Gerard Kennedy, whose Hollywood hardman looks turned him into star of Australian TV, and a two-time Gold Logie Award winner in the 1970s, died Monday, April 21. He was 93.
Born in Perth, Kennedy cut his teeth in theatre back in the 1960s, and enjoyed a small screen breakthrough playing the antagonist Kragg in 1967’s “Hunter.” He proved so popular with audiences, the show’s writers would convert Kragg into the good guy on the departure of lead actor Tony Ward.
He’d go on to win a TV Week Logie Award for best new talent for his portrayal of the character. It was the first of many awards.
Kennedy would become one of the most recognisable faces on TV in “Division 4,” on which he played Detective Frank Banner. Across six seasons, Kennedy would collect two gold Logies as the most popular personality on national television.
A versatile actor for whom the black hat fit just as well as the white, Kennedy was cast in roles for such series and mini-series as “Tandarra” (1976), “Against the Wind” (1978), and “The Last Outlaw” (1980), as the airport manager in “Skyways” (1979), and as Luke Mitchell in “The Flying Doctors” (1986). Kennedy also had guest appearances in “Prisoner”, “A Country Practice”, “City Homicide”, “The Saddle Club”, “Neighbours” and in the popular cop drama “Blue Heelers”.
Among his most memorable later roles was that of a gangland patriarch in the mini series “Underbelly” (2008), and a role in the horror feature film “Wolf Creek 2” from 2013. Kennedy’s last acting credit was in the 2015 TV series “Glitch” for the ABC.
During his lifetime, Kennedy would also collect two Silver Logies and three Penguin Awards.
As news of his passing spreads, Kennedy is being remembered as a trailblazer of Australian TV, a respected actor whose talents were welcomed into millions of homes.