Edgar Kennedy
Encyclopedia
Edgar Livingston Kennedy (April 26, 1890 – November 9, 1948) was an American
comedic film
actor
, known as "the king of the 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 possibly best known today for a small but memorable role as a lemonade
vendor in the Marx Brothers
film Duck Soup.
in 1914. He would go on to work with the biggest film comedians in the United States, including Roscoe Arbuckle
, Charlie Chaplin
, Laurel and Hardy
, the Marx Brothers
, Charley Chase
, and the Our Gang
series. Kennedy's burly frame originally suited him for villainous or threatening roles in silent pictures. By the 1920s Kennedy was working for producer Hal Roach
, who kept the actor busy playing supporting roles in short comedies. Kennedy starred in one short, A Pair of Tights (1928), in which he plays a tightwad determined to spend as little as possible on a date. His antics with comedian Stuart Erwin
are reminiscent of Roach's Laurel and Hardy comedies, produced concurrently. Roach also used Kennedy as a director on half a dozen two-reeler comedies.
In 1930, Edgar Kennedy was featured by RKO-Pathe in a pair of short-subject comedies, Next Door Neighbors and Help Wanted, Female. Kennedy's characterization of a short-tempered householder was so effective that RKO built a series around it. The "Average Man" comedies starred Kennedy as a blustery, stubborn guy determined to accomplish a household project or get ahead professionally, despite the meddling of his featherbrained wife (usually Florence Lake
), her freeloading brother (originally William Eugene, then Jack Rice
) and his dubious mother-in-law (Dot Farley
). Kennedy pioneered the kind of domestic situation comedy
that later became familiar on television. Each installment would end with Edgar embarrassed, humbled or defeated, looking at the camera and doing his patented slow burn. The Edgar Kennedy Series, with its theme song "Chopsticks
", became a standard part of the movie-going experience: Kennedy made six "Average Man" shorts a year for 17 years.
Kennedy became so identified with frustration that practically every studio, large and small, 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 ", yells Kennedy, "this is a " 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, little realizing that, to them, is "the other fellow."
Perhaps his most unusual roles were as a puppeteer in the detective mystery The Falcon Strikes Back (1943) and as a philosophical bartender inspired to create exotic cocktails in Harold Lloyd
's last film, The Sin of Harold Diddlebock
(1947).
As director:
in 1948 and was interred at the Holy Cross Cemetery, Culver City
, Los Angeles County, California
.
In 2005, Bill Cassara published the biography
Edgar Kennedy: Master of the Slow Burn about Kennedy's life and career.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
comedic film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
, known as "the king of the 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 possibly best known today for a small but memorable role as a lemonade
Lemonade
Lemonade is a lemon-flavored drink, typically made from lemons, water and sugar.The term can refer to three different types of beverage:...
vendor in the Marx Brothers
Marx Brothers
The Marx Brothers were an American family comedy act, originally from New York City, that enjoyed success in Vaudeville, Broadway, and motion pictures from the early 1900s to around 1950...
film Duck Soup.
Career
A former singer and boxer, Kennedy worked in hundreds of films beginning as a Keystone KopKeystone Kops
The Keystone Kops were incompetent fictional policemen, featured in silent film comedies in the early 20th century. The movies were produced by Mack Sennett for his Keystone Film Company between 1912 and 1917. The idea came from Hank Mann who also played police chief Tehiezel in the first film...
in 1914. He would go on to work with the biggest film comedians in the United States, including Roscoe Arbuckle
Fatty Arbuckle
Roscoe Conkling "Fatty" Arbuckle was an American silent film actor, comedian, director, and screenwriter. Starting at the Selig Polyscope Company he eventually moved to Keystone Studios where he worked with Mabel Normand and Harold Lloyd...
, Charlie Chaplin
Charlie Chaplin
Sir Charles Spencer "Charlie" Chaplin, KBE was an English comic actor, film director and composer best known for his work during the silent film era. He became the most famous film star in the world before the end of World War I...
, Laurel and Hardy
Laurel and Hardy
Laurel and Hardy were one of the most popular and critically acclaimed comedy double acts of the early Classical Hollywood era of American cinema...
, the Marx Brothers
Marx Brothers
The Marx Brothers were an American family comedy act, originally from New York City, that enjoyed success in Vaudeville, Broadway, and motion pictures from the early 1900s to around 1950...
, Charley Chase
Charley Chase
Charley Chase was an American comedian, actor, screenwriter and film director, best known for his work in Hal Roach short film comedies...
, and the Our Gang
Our Gang
Our Gang, also known as The Little Rascals or Hal Roach's Rascals, was a series of American comedy short films about a group of poor neighborhood children and the adventures they had together. Created by comedy producer Hal Roach, the series is noted for showing children behaving in a relatively...
series. Kennedy's burly frame originally suited him for villainous or threatening roles in silent pictures. By the 1920s Kennedy was working for producer Hal Roach
Hal Roach
Harold Eugene "Hal" Roach, Sr. was an American film and television producer and director, and from the 1910s to the 1990s.- Early life and career :Hal Roach was born in Elmira, New York...
, who kept the actor busy playing supporting roles in short comedies. Kennedy starred in one short, A Pair of Tights (1928), in which he plays a tightwad determined to spend as little as possible on a date. His antics with comedian Stuart Erwin
Stuart Erwin
Stuart Erwin was an American actor. Erwin began acting in college in the 1920s, first appearing on the stage, then breaking into films in 1928 in Mother Knows Best...
are reminiscent of Roach's Laurel and Hardy comedies, produced concurrently. Roach also used Kennedy as a director on half a dozen two-reeler comedies.
In 1930, Edgar Kennedy was featured by RKO-Pathe in a pair of short-subject comedies, Next Door Neighbors and Help Wanted, Female. Kennedy's characterization of a short-tempered householder was so effective that RKO built a series around it. The "Average Man" comedies starred Kennedy as a blustery, stubborn guy determined to accomplish a household project or get ahead professionally, despite the meddling of his featherbrained wife (usually Florence Lake
Florence Lake
For the reservoir in the Sierra Nevada Mountains, see Florence Lake .Florence Lake was an American actress best known as the leading lady in most of the Edgar Kennedy comedy shorts.-Early life:In the early 1900s, her father and uncle toured with a circus in an aerial act known as...
), her freeloading brother (originally William Eugene, then Jack Rice
Jack Rice
Jack Rice was an American actor best known for appearing as the scrounging, freeloading brother-in-law in Edgar Kennedy's series of short domestic comedy films at the RKO studios, and also as "Ollie" in around a dozen of Columbia film studio's series of the Blondie comic strip, which starred Penny...
) and his dubious mother-in-law (Dot Farley
Dot Farley
Dot Farley was an American film actress. She appeared in 280 films between 1910 and 1950. Mainly known for her roles in short comedies, prolific with Mack Sennett in the silent days;she was later notable as the Mother-in-law of Edgar Kennedy in most of his series of short films at the RKO...
). Kennedy pioneered the kind of domestic situation comedy
Situation comedy
A situation comedy, often shortened to sitcom, is a genre of comedy that features characters sharing the same common environment, such as a home or workplace, accompanied with jokes as part of the dialogue...
that later became familiar on television. Each installment would end with Edgar embarrassed, humbled or defeated, looking at the camera and doing his patented slow burn. The Edgar Kennedy Series, with its theme song "Chopsticks
Chopsticks (music)
"Chopsticks" is a simple, extremely well known waltz for the piano. It was written in 1877 by the British composer Euphemia Allen under the pseudonym Arthur de Lulli...
", became a standard part of the movie-going experience: Kennedy made six "Average Man" shorts a year for 17 years.
Kennedy became so identified with frustration that practically every studio, large and small, 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
Wheeler & Woolsey
Bert Wheeler and Robert Woolsey were a famous American film comedy team of the 1930s....
want to do something about world peace. "Well, ya can't do anything about it ", yells Kennedy, "this is a " Kennedy, established as the poster boy
Poster Boy
Poster Boy is a 2004 gay-themed drama film. It toured the gay and lesbian film festival circuit beginning in 2004 before a limited theatrical release in 2006.- Production :Some scenes were shot on campus at Wagner College in Staten Island, New York....
for frustration, even starred in an instructional film titled The Other Fellow, in which loudmouthed roadhog Edgar always vents his anger on other drivers, little realizing that, to them, is "the other fellow."
Perhaps his most unusual roles were as a puppeteer in the detective mystery The Falcon Strikes Back (1943) and as a philosophical bartender inspired to create exotic cocktails in Harold Lloyd
Harold Lloyd
Harold Clayton Lloyd, Sr. was an American film actor and producer, most famous for his silent comedies....
's last film, The Sin of Harold Diddlebock
The Sin of Harold Diddlebock
The Sin of Harold Diddlebock is a 1947 comedy film written and directed by Preston Sturges, starring the silent film comic icon Harold Lloyd, and featuring Jimmy Conlin, Raymond Walburn, Rudy Vallee, Arline Judge, Edgar Kennedy, Franklin Pangborn and Lionel Stander...
(1947).
Selected filmography
As actor:- Brown of HarvardBrown of Harvard (1911 film)Brown of Harvard is a 1911 silent film based on the play of the same name by Rida Johnson Young.-Cast:*Edgar G. Wynn as Tom Brown of Harvard*Charles Clary as Gerald Thorne, a Tutor*George L. Cox as Wilfred Kenyon, a Black Sheep...
(1911) - The KnockoutThe KnockoutThe Knockout was Charlie Chaplin's seventeenth film for Keystone Studios. Chaplin only has a small role, and Fatty Arbuckle takes up the main role...
(1914) - Tillie's Punctured RomanceTillie's Punctured Romance (1914 film)Tillie's Punctured Romance is the first feature-length comedy film from Keystone Film Company and the Christie Film Company, produced in 1914. A silent film directed by Mack Sennett, the film stars Marie Dressler, Mabel Normand, Charles Chaplin, and the Keystone Cops...
(1914) - Two TarsTwo TarsTwo Tars, directed by James Parrott and released in 1928, is recognized as one of Laurel and Hardy's greatest films. A silent film, it largely consists of a 'reciprocal destruction' involving motorists in a traffic jam, which has much inventive mayhem with the destruction of various...
(1928) - Perfect DayPerfect Day (1929 film)-Synopsis:The story involves the difficulties Laurel and Hardy, their wives, and their Uncle Edgar have in trying to go out for a picnic on a Sunday.-Background and production:...
(1929) - Trent's Last CaseTrent's Last Case (1929 film)Trent's Last Case is an American detective film directed by Howard Hawks, starring Raymond Griffith, Marceline Day, Raymond Hatton, and Donald Crisp, and released by Fox Film Corporation...
(1929) - They Had to See ParisThey Had to See ParisThey Had to See Paris is a 1929 American comedy film directed by Frank Borzage and starring Will Rogers, Irene Rich and Marguerite Churchill. A wealthy American oil tycoon travels to Paris with his family at his wife's request, despite the fact he hates the French.Rogers starred in a similar film...
(1929) - Night OwlsNight Owls (1930 film)Night Owls is a 1930 two-reel Laurel and Hardy film. It was shot in October and November, 1929, and released January 4, 1930. It was also made in two foreign language versions: Ladrones in Spanish and Ladroni in Italian...
(1930) - Duck Soup (1933)
- Twentieth CenturyTwentieth Century (film)Twentieth Century is a 1934 American screwball comedy film. Much of the film is set on the 20th Century Limited train as it travels from Chicago to New York. The film was directed by Howard Hawks, stars John Barrymore and Carole Lombard, and features Walter Connolly, Roscoe Karns and Edgar Kennedy...
(1934) - Murder on the BlackboardMurder on the BlackboardMurder on the Blackboard is a mystery film starring Edna May Oliver as schoolteacher Hildegarde Withers and James Gleason as Police Inspector Oscar Piper. Together, they investigate a murder at Withers' school...
(1934) - We're Rich AgainWe're Rich AgainWe're Rich Again is a 1934 comedy film starring Edna May Oliver, Billie Burke and Marian Nixon. A formerly wealthy family tries to stave off bankruptcy until one of them can marry a rich man...
(1934) - 1,000 Dollars a Minute1,000 Dollars a Minute1,000 Dollars a Minute is a 1935 comedy film directed by Aubrey Scotto. The film was nominated for an Academy Award in the category Sound Recording.-Cast:* Roger Pryor as Wally Jones* Leila Hyams as Dorothy Summers* Edward Brophy as Benny Dolan...
(1935) - San FranciscoSan Francisco (film)San Francisco is a 1936 musical-drama directed by Woody Van Dyke, based on the April 18, 1906 San Francisco earthquake. The film, which was the top grossing movie of that year, stars Clark Gable, Jeanette MacDonald, and Spencer Tracy. The then very popular singing of MacDonald helped make this film...
(1936) - A Star Is BornA Star Is Born (1937 film)A Star Is Born is a 1937 Technicolor romantic drama film produced by David O. Selznick and directed by William A. Wellman, with a script by Wellman, Robert Carson, Dorothy Parker and Alan Campbell. It stars Janet Gaynor as an aspiring Hollywood actress, and Fredric March as an aging movie star who...
(1937) - When's Your Birthday?When's Your Birthday?When's Your Birthday? American film directed by Harry Beaumont. While original prints of this film had a cartoon sequence in Technicolor directed by Bob Clampett and Leon Schlesinger, most prints have the sequence in black-and-white.- Plot summary :Dustin Willoughby When's Your Birthday? (1937)...
(1937) - Hey! Hey! USA!Hey! Hey! USA!Hey! Hey! USA is a 1938 British comedy film starring comedian Will Hay, Edgar Kennedy and Eddie Ryan. Hay appears as Benjamin Twist, a porter who accidentally finds himself on a ship bound for the United States.-Plot outline:...
(1938) - Air Raid WardensAir Raid WardensAir Raid Wardens is a 1943 Laurel and Hardy comedy film. This was the first of their films made at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.-Synopsis:Set during World War II, Stan and Ollie try their hand at various business ventures...
(1943) - Hitler's MadmanHitler's MadmanHitler's Madman is a 1943 World War II film about the assassination of Nazi Reinhard Heydrich and the revenge taken by the Germans. It was produced by Seymour Nebenzal for PRC and Angelus Pictures, Inc. The shooting of Hitler's Madman took place late in 1942 and early 1943...
(1943) - The Falcon Strikes BackThe Falcon Strikes BackThe Falcon Strikes Back is a 1943 American crime film directed by Edward Dmytryk.-Cast:* Tom Conway as Tom Lawrence* Harriet Hilliard as Gwynne Gregory* Jane Randolph as Marcia Brooks* Edgar Kennedy as Smiley Dugan* Cliff Edwards as Goldie Locke...
(1943) - Crazy House (1943)
- It Happened TomorrowIt Happened TomorrowIt Happened Tomorrow is a 1944 fantasy film starring Dick Powell, Linda Darnell and Jack Oakie, and featuring Edgar Kennedy and Sig Ruman. It was directed by René Clair.-Plot:...
(1944) - Anchors AweighAnchors Aweigh (film)Anchors Aweigh is a 1945 American musical comedy film directed by George Sidney in which two sailors go on a four-day shore leave in Hollywood, accompanied by music and song, meet an aspiring young singer and try to help her get an audition at MGM...
(1945) - The Sin of Harold DiddlebockThe Sin of Harold DiddlebockThe Sin of Harold Diddlebock is a 1947 comedy film written and directed by Preston Sturges, starring the silent film comic icon Harold Lloyd, and featuring Jimmy Conlin, Raymond Walburn, Rudy Vallee, Arline Judge, Edgar Kennedy, Franklin Pangborn and Lionel Stander...
(1947) (a.k.a. Mad Wednesday) - Unfaithfully YoursUnfaithfully YoursUnfaithfully Yours is a 1948 American screwball comedy film written and directed by Preston Sturges and starring Rex Harrison, Linda Darnell, Rudy Vallee and Barbara Lawrence. The film is a black comedy about a man's failed attempt to murder his wife, who he believes has been unfaithful to him...
(1948) - My Dream Is YoursMy Dream Is YoursMy Dream Is Yours is a 1949 musical romantic comedy film starring Doris Day, Jack Carson and Lee Bowman.The film is perhaps best remembered today for an extended dream sequence combining animation and live action which featured a cameo appearance by Bugs Bunny, dancing with Jack Carson and Doris...
(1949)
As director:
- From Soup to Nuts (1928) — Laurel and HardyLaurel and HardyLaurel and Hardy were one of the most popular and critically acclaimed comedy double acts of the early Classical Hollywood era of American cinema...
two-reeler (silent) - You're Darn Tootin'You're Darn Tootin'You're Darn Tootin' is a 1928 Laurel & Hardy silent comedy short, produced by Hal Roach. It was shot in January 1928 and released April 21, 1928, by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer...
(1928) — Laurel and Hardy two-reeler (silent) - All Teed Up (1930) — Charley ChaseCharley ChaseCharley Chase was an American comedian, actor, screenwriter and film director, best known for his work in Hal Roach short film comedies...
two-reeler (talkie) - Fifty Million Husbands (1930) — Charley Chase two-reeler (talkie)
- Bigger and Better (1930) — The Boy FriendsThe Boy FriendsThe Boy Friends was a short-lived series of fifteen American comedy short films released between 1930 and 1932. The series spun off from the much larger and well-known Our Gang series . Like the Our Gang shorts of the time, The Boy Friends films were two-reel short subjects produced by Hal Roach...
two-reeler (talkie)
Death
Kennedy died of throat cancerEsophageal cancer
Esophageal cancer is malignancy of the esophagus. There are various subtypes, primarily squamous cell cancer and adenocarcinoma . Squamous cell cancer arises from the cells that line the upper part of the esophagus...
in 1948 and was interred at the Holy Cross Cemetery, Culver City
Holy Cross Cemetery, Culver City
Holy Cross Cemetery is a Roman Catholic cemetery at 5835 West Slauson Avenue in Culver City, California, operated by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles....
, Los Angeles County, California
Los Angeles County, California
Los Angeles County is a county in the U.S. state of California. As of 2010 U.S. Census, the county had a population of 9,818,605, making it the most populous county in the United States. Los Angeles County alone is more populous than 42 individual U.S. states...
.
In 2005, Bill Cassara published the biography
Biography
A biography is a detailed description or account of someone's life. More than a list of basic facts , biography also portrays the subject's experience of those events...
Edgar Kennedy: Master of the Slow Burn about Kennedy's life and career.
Further reading
- Cassara, Bill (2005). Edgar Kennedy: Master of the Slow Burn. Albany: BearManor Media ISBN 1-59393-018-6
External links
- Edgar Kennedy Homepage, by biographer Bill Cassara edgarkennedy.org