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)
Unfaithfully Yours
1948
as Sweeney
Tango Tangles
1914
as Dance Hall Manager (uncredited)
Dummy Ache
1936
as Edgar
Heat Lightning
1934
as Herbert
Quiet Please!
1933
as Edgar Kennedy
Bacon Grabbers
1929
as Collis P. Kennedy
The Knockout
1914
as Cyclone Flynn (uncredited)
The Quarterback
1940
as Pops
Crazy Feet
1929
as Policeman
Baby Daze
1939
as Edgar Kennedy
Small Town Girl
1936
as Captain Mack
Crazy House
1943
as Judge
Night Owls
1930
as Officer Kennedy
A Star Is Born
1937
as Pop Randall
The Rounders
1914
as (uncredited)
San Francisco
1936
as Sheriff
Getting Acquainted
1914
as Policeman (uncredited)
Bombs!
1916
as Tony Peanutty - Italian Ward Leader
Clock Wise
1939
as Edgar
Shivering Shakespeare
1930
as Kennedy the Cop (uncredited)
Woman Wanted
1935
as Sweeney
Gridiron Flash
1934
as Officer Thurston
The Booster
1928
Duck Soup
1933
as Street Vendor
Anchors Aweigh
1945
as Police Captain
Professional Sweetheart
1933
as Kelsey
Madame Q
1929
as Judge Kennedy
Scandal Street
1938
as Daniel Webster Smith
It Happened Tomorrow
1944
as Insp. Mulrooney
Hey! Hey! USA
1938
as Bugs Leary
Twentieth Century
1934
as Oscar McGonigle
Welcome Danger
1929
as SFPD Desk Sergeant (uncredited)
Rockabye
1932
as Water Wagon Driver (uncredited)
In Old California
1942
as Kegs McKeever
Finger Prints
1927
as O.K. McDuff (as Ed Kennedy)
Wrong Direction
1934
as Edgar, Movie Director
His Bitter Pill
1916
as Diamond Dan - Jim's Rival
It's a Wonderful World
1939
as Lieutenant Miller
Tillie's Punctured Romance
1914
as Restaurant Owner / Banks' Butler (uncredited)
The Great Alaskan Mystery
1944
as Bosun Higgins
Bad Company
1931
as Buffington-Doorman
The Gusher
1913
as Cop (uncredited)
Bob Hope's World of Comedy
1976
as Self - Tribute Montage (archive footage)
Paths to Paradise
1925
as Detective (uncredited)
The Sin of Harold Diddlebock
1947
as Jake the Bartender
My Dream Is Yours
1949
as Uncle Charlie
Robin Hood of El Dorado
1936
as Sheriff Judd
A Muddy Romance
1913
as Water Policeman
Little Big Shot
1935
as Onderdonk
Prunes and Politics
1944
as Edgar
Money Means Nothing
1934
as Herbert Green
Hollywood Hotel
1938
as Callaghan
The Penguin Pool Murder
1932
as Officer Donovan
Super-Sleuth
1937
as Police Lt. Garrison
Hitler's Madman
1943
as Nepomuk - the Hermit
Peeping Pete
1913
as The Cop
Bangville Police
1913
as 3rd Deputy
Wished on Mabel
1915
as Cop
A Flirt's Mistake
1914
as Rajah
Murder on the Blackboard
1934
as Detective Donahue
Their First Execution
1913
The Finishing Touch
1928
as Cop (as Ed Kennedy)
Edgar & Goliath
1937
as Edgar
The Silver Streak
1934
as O'Brien
Private Snuffy Smith
1942
as Sgt. Ed Cooper
Blondie in Society
1941
as Dr. Glenn
Double Wedding
1937
as Spike
$1,000 a Minute
1935
as Police Officer McCarthy
When Comedy Was King
1960
as edited from 'A Pair of Tights' (archive footage)
Caught in a Cabaret
1914
as Cafe Proprietor (uncredited)
They Had to See Paris
1929
as Ed Eggers (uncredited)
Making a Living
1914
as Wreck Bystander (uncredited)
The Riot
1913
as Cop
Peck's Bad Boy with the Circus
1938
as Arthur Bailey
Mabel's Busy Day
1914
as Tough Hot Dog Customer (uncredited)
Unaccustomed as We Are
1929
as Officer Kennedy
Heaven Only Knows
1947
as Judd
Act Your Age
1939
as Edgar
Feather Your Nest
1944
as Edgar
The Falcon Strikes Back
1943
as Smiley Dugan
Fatty Joins the Force
1913
as Jealous Cop
That Little Band Of Gold
1915
as Diner / Man in Audience (uncredited)
Gentlemen of Nerve
1914
as Policeman
Chasing Husbands
1928
Twenty Minutes of Love
1914
as Lover
True Confession
1937
as Darsey
Kid Millions
1934
as Herman Wilson
The Gay Old Bird
1927
as Chauffeur
Mabel's Dramatic Career
1913
as Audience Member / Cop in Movie
The Golden Age of Comedy
1957
as archive footage
Fatty’s Reckless Fling
1915
as Neighbor
Mabel's New Hero
1913
as Cop
Wedding Bills
1927
as Detective
Li'l Abner
1940
as Cornelius Cornpone
Fatty's Tintype Tangle
1915
as Edgar
Air Raid Wardens
1943
as Joe Bledsoe
Tillie and Gus
1933
as Judge
King for a Night
1933
as Cop
All of Me
1934
as Guard (uncredited)
The Marines Are Coming
1934
as Sgt. Buck Martin
Perfect Day
1929
as Uncle Edgar
Captain Tugboat Annie
1945
as Captain Bullwinkle
The Ghosts
1930
as Kennedy
The Cowboy Millionaire
1935
as Willy 'Persimmon' Bates
Miss Fatty's Seaside Lovers
1915
as Suitor
Westward Passage
1932
as Elmer
The Bride Comes Home
1935
as Henry
Charlie McCarthy, Detective
1939
as Inspector Dailey
When's Your Birthday?
1937
as Mr. Basscombe
Cruel, Cruel Love
1914
as Butler
Diplomaniacs
1933
as Chairman - Peace Conference
Yours for the Asking
1936
as Bicarbonate
King Kelly of the U.S.A.
1934
as Happy Moran
Fatal Lady
1936
as Rudolf Hochstetter
A Thief Catcher
1914
as Crook (uncredited)
Two Tars
1928
as Motorist
The Golden Princess
1925
as Gewilliker Hay
There's One Born Every Minute
1942
as Mayor Moe Carson
Hold 'Em Jail
1932
as Warden Elmer Jones
Cosmo Jones, Crime Smasher
1943
as Police Chief Murphy
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
- Unfaithfully Yours (1948) — as Sweeney
- Tango Tangles (1914) — as Dance Hall Manager (uncredited)
- Dummy Ache (1936) — as Edgar
- Heat Lightning (1934) — as Herbert
- Quiet Please! (1933) — as Edgar Kennedy
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.