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Arthur Kennedy (1914-1990) was an American actor who appeared in films, Broadway plays and TV shows. He was nominated for five Oscars, won a Tony and a Golden Globe, and starred in classics like Trial, The Man from Laramie and Elmer Gantry.
Arthur Kennedy, one of the premier character actors in American film from the late 1940s through the early 1960s, achieved fame in the role of Biff in Elia Kazan's historic production of Arthur Miller's Pultizer-Prize winning play "Death of a Salesman."
- January 1, 1
- Worcester, Massachusetts, USA
- January 1, 1
- Branford, Connecticut, USA
Arthur Kennedy was a versatile and acclaimed American actor who starred in Broadway, film and TV. He was nominated for five Oscars and appeared in classics like Death of a Salesman, The Crucible and Lawrence of Arabia.
- February 17, 1914
- January 5, 1990
- Grew Up in Worcester
- First Acting Award
- 1930s Traveling Actor
- 'All My Sons'
- First Oscar Nomination
- Final Academy Award
- Turned Down Role
- Died in 1990
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Born on Feb. 17, 1914, John Arthur Kennedy grew up at 20 Mayfair St. in Worcester. Kennedy graduated from South High School, Class of 1931, and participated in dramatics at Worcester Academy the following year. He said in an interview in the Feature Parade Section of the Worcester Sunday Telegram (published May 31, 1953) that he had no intentions o...
Kennedy was cast as a lunatic masquerading as an asylum guard in “The Phantom Pilot” and the last survivor of a group of explorers who are cursed after opening a pharaoh’s tomb in “A Message From Khufu.” The latter play won Kennedy his first acting award, second prize. After Worcester Academy, Kennedy enrolled at the prestigious Carnegie Tech Schoo...
In 1936, Kennedy joined the Globe Theatre traveling repertory, which toured the Midwest offering abbreviated versions of Shakespearian plays given at the Cleveland Dallas Expositions. In 1937, Kennedy made his Broadway debut in “King Richard II,” opposite noted Shakespearian actor Maurice Evans — best known for playing Dr. Zaius in “Planet of the A...
On Jan. 29, 1947, Kennedy made his triumphant returned to Broadway in Arthur Miller's Tony Award-winning play "All My Sons," portraying a man who returns from war to find his father exposed as a war profiteer. In reality, Kennedy’s father was a well-respected Worcester dentist. Four months later, Kennedy’s father died suddenly of a heart attack whi...
Acting wise, 1949 was a very good year for Kennedy. Not only did he star in “Death of a Salesman” on Broadway, he played Connie Kelly, the crippled brother of boxer Michael “Midge” Kelly (Kirk Douglas), in the 1949 movie “Champion,” which gave Kennedy his first Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor. In 1951, Kennedy was nominated for the Acade...
In 1958, Kennedy earned his fifth and final Academy Award nomination portraying a rigid businessman who is having an affair with his assistant in “Some Came Running,” starring Frank Sinatra. “My pop and Sinatra got along really well when they were working because my father would do things in one take because he knew Sinatra hated retakes,” Laurie s...
In 1962, Kennedy did, however, turned down the role of George in the original production of Edward Albee's “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” “My father was in the middle of doing ‘Lawrence of Arabia’ and asked Peter O’Toole to read the script. And O’Toole said it’s a great play but it’s the woman’s play and Pop turned it down,” Laurie said. “Big mi...
On Jan. 5, 1990, Kennedy died at the Connecticut Hospice in Branford. He was 75 years old. Laurie also said that, despite a successful acting career, her father was rarely recognized by passers-by. “People would stop him in the street and ask, ‘I know you? Where do I know you from?’ And if they realized he was an actor they always would say, ‘Georg...
Learn about the life and career of Arthur Kennedy, a Worcester native who became one of the most respected actors in Hollywood and was nominated for five Academy Awards. From his stage debut at South High School to his roles in "High Sierra," "Lawrence of Arabia" and "Fantastic Voyage," Kennedy worked with legends like James Cagney, Humphrey Bogart and Errol Flynn.
Jan 7, 1990 · Arthur Kennedy, who appeared in more than 70 Hollywood films and won a Tony Award on Broadway for creating the role of Biff in Arthur Miller's ''Death of a Salesman,'' died of a...
Arthur Kennedy was a versatile character actor who appeared in many films and Broadway plays, including five Academy Award-nominated roles. He worked with James Cagney, Marlene Dietrich, and Arthur Miller, and won a Tony award for Death of a Salesman.
Jan 5, 1990 · Arthur Kennedy (1914-1990) was a versatile and acclaimed stage and film actor, known for his roles in Death of a Salesman, Lawrence of Arabia, and Trial. He was also a Golden Globe winner and a five-time Oscar nominee.