Australian television star and two-time Gold Logie award winner Gerard Kennedy has died at the age of 93.
Starring in more than 80 shows and movies over a five-decade career, Kennedy was famed for his rugged Hollywood looks and intense performances.
Entertainment reporter Craig Bennett said Kennedy died on Monday in a care home in Gosford on the New South Wales Central Coast.
“It was an enormous career, it was a stellar career,” Bennett said.
“He was one of those people that was revered almost from the moment he burst onto the scene.”
Born in Perth, Kennedy launched his career in theatre before switching to television, playing memorable villains in the crime show Homicide.
This led to his big break as enemy espionage agent Kragg in 1960s TV series Hunter, the arch-nemesis of the title character played by Tony Ward.
Kennedy proved so popular with audiences that the show’s writers altered his character to become Hunter’s ally.
His portrayal of the role earned him a Logie for best new talent.
‘No stopping him’
Kennedy went on to become one of the most recognisable faces on Australian TV in the police drama Division 4, in which he played Detective Frank Banner.
The role would earn him icon status, spanning six years and earning him two Gold Logies as the most popular personality on Australian television.
“That is where all of a sudden people thought, ‘Who is this amazing actor’,” Bennett said.
“From there, there was no stopping him as a television actor.”
After Division 4, Kennedy went on to score lead roles in numerous successful series and miniseries, including Tandarra, Against the Wind, and The Last Outlaw.
Preferring to be a part of ensemble casts, he then took roles in established series such as Skyways and The Flying Doctors.
Kennedy’s more recent roles included a memorable portrayal of gangland patriarch Graham “the Munster” Kinniburgh in controversial miniseries Underbelly in 2008 and a role in horror film Wolf Creek 2 in 2013.
His last acting credit came in 2015 for the TV series Glitch for the ABC.
Throughout his career Kennedy also won two Silver Logies and three Penguin Awards.
‘Beautiful person’
The Flying Doctors co-star Liz Burch led tributes for Kennedy, praising him on social media as “a lovely man”.
Bennett, who interviewed Kennedy about his television career, said he was an “incredibly humble” person who kept his awards tucked away.
“Some people use their Logies as a doorstop or pop them on the loo so that everybody gets to see them,” he said.
“He was just the most self-effacing, softly spoken, absolutely beautiful person.”
Bennett recalled sharing a table with Kennedy at the Logies one year and watching as a “conga line” of people came up to greet him.
“One by one his peers came up to say, ‘My God, how fabulous to see you, I loved you in this, and I remember as a kid watching you in that,'” he said.
“People who had the joy of knowing him realise what an absolutely beautiful, elegant, classy man he was.
“He leaves behind a massive legacy.”
Kennedy is survived by his daughter Chrisanya.
An iconic person in Ozzie television and, by all accounts, a lovely person. RIP Mr Kennedy, and thanks for all the memories.