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Cool Hand Luke actor George Kennedy dies on Oscar Sunday
George Kennedy, the character actor known for playing cops, soldiers and blue-collar authority figures in such films as Cool Hand Luke, Airport and the Naked Gun, has died aged 91.
His break through role was Cool Hand Luke in which he played Dragline, a convict who resists, and then becomes friendly with, Paul Newman’s Luke character.
“The marvelous thing about that movie was that as my part progressed, I changed from a bad guy to a good guy,” Kennedy said in 1978. “The moguls in Hollywood must have said, ‘Hey, this fellow can do something besides be a bad guy.’ ”
His performance won him an Oscar for best supporting actor.
