Edgar Kennedy

Edgar Kennedy
Kennedy in Everything's on Ice (1939)
Born
Edgar Livingston Kennedy

(1890-04-26)April 26, 1890
Monterey County, California, U.S.
DiedNovember 9, 1948(1948-11-09) (aged 58)
Woodland Hills, California, U.S.
Resting placeHoly Cross Cemetery, Culver City, California, U.S.
OccupationActor
Years active1911–1948
Spouse
Patricia Violet Allwyn
​
​
(m. 1924)​

Edgar Livingston Kennedy (April 26, 1890 – November 9, 1948) was an American comedic character actor who appeared in at least 500 films during the silent and sound eras.[1][2] Professionally, he was known as "Slow Burn", owing to his ability to portray characters whose anger slowly rose in frustrating situations.[3][4]

In many of his roles, he used exasperated facial expressions and performed very deliberately to convey his rising anger or "burn", often rubbing his hand over his bald head and across his face in an effort to control his temper. One memorable example of his comedy technique can be seen in the 1933 Marx Brothers' film Duck Soup, where he plays a sidewalk lemonade vendor who is harassed and increasingly provoked by Harpo and Chico.[5]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference stpetetimes was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ "Actor Edgar Kennedy Dies of Throat Cancer". The Pittsburgh Press. November 10, 1948. Retrieved February 14, 2012.
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference eveind was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Heffernan, Harold (October 3, 1939). "Edgar Kennedy Charges Film Heroes Steal His Stuff". The Calgary Herald. Retrieved February 16, 2012.
  5. ^ "Duck Soup...Peanuts”, scene from Duck Soup showing Kennedy's sidewalk encounter with Harpo and Chico Marx and his "slow burn" reactions to their antics. Excerpt published by Niteesh Wadhwa July 23, 2015 on YouTube, San Bruno, California. Retrieved July 22, 2019.