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Legendary character actor George Kennedy has died at the age of 91.  The hulking six-foot four actor was in dozens of pictures, including Stanley Donen's brilliant Charade, starring Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn, the Airport disaster movies, and The Flight of the Phoenix.  Kennedy also had roles in several military movies, including The Dirty Dozen, and In Harm's Way.  He did his share of television, too, and of course was a star of the Naked Gun comedies with friend Leslie Nielsen.  

My favorite role George Kennedy ever played was that of Dragline in Cool Hand Luke, the simple but not so simple member of a southern chain gang who grows to admire and emulate the rebellious Paul Newman's Luke, while suffering the privations of the life of a convict enduring the Captain's (Strother Martin) unenlightened discipline.  (It is a Dragline quote, rather than the more well known Strother Martin line about communication, that I find the most useful.  "When it comes to makin' da rules, NUTHIN' is understood!)

George Kennedy was born on February 18th, 1925.  He was a combat veteran of the European Theater in World War II, serving under George Patton.  He attributed his severe hearing loss to his time in combat.   His film credits are legion, and his face was one of the most recognizable in film for many decades.  He was a great character actor, and he will be missed.