Jack Kennedy (March 10, 1922 – October 16, 1997) was an American actor and screenwriter. He was known for playing Dion Patrick in the American

western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

television series '' The Californians''.

Life and career

Kennedy was born in Otterbein, Indiana, where he was raised on a farm. He attended

DePauw University DePauw University ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Greencastle, Indiana, United States. It was founded in 1837 as Indiana Asbury College and changed its name to DePauw University in 1884. The college has a Methodist heritage and was ...

, from which he graduated in art and English literature. His studies were interrupted by

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, however, when he served in the

United States Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

. He also studied acting at the Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre. Kennedy began his career after he emigrated to France, in which he made numerous appearances in stage plays. He made his film debut in 1955, first appearing in the film '' The Court-Martial of Billy Mitchell''. Kennedy then made two appearances to the

anthology In book publishing, an anthology is a collection of literary works chosen by the compiler; it may be a collection of plays, poems, short stories, songs, or related fiction/non-fiction excerpts by different authors. There are also thematic and g ...

television series '' Chevron Hall of Stars''. In 1957, he joined the cast of the new NBC

television series '' The Californians'' for its first season. Kennedy played as journalist Dion Patrick. While appearing in the first season, the television series had received low ratings for which his character was then removed. After being removed from the television series, Kennedy played as Pvt. Maslow in the film ''

Men in War ''Men in War'' is a 1957 black-and-white American war film about the Korean War directed by Anthony Mann and starring Robert Ryan and Aldo Ray as the leaders of a small detachment of American soldiers cut off and desperately trying to rejoin th ...

'' and as Lieutenant Ed Simmons in '' Bailout at 43,000''. He guest-starred in television programs including ''

Gunsmoke ''Gunsmoke'' is an American radio and television Western drama series created by director Norman Macdonnell and writer John Meston. It centered on Dodge City, Kansas, in the 1870s, during the settlement of the American West. The central charact ...

'', ''

Frontier Circus ''Frontier Circus'' is an American Westerns on television, Western television series about a traveling circus roaming the American West in the 1880s. Filmed by Revue Productions, the program originally aired on CBS from October 5, 1961, until Sep ...

'', ''

Schlitz Playhouse of Stars ''Schlitz Playhouse of Stars'' is an anthology series that was telecast from 1951 until 1959 on CBS. Offering both comedies and drama, the series was sponsored by the Joseph Schlitz Brewing Company. The title was shortened to ''Schlitz Playh ...

'', '' Lock-Up'', and '' Crossroads''. His final film credit was from the 1957 film '' The Tall Stranger'', where he played as Red. He also played as

ranch A ranch (from /Mexican Spanish) is an area of landscape, land, including various structures, given primarily to ranching, the practice of raising grazing livestock such as cattle and sheep. It is a subtype of farm. These terms are most often ap ...

er Brock Hayden in the soap opera television series '' The Doctors''. According to

The Indianapolis Star } ''The Indianapolis Star'' (also known as ''IndyStar'') is a morning daily newspaper that began publishing on June 6, 1903, in Indianapolis, Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. It has been the only major daily paper in the city since 1999, whe ...

, he was considered with an Irish and Swedish descent. Kennedy wrote the films '' The Dove'' and '' Raise the Titanic''. He was a novelist for which his known work included ''The Domino Principle'' which was adapted into a 1977 film, directed and produced by Stanley Kramer. According to The San Francisco Examiner, Kennedy said he turned to writing because he no longer had the ego required to pursue an acting career.

Death

Kennedy died in October 1997 of a heart attack at his home in

Kent, Connecticut Kent is a town in Litchfield County, Connecticut, United States. Located alongside the border with New York (state), New York, the town's population was 3,019 according to the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The town is part of the Northwe ...

, at the age of 75.

References

External links

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Rotten Tomatoes profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kennedy, Adam 1922 births 1997 deaths People from Indiana Male actors from Indiana American male film actors American male television actors American male soap opera actors 20th-century American male actors Western (genre) television actors American male screenwriters 20th-century American screenwriters Screenwriters from Indiana DePauw University alumni American emigrants to France American people of Irish descent American people of Swedish descent American male novelists 20th-century American novelists