Hermit
Radio Rampage
1944
as Edgar
Vocalizing
1936
as Edgar Kennedy
Twenty Minutes of Love
1914
as Lover
Heaven Only Knows
1947
as Judd
Something for Nothing
1923
as Ptomaine Tommy
Mabel and Fatty's Wash Day
1915
as The cafe waiter (uncredited)
Hillbilly Blitzkrieg
1942
as Sgt. Homer Gatling
Giggle Water
1932
as Edgar
Captain Tugboat Annie
1945
as Captain Bullwinkle
The Cowboy Millionaire
1935
as Willy 'Persimmon' Bates
San Francisco
1936
as Sheriff
Twentieth Century
1934
as Oscar McGonigle
Madame Q
1929
as Judge Kennedy
Tillie and Gus
1933
as Judge
Flirting with Danger
1934
as Jimmie Pierson
Making a Living
1914
as Wreck Bystander (uncredited)
Small Town Girl
1936
as Captain Mack
A Flirt's Mistake
1914
as Rajah
The Return of Jimmy Valentine
1936
as Callahan
Dummy Ache
1936
as Edgar
In Old California
1942
as Kegs McKeever
The Gas Station
1930
as Detective
Skirts
1921
King Kelly of the U.S.A.
1934
as Happy Moran
Dough and Dynamite
1914
as Striking Baker
A Thief Catcher
1914
as Crook (uncredited)
Hot Foot
1943
as Edgar
Blondie in Society
1941
as Dr. Glenn
Rough on Rents
1942
as Edgar Kennedy
The Chinese Parrot
1927
as Maydorf
Gangs Of The City
1941
as Biff
Westward Ho-Hum
1941
as Edgar
Unfaithfully Yours
1948
as Sweeney
The Stolen Triumph
1916
as Edwin Rowley, Jr.
It Happened Tomorrow
1944
as Insp. Mulrooney
The Finishing Touch
1928
as Cop (as Ed Kennedy)
Parlor, Bedroom and Wrath
as Edgar
The Spot on the Rug
1932
as Jake
Robin Hood of El Dorado
1936
as Sheriff Judd
Little Big Shot
1935
as Onderdonk
Gasoloons
1936
as Edgar Kennedy
The Big Beef
1945
as Edgar Kennedy
The Big Kick
1930
as Detective
The Fight Pest
1928
Laugh It Off
1939
as Judge John J. McGuinnis
His Luckless Love
1915
as The Maid's Boyfriend
A Film Johnnie
1914
as Director (uncredited)
Double Wedding
1937
as Spike
Watch Your Neighbor
1918
as An Innocent Bystander
Should Married Men Go Home?
1928
as Golfer (uncredited)
Heat Lightning
1934
as Herbert
True Confession
1937
as Darsey
Kid Millions
1934
as Herman Wilson
There's One Born Every Minute
1942
as Mayor Moe Carson
Mad About Moonshine
as Edgar
The Sin of Harold Diddlebock
1947
as Jake the Bartender
The Falcon Strikes Back
1943
as Smiley Dugan
Unaccustomed as We Are
1929
as Officer Kennedy
Moonlight and Monkey Business
1930
as Detective
A Merchant of Menace
1933
as Edgar
Fatty’s Plucky Pup
1915
as Shell Game Operator
Act Your Age
1939
as Edgar
The Other Fellow
1937
as Four Roles
The People vs. Nancy Preston
1925
as Gloomy Gus
Night Owls
1930
as Officer Kennedy
Tillie's Punctured Romance
1914
as Restaurant Owner / Banks' Butler (uncredited)
Their First Execution
1913
His Favorite Pastime
1914
as Tough Guy in Bar
Getting Acquainted
1914
as Policeman (uncredited)
An Incompetent Hero
1914
as Fatty's Neighbor
The Knockout
1914
as Cyclone Flynn (uncredited)
Cruel, Cruel Love
1914
as Butler
The Rounders
1914
as (uncredited)
Now's the Time
1932
The Family Group
1928
as A Photographer
Finger Prints
1927
as O.K. McDuff (as Ed Kennedy)
Fatty's Tintype Tangle
1915
as Edgar
Leading Lizzie Astray
1914
as The Slicker's Chauffeur
Crazy House
1943
as Judge
Sock Me to Sleep
1935
as Edgar
The Star Boarder
1914
as Landlady's Husband (uncredited)
Mabel at the Wheel
1914
as Spectator in Grandstand (uncredited)
Fish Feathers
1932
as Edgar Kennedy
Love on a Ladder
1934
as Edgar
Dad's Day
1929
as Michael Kennedy
The Sky Pirate
1914
as The Sky Pirate
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
- Bacon Grabbers (1929) — as Collis P. Kennedy
- Westward Passage (1932) — as Elmer
- Tramp Trouble (1937) — as Edgar
- Limousine Love (1928) — as The Husband, Mr Glenders
- Ladies Last (1930) — as Man in Phone Booth
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.