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)
Heat Lightning
1934
as Herbert
Unfaithfully Yours
1948
as Sweeney
The Quarterback
1940
as Pops
Tango Tangles
1914
as Dance Hall Manager (uncredited)
Dummy Ache
1936
as Edgar
The Knockout
1914
as Cyclone Flynn (uncredited)
Crazy House
1943
as Judge
Quiet Please!
1933
as Edgar Kennedy
Bacon Grabbers
1929
as Collis P. Kennedy
Gridiron Flash
1934
as Officer Thurston
San Francisco
1936
as Sheriff
A Star Is Born
1937
as Pop Randall
Small Town Girl
1936
as Captain Mack
Clock Wise
1939
as Edgar
The Rounders
1914
as (uncredited)
Scandal Street
1938
as Daniel Webster Smith
Night Owls
1930
as Officer Kennedy
Bombs!
1916
as Tony Peanutty - Italian Ward Leader
Getting Acquainted
1914
as Policeman (uncredited)
Baby Daze
1939
as Edgar Kennedy
Crazy Feet
1929
as Policeman
Woman Wanted
1935
as Sweeney
Professional Sweetheart
1933
as Kelsey
Shivering Shakespeare
1930
as Kennedy the Cop (uncredited)
Twentieth Century
1934
as Oscar McGonigle
Anchors Aweigh
1945
as Police Captain
Duck Soup
1933
as Street Vendor
Wrong Direction
1934
as Edgar, Movie Director
Madame Q
1929
as Judge Kennedy
Welcome Danger
1929
as SFPD Desk Sergeant (uncredited)
The Booster
1928
Poisoned Ivory
1934
as Edgar Kennedy
It Happened Tomorrow
1944
as Insp. Mulrooney
Finger Prints
1927
as O.K. McDuff (as Ed Kennedy)
In Old California
1942
as Kegs McKeever
Little Big Shot
1935
as Onderdonk
Hey! Hey! USA
1938
as Bugs Leary
Double Wedding
1937
as Spike
Rockabye
1932
as Water Wagon Driver (uncredited)
It's a Wonderful World
1939
as Lieutenant Miller
Robin Hood of El Dorado
1936
as Sheriff Judd
Tillie's Punctured Romance
1914
as Restaurant Owner / Banks' Butler (uncredited)
Fatty's Tintype Tangle
1915
as Edgar
The Sin of Harold Diddlebock
1947
as Jake the Bartender
Flirting with Danger
1934
as Jimmie Pierson
Making a Living
1914
as Wreck Bystander (uncredited)
Bangville Police
1913
as 3rd Deputy
Bad Company
1931
as Buffington-Doorman
The Falcon Strikes Back
1943
as Smiley Dugan
Bob Hope's World of Comedy
1976
as Self - Tribute Montage (archive footage)
Wished on Mabel
1915
as Cop
His Bitter Pill
1916
as Diamond Dan - Jim's Rival
The Finishing Touch
1928
as Cop (as Ed Kennedy)
The Great Alaskan Mystery
1944
as Bosun Higgins
Super-Sleuth
1937
as Police Lt. Garrison
A Muddy Romance
1913
as Water Policeman
A Flirt's Mistake
1914
as Rajah
Westward Passage
1932
as Elmer
Hollywood Hotel
1938
as Callaghan
Prunes and Politics
1944
as Edgar
My Dream Is Yours
1949
as Uncle Charlie
Gentlemen of Nerve
1914
as Policeman
Blondie in Society
1941
as Dr. Glenn
The Silver Streak
1934
as O'Brien
Mad Holiday
1936
as Donovan
When Comedy Was King
1960
as edited from 'A Pair of Tights' (archive footage)
Air Raid Wardens
1943
as Joe Bledsoe
Act Your Age
1939
as Edgar
Across the Pacific
1926
as Cpl. Ryan
Their First Execution
1913
All of Me
1934
as Guard (uncredited)
Caught in a Cabaret
1914
as Cafe Proprietor (uncredited)
Peck's Bad Boy with the Circus
1938
as Arthur Bailey
Trent's Last Case
1929
as Inspector Murch
True Confession
1937
as Darsey
Yours for the Asking
1936
as Bicarbonate
The Penguin Pool Murder
1932
as Officer Donovan
Hitler's Madman
1943
as Nepomuk - the Hermit
The Girl from Monterrey
1943
as Doc Hogan, Fight Promoter
Mabel's Busy Day
1914
as Tough Hot Dog Customer (uncredited)
She Loved Him Plenty
1918
The Star Boarder
1914
as Landlady's Husband (uncredited)
The Boy Friend
1928
as The Cop
Money Means Nothing
1934
as Herbert Green
Hold 'Em Jail
1932
as Warden Elmer Jones
Three Men on a Horse
1936
as Harry, the Bartender
Edgar & Goliath
1937
as Edgar
Should Married Men Go Home?
1928
as Golfer (uncredited)
The Gusher
1913
as Cop (uncredited)
Scarlet River
1933
as Sam Gilroy
They Had to See Paris
1929
as Ed Eggers (uncredited)
The Gay Old Bird
1927
as Chauffeur
Diplomaniacs
1933
as Chairman - Peace Conference
King for a Night
1933
as Cop
Peeping Pete
1913
as The Cop
His Favorite Pastime
1914
as Tough Guy in Bar
A Quiet Little Wedding
1913
as Wedding Guest
Fatal Lady
1936
as Rudolf Hochstetter
The Golden Age of Comedy
1957
as archive footage
King Kelly of the U.S.A.
1934
as Happy Moran
Laugh It Off
1939
as Judge John J. McGuinnis
Perfect Day
1929
as Uncle Edgar
Twenty Minutes of Love
1914
as Lover
Murder on the Blackboard
1934
as Detective Donahue
Paths to Paradise
1925
as Detective (uncredited)
The Bowling Match
1913
as Bowling Alley Operator
A Thief Catcher
1914
as Crook (uncredited)
Miss Fatty's Seaside Lovers
1915
as Suitor
Thieves
1930
The Golden Princess
1925
as Gewilliker Hay
Madcap Ambrose
1916
as A City Chap
The Riot
1913
as Cop
Variety Time
1948
as Edgar Kennedy (footage from 'I'll Build It Myself') (archive footage)
Dollar Dizzy
1930
as Quimby the Lawyer
Feather Your Nest
1944
as Edgar
Kid Millions
1934
as Herman Wilson
Li'l Abner
1940
as Cornelius Cornpone
The Gangsters
1913
as Henchman
$1,000 a Minute
1935
as Police Officer McCarthy
Tramp Trouble
1937
as Edgar
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 HinFlix, free and in HD, with no subscription required.
Most Popular Edgar Kennedy Movies
- Heat Lightning (1934) — as Herbert
- Unfaithfully Yours (1948) — as Sweeney
- The Quarterback (1940) — as Pops
- Tango Tangles (1914) — as Dance Hall Manager (uncredited)
- Dummy Ache (1936) — as Edgar
Where to Watch Edgar Kennedy Films
Most Edgar Kennedy movies and series are available to stream on HinFlix 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.