Burt Kennedy (September 3, 1922 – February 15, 2001) was an American screenwriter and director known mainly for directing Westerns.After World War II service in the 1st Cavalry Division, the Muskegon, Michigan-born Kennedy found work writing for radio, then used his training as a cavalry officer to secure a job as a fencing trainer and fencing stunt double in films. That led to Kennedy being hired to write for a television program with a fencing theme for John Wayne's Batjac Productions.Although the TV program was never produced, it led Kennedy to write screenplays for a number of Batjac films starting with the 1956 western Seven Men from Now starring Randolph Scott. In the 1960s, after also becoming a film director, Kennedy moved on to write for western television programs. He wrote and directed an episode from the first season of the 60's TV series Combat! titled "The Walking Wounded."In 1996, a Golden Palm Star on the Palm Springs, California, Walk of Stars was dedicated to him.
[on John Wayne] Wayne was a stickler at work. He was fine if he realized you knew what you were doing. But if you weren't prepared, or fluffed anything, and fortunately I never did, well, then you could be in trouble. He was tough, but then so am I!
2
[c. 1985, on Kirk Douglas] . . . he's tough, too; the people who are good are the ones that can be difficult. I remember one day we had to stop filming on The War Wagon (1967) to do a special promo film with John Wayne when Ronald Reagan was standing for governor. Kirk at that time was a Democrat; I think that now Kirk is a Reagan man.
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Fact
1
He was quite a prolific writer/director, compared to other directors working post-1960. This was especially from 1964-76, where he directed 20 films, 17 of them feature films (which take much more time than television movies do), writing six of them, producing three of them, and writing three others.
2
Not to be confused with more elderly character actor and stunt man Bert Kennedy, who appeared in several films from 1936-1952 and often worked as Pat O'Brien's stunt double.
3
Biography in: John Wakeman, editor. "World Film Directors, Volume Two, 1945-1985". Pages 515-517. New York: The H.W. Wilson Company, 1988.
Director
Title
Year
Status
Character
Comanche
2000
Suburban Commando
1991
Big Bad John
1990
Snoops
1989
TV Series 2 episodes
Where the Hell's That Gold?!!?
1988
TV Movie
Once Upon a Texas Train
1988
TV Movie
The Trouble with Spies
1987
Simon & Simon
1982-1987
TV Series 17 episodes
The Alamo: Thirteen Days to Glory
1987
TV Movie
Louis L'Amour's Down the Long Hills
1986
TV Movie
Rowdies
1986
TV Movie
The Yellow Rose
1983
TV Series 2 episodes
Magnum, P.I.
1982
TV Series 1 episode
Seven Brides for Seven Brothers
1982
TV Series 1 episode
Wolf Lake
1980
More Wild Wild West
1980
TV Movie
Concrete Cowboys
1979
TV Series 1 episode
The Wild Wild West Revisited
1979
TV Movie
Kate Bliss and the Ticker Tape Kid
1978
TV Movie
The Rhinemann Exchange
1977
TV Mini-Series 3 episodes
How the West Was Won
1976-1977
TV Series 4 episodes
Big Hawaii
1977
TV Series 2 episodes
The Killer Inside Me
1976
Drum
1976
uncredited
All the Kind Strangers
1974
TV Movie
Sidekicks
1974
TV Movie
Shootout in a One-Dog Town
1974
TV Movie
The Train Robbers
1973
Hannie Caulder
1971
Support Your Local Gunfighter
1971
The Devil's Backbone
1971
Dirty Dingus Magee
1970
The Good Guys and the Bad Guys
1969
Young Billy Young
1969
Support Your Local Sheriff!
1969
The War Wagon
1967
Welcome to Hard Times
1967
Return of the Magnificent Seven
1966
The Rounders
1966
TV Series 1 episode
The Money Trap
1965
The Rounders
1965
Mail Order Bride
1964
Combat!
1962-1963
TV Series 6 episodes
The Virginian
1962
TV Series 1 episode
Lawman
1962
TV Series 4 episodes
The Canadians
1961
Writer
Title
Year
Status
Character
Comanche
2000
White Hunter Black Heart
1990
screenplay
Big Bad John
1990
Where the Hell's That Gold?!!?
1988
TV Movie written by
Once Upon a Texas Train
1988
TV Movie written by
The Trouble with Spies
1987
Wolf Lake
1980
The Littlest Horse Thieves
1976
story
The Train Robbers
1973
written by
Hannie Caulder
1971
screenplay - as Z.X. Jones
Young Billy Young
1969
screenplay
Stay Away, Joe
1968
uncredited
Welcome to Hard Times
1967
Return of the Gunfighter
1967
story
The Rounders
1965
screenplay
Mail Order Bride
1964
screen play by
Combat!
TV Series writer - 2 episodes, 1963 written by - 1 episode, 1962
$300,000
