Burt Kennedy

Burt Kennedy (September 3, 1922 – February 15, 2001) was an American screenwriter and director known for mainly directing film Westerns.

After World War II service in the 1st Cavalry Division, 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 doubles 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 the young writer to write screenplays for a number of Batjac films starting with the 1956 film Seven Men from Now. In the 1960s, after also becoming a film director, Kennedy moved on to write for western television programs.

In 1996, a Golden Palm Star on the Palm Springs, California, Walk of Stars was dedicated to him.

Filmography

Screenwriting

2

Directing

2

External links

• Burt Kennedy at IMDb
• Recollections and unique stills from "The Return of the Seven" directed by Burt Kennedy
• Burt Kennedy at Find a Grave
• Sean Axmaker, 'Burt Kennedy: Writing Broadway in Arizona', The Parallax View, 6 November, 2008