Magic Lantern Video & Book Storeactor Edgar Kennedy
[1890-1948]
![comic actor Edgar 'Slow Burn' Kennedy [1890-1948] gets splattered, in Laurel & Hardy short 'Perfect Day' [1929]](images/EdgarKennedy-splattered_perfectday.jpg "comic actor Edgar 'Slow Burn' Kennedy [1890-1948] gets splattered, in Laurel & Hardy short 'Perfect Day' [1929]") | short profile |
Edgar Kennedy appeared in about 500 films, working with some of the biggest film comedians in the United States, including Roscoe 'Fatty' Arbuckle,
Charlie Chaplin, Laurel & Hardy, The Marx Brothers, Charley Chase, and the 'Our Gang' series; he was also one of the original Keystone Cops.
B I O
t e x t
h e r e
comic actor Edgar Kennedy began his film career working for Max Sennett on the Keystone comedies. He later moved over to Hal Roach Studios, where he developed his stock-in-trade "slow burn" routine. In 1931 he wound up at R.K.O. Studios where he starred in a total of 103 two-reelers, unofficially titled "Mr. Average Man."
has a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6901 Hollywood Blvd. (8 February 1960)
Edgar Kennedy entry at Wikipedia
Edgar Kennedy credits [1911-49] at Internet Movie Database
Movies of Edgar Kennedy
Edgar Kennedy credits [1911-49] at Internet Movie Database
 | "Edgar Kennedy Comedy Collection" on VHS [2000]
85-minute V.C.I. Video b&w VHS [12/2000] for $5.99 content info not specified "Edgar Kennedy Two-Reeler Comedy Collection" on DVD [2003] 180-minute V.C.I. Video b&w DVD [7/2003] out of prodn/used contains ten R.K.O. Radio Pictures two-reeler short films, 1931-46: "Help Wanted, Female" [Jan 1931]; "Good Housewrecking" [June 1933]; "Wrong Direction" [May 1934]; "Will Power" [March 1936]; "Beaux and Errors" [Oct 1938]; "Baby Daze" [May 1939]; "Rough On Rents" [Oct 1942]; "Hold Your Temper" [Feb 1943]; "Feather Your Nest" [Oct 1944]; and "I'll Build It Myself" [Oct 1946] |
 | "Rediscovered Comedies of Edgar Kennedy, Volume 1" on DVD [2010]
Alpha Home Ent. b&w DVD [5/2010] for $4.99 contains ten R.K.O. Radio Pictures two-reeler short films, 1931-38: "Help Wanted, Female" [Jan 1931]; "Next Door Neighbors" [Jan 1931]; "Quiet Please" [Aug 1933]; "Good Housewrecking" [June 1933]; "Love On A Ladder" [March 1934]; "Wrong Direction" [May 1934]; "A Blasted Event" [Sept 1934]; "Will Power" [March 1936]; "Dumb's The Word" [June 1937]; and "Beaux and Errors" [Oct 1938] |
 | "Rediscovered Comedies of Edgar Kennedy, Volume 2" on DVD [2010]
Alpha Home Ent. b&w DVD [6/2010] for $5.98 contains ten R.K.O. Radio Pictures two-reeler short films, 1933-46: "A Merchant of Menace" [April 1933]; "Baby Daze" [May 1939]; "An Apple In His Eye" [June 1941]; "Westward Ho-Hum" [Sept 1941]; "I'll Fix It" [Oct 1941]; "Rough On Rents" [Oct 1942]; "Hold Your Temper" [Feb 1943]; "Feather Your Nest" [Oct 1944]; "Prunes and Politics" [Jan 1944]; and "I'll Build It Myself" [Oct 1946] |
 | "Rediscovered Comedies of Edgar Kennedy, Volume 3" on DVD [2013]
Alpha Home Ent. b&w DVD [1/2013] for $5.99 contains one Chevrolet-General Motors driver safety short from 1937 and nine R.K.O. Radio Pictures two-reeler short films, 1938-46: "The Other Fellow" 8-minute safety short [April 1937]; "Ears of Experience" [Jan 1938]; "Clock Wise" [March 1939]; "Sunk By The Census" [Aug 1940]; "A Quiet Fourth" [Dec 1941]; "Hot Foot" [May 1943]; "It's Your Move" [Aug 1945]; "You Drive Me Crazy" [Sept 1945]; "Trouble or Nothing" [Jan 1946]; and "Motor Maniacs" [July 1946]; |
"Fatty Joins The Force"
[Keystone/Mutual Nov 1913 silent short]
 | Fatty rescues a little girl from a lake; her father is the police commissioner, so he rewards Fatty with a job; at first things go well, but then problems arise. Written & produced by Mack Sennett; directed by George Nichols; starring Roscoe 'Fatty' Arbuckle, Dot Farley, Edgar Kennedy, Mack Swain, Minta Durfee, Henry Lehrman, Hank Mann & Al St. John
Synergy Ent. b&w DVD-R [5/2007] for $9.99 full credits at IMDb |
"A Thief Catcher" [Keystone/Mutual Feb 1914] /tt0470941/
Long considered lost, recently rediscovered at an antique sale in Michigan; produced by Mack Sennett; directed by & starring Ford Sterling; also starring Mack Swain,
Edgar Kennedy & Al St. John; includes a previously-unknown cameo with Charlie Chaplin as a Keystone Cop
"A Flirts Mistake" [1914 short]
starring Roscoe 'Fatty' Arbuckle with Edgar Kennedy
"Fattys Tintype Tangle" [1915 short]
starring Roscoe 'Fatty' Arbuckle with Louise Fazenda & Edgar Kennedy
"The Knockout" aka 'Counted Out'
[Keystone/Mutual short June 1914]
 | Two tramps decide to fake an exhibition boxing match; local no-goods convince Pug to enter as Cyclone Flynn, the champion; Flynn shows up and battles Pug, and The Keystone Cops run them all out of town. Produced by Mack Sennett; directed by Charles Avery; starring Roscoe 'Fatty' Arbuckle, Charles Chaplin, Minta Durfee, Edgar Kennedy, Frank Opperman, Al St. John, Hank Mann & Mack Swain available as part of one or more DVD sets full credits at IMDb |
"Ambrose's Sour Grapes" [Keystone/Mutual March 1915] /tt0004889/
Produced by Mack Sennett; directed by Walter Wright, with Mack Swain, Cecile Arnold, Edgar Kennedy, Mae Busch,
Harry Gribbon & Chester Conklin
"His Bitter Pill" [Keystone/Triangle April 1916 short] /tt0006801/
Sennett's vicious slapstick parody of William S. Hart's noble cowboy hero; produced & co-directed by Mack Sennett;
co-directed by Fred Hibbard; starring Mack Swain, Louella Maxam, Ella Haines & Edgar Kennedy; credits at IMDb
appeared in many 'Little Rascals' / 'Our Gang' Shorts [1922-1944]
"Why Is a Plumber?" short [Hal Roach March 1929] with Jean Harlow & Edgar Kennedy
"Thundering Toupees" short [Hal Roach May 1929] with Jean Harlow & Edgar Kennedy
"The Bacon Grabbers" short [Hal Roach Oct 1929] with Laurel & Hardy, Jean Harlow & Edgar Kennedy
R.K.O. Comedy Shorts 1931 to 1946
comic actor Edgar Kennedy worked at R.K.O. Radio Pictures in Hollywood from 1931 to 1946, starring in 103 two-reeler comedy short films
that were unofficially titled "Mr. Average Man".
"Help Wanted, Female" comedy short [Jan 1931]
"Next Door Neighbors" comedy short [Jan 1931]
"A Merchant of Menace" comedy short [April 1933]
"Quiet Please" comedy short [Aug 1933]
"Good Housewrecking" comedy short [June 1933]
"Love On A Ladder" comedy short [March 1934]
"Wrong Direction" comedy short [May 1934]
"A Blasted Event" comedy short [Sept 1934]
"Will Power" comedy short [March 1936]
"Dumb's The Word" comedy short [June 1937]
"Ears of Experience" comedy short [Jan 1938]
"Beaux and Errors" comedy short [Oct 1938]
"Clock Wise" comedy short [March 1939]
"Baby Daze" comedy short [May 1939]
"Sunk By The Census" comedy short [Aug 1940]
"An Apple In His Eye" comedy short [June 1941]
"Westward Ho-Hum" comedy short [Sept 1941]
"I'll Fix It" comedy short [Oct 1941]
"A Quiet Fourth" comedy short [Dec 1941]
"Rough On Rents" comedy short [Oct 1942]
"Hold Your Temper" comedy short [Feb 1943]
"Hot Foot" comedy short [May 1943]
"Feather Your Nest" comedy short [Oct 1944]
"Prunes and Politics" comedy short [Jan 1944]
"It's Your Move" comedy short [Aug 1945]
"You Drive Me Crazy" comedy short [Sept 1945]
"Trouble or Nothing" comedy short [Jan 1946]
"Motor Maniacs" comedy short [July 1946]
"I'll Build It Myself" comedy short [Oct 1946]
"The Edgar Kennedy Show"
 | The Edgar Kennedy Restoration Project began in May 2013, organized by Ron Hall of Festival Films in Minnesota. He and other film experts have been restoring some of the public domain 103 R.K.O. shorts of Edgar Kennedy for viewing online and by podcast, for showing on T.C.M., and for sale on DVD
"The Edgar Kennedy Show" at Festival Films website Edgar Kennedy Restoration Project [5/2013] on Facebook "The Edgar Kennedy Show" 11/2013 promo video [4:30] on YouTube |
"Little Orphan Annie" feature film [R.K.O. Radio Pictures Nov 1932]
Produced by David O. Selznick; directed by John S. Robertson; starring Mitzi Green & Edgar Kennedy
video/DVD not available;
full credits from IMDb
"Duck Soup" feature film [Paramount Nov 1933]
with Edgar Kennedy {in famous Lemonade Vendor skit}
full credits at IMDb
http://www.amazon.com/Duck-Soup-Groucho-Marx/dp/B004P9UWM8/
 | "Hail, Hail, Euphoria!: Presenting The Marx Brothers in Duck Soup, The Greatest War Movie Ever Made" [2010] by Roy Blount, Jr. Kindle Edition from HarperCollins e-books [9/2010] for $6.99 !t Books 8x5¼ pb [12/2011] for $12.99 !t Books 8¼x5½ hardcover [9/2010] out of print/80+ used !t Books hardcover [9/2010] out of print/many used |
"Twentieth Century" [Columbia Pictures May 1934]
 | The actress protege of a Broadway director decamps for Hollywood; her career soars and his fades. When he meets her on the train to the West Coast, he tries to persuade her to return to the stage. Co-produced & directed by Howard Hawks; script by Ben Hecht & Charles MacArthur, based on their Broadway play; starring John Barrymore, Carole Lombard, Walter Connolly, Roscoe Karns, Ralph Forbes, Charles Lane, Etienne Girardot & Edgar Kennedy Sony b&w DVD [2/2005] for $89.90 {sic} Sony b&w VHS [6/98] out of prodn/used full credits from IMDb credits on Broadway |
"The Silver Streak" [R.K.O. Radio Pictures Nov 1934]
 | The diesel-powered streamliner 'Silver Streak' express passenger train is enlisted to transport an iron lung from Chicago to Hoover Dam, arriving with just moments to spare!; somehow the plot also involves a Nazi spy, young lovers, and a drawbridge Directed by Thomas Atkins; starring Sally Blane, Charles Starrett, Hardie Albright, William Farnum, Irving Pichel, Arthur Lake, Theodore von Eltz, Guinn 'Big Boy' Williams, Edgar Kennedy, Doris Dawson, Murray Kinnell, Harry Allen & Wilhelm von Brincken VHS/DVD/Blu-ray not available full credits at IMDb movie entry at Wikipedia 2001 article by Bill Monson on the making of the film |
"The Other Fellow" [General Motors April 1937]
 | 8-minute short produced by Jam Handy Organization for the Chevrolet Division of General Motors Corp.; driving safety film starring Edgar Kennedy as all of the drivers
bare credits at IMDb watch short movie [8/2013 upload; 8:14] online at YouTube available on DVD only on "Rediscovered Comedies of Edgar Kennedy, Volume 3" [2013] with nine Edgar Kennedy R.K.O. comedy shorts Alpha Home Ent. b&w DVD [1/2013] for $5.99 |
"A Star Is Born" [Selznick/United Artists April 1937]
film credits at Internet Movie Database
film entry at Wikipedia
Produced by David O. Selznick; co-written & directed by William A. Wellman; starring Janet Gaynor, Fredric March, Adolphe Menjou, May Robson, Andy Devine, Lionel Stander, Owen Moore, Peggy Wood, Elizabeth Jenns, Edgar Kennedy, J.C. Nugent & Guinn 'Big Boy' Williams; won Oscar for Best Original Story & Honorary Oscar for color photography; Oscar noms for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Actor (FM), Best Actress (JG), Best Assistant Director
five other versions on Magic Lantern's "A Star Is Born" Movies Page
"Hollywood Hotel" [Warner Bros./First National Dec 1937]
 | A saxophone player gets work at a movie studio; after his first night escorting a stand-in for a cranky star to a premiere, the two are fired; he gets work as a singing waiter, is discovered by a producer, and is hired as the singing voice of a major actor; when the actor is asked to sing on Louella Parsons's radio show, the maneuvering becomes intense . . . Directed by Busby Berkeley; written by Jerry Wald, Maurice Leo & Richard Macaulay; starring Dick Powell, Rosemary Lane, Lola Lane, Hugh Herbert, Ted Healy, Glenda Farrell, Johnnie Davis, Louella Parsons, Alan Mowbray, Mabel Todd, Frances Langford, Jerry Cooper, Ken Niles, Duane Thompson, Allyn Joslyn, Grant Mitchell, Edgar Kennedy, Fritz Feld, Perc Westmore, Eddie Acuff, Clinton Rosemond, William B. Davidson, Georgie Cooper, Libby Taylor, Joseph Romantini & Paul Irving, and featuring Raymond Paige & His Orchestra, Benny Goodman & His Orchestra, Sid Grauman, Lionel Hampton, Susan Hayward, Harry James, Gene Krupa, Carole Landis, Ronald Reagan
Warner Home Video b&w DVD [9/2008] for $10.05 DVD extras include theatrical trailer and three shorts: "Double Talk" [1937] with Edgar Bergen & Charlie McCarthy; "The Romance of Robert Burns" [1937]; and "Porky's Five & Ten" [1938] full credits at IMDb movie entry at Wikipedia |
"Private Snuffy Smith" [1942]
starring Bud Duncan, Edgar Kennedy & Jimmie Dodd
"Air Raid Wardens" [M.G.M. April 1943]
 | After rejection by the Army, Stan & Ollie open a bicycle store and volunteer as air raid wardens, not realizing that their partners in the store are German spies planning to blow up the local magnesium plant Produced by B.F. Zeidman; directed by Edward Sedgwick; starring Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy, Edgar Kennedy, Jacqueline White, Stephen McNally, Nella Walker, Donald Meek, Howard Freeman & Henry O'Neill
available on Double Feature DVD with "Nothing But Trouble" [Dec 1944] M.G.M./Warner b&w VHS [1/93] out of prodn/used full credits from IMDb movie entry at Wikipedia |
"The Sin of Harold Diddlebock"
[California Pictures/United Artists Feb 1947]
 | A mild-mannered clerk who dreams of past glory on the college football field is fired; after imbibing a potent drink. he goes on a wild rampage, with a lion in tow. {NOTE: Originally released at 90 minutes, then re-edited in 1950 & re-released as the 79-minute "Mad Wednesday".} Co-produced by Howard Hughes & Preston Sturges; written & directed by Preston Sturges; starring Harold Lloyd, Jimmy Conlin, Raymond Walburn, Rudy Vallee, Edgar Kennedy, Arline Judge, Franklin Pangborn, Lionel Stander, Margaret Hamilton, Jack Norton, Robert Dudley, Arthur Hoyt, Julius Tannen, Al Bridge, Victor Potel, Frances Ramsden & Jackie the Lion
"TSoHD" version: Alpha Video b&w DVD [1/2004] for $7.98 "TSoHD" version: V.C.I. Home Video b&w VHS [11/2000] out of prodn/used "MW" version: Hollywood Movie Classics b&w VHS [1/85] out of prodn/used full credits from IMDb |
"Unfaithfully Yours" [Fox Nov 1948]
 | A symphony conductor fantasizes three different responses to what he imagines is his wife's infidelity, but his attempts in real life collapse into slapstick farce Produced, written & directed by Preston Sturges; starring Rex Harrison, Linda Darnell, Rudy Vallee, Barbara Lawrence, Kurt Kreuger, Lionel Stander, Edgar Kennedy, Al Bridge, Julius Tannen & Torben Meyer
Criterion b&w DVD [7/2005] for $26.99 Fox b&w VHS [2/85] out of prodn/used full credits from IMDb |
 | "When Comedy Was King" [Fox March 1960] features silent comic actors Roscoe 'Fatty' Arbuckle, Charlie Chaplin, Chester Conklin, James Finlayson, Buster Keaton, Edgar Kennedy, The Keystone Cops, Harry Langdon, Laurel & Hardy, Mabel Normand, 'Snub' Pollard & Gloria Swanson 81-minute compilation co-produced, written & directed by Robert Youngson; narrated by Dwight Weist The Sprocket Vault b&w DVD [9/2007] for $14.99 U.A.V. Corp. b&w VHS [3/92] for $26.00 full credits from IMDb |
 | "Laurel and Hardy's Laughing 20's" [M.G.M. Nov 1965] features Laurel & Hardy silent shorts "From Soup To Nuts" [1927], "Putting Pants On Philip" [1927], "Sugar Daddies" [1927], "The Finishing Touch" [1928], "Wrong Again" [1929] & two Max Davidson shorts, plus clips of Laurel & Hardy, Charley Chase, Jimmy Finlayson, Edgar Kennedy & others 91-minute compilation written & directed by Robert Youngson not available on DVD M.G.M. Home Video b&w VHS [1/93] for $19.99 full credits from IMDb |
Works About Edgar Kennedy
 | "Edgar Kennedy: Master of The Slow Burn" [2005] by Bill Cassara
BearManor Media 9x6 large type edition pb [4/2017] for $19.95 BearManor Media 9x6 pb [10/2005] out of print/used |
 | "18 Comedians of Silent Film: The Pioneers, The Gremlins, The Acrobats, The Characters, and The Ladies" [2012] by Anthony Balducci
The eighteen commonly-overlooked silent film comedians covered here are: Baby Peggy, Big Boy, Andy Clyde, Lige Conley, Clyde Cook, Andrι Deed, Dorothy Devore, Billy Dooley, Lloyd Hamilton, Edgar Kennedy, Lupino Lane, Max Linder, Hank Mann, Colleen Moore, Marcel Perez, Billie Ritchie, Larry Semon, and Al St. John CreateSpace 9x6 pb [8/2012] for $19.99 |
Image Gallery
![Edgar Kennedy and Harpo Marx in the Lemonade Vendor skit from 'Duck Soup' [1933]](images/edgarkennedy-ducksoup-th.jpg "Edgar Kennedy and Harpo Marx in the Lemonade Vendor skit from 'Dick Soup' [1933]") click for larger view {in new window} |  |
Friends & Family
Edgar Livingstone Kennedy was born in Monterey County, California in 1890; he appeared in movies from 1911 to 1949;
he died of throat cancer at age 58 at the Motion Picture Hospital in Woodland Hills, California in 1948.
wife Patricia Violet Allwyn Kennedy [], married 1924, widowed 1948
daughter Colleen Kennedy married Ivan Deach and had four daughters: Wendy, Linda, Teresa, and Robin.
son Larry Kennedy had four offspring, 2 sons and 2 daughters: Mark, Glenn, Erin, and Donna.
close friend & advisor silent screen comedian Chester Conklin []
regular golfing partner Mickey Rooney []
regularly played cards with Charles Coburn, Lewis Stone, and director W.S. Van Dyke
L i n k s
Edgar Kennedy entry at Wikipedia
Edgar Kennedy credits [1911-49] at Internet Movie Database
Edgar Kennedy bio page at Turner Classic Movies,
The Sons of the Desert / Way Out West Tent / Edgar Kennedy Pages
"The Edgar Kennedy Show" [est. 2013] at Festival Films website
here on the Edgar Kennedy [1890-1948] Page at Magic Lantern Video & Book Store
top of page short profile movies of Edgar Kennedy works about Edgar Kennedy image gallery friends & family links
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