Leon Isaac Kennedy
Leon Isaac Kennedy | |
---|---|
Born |
Cleveland, Ohio, U.S. | January 1, 1949
Nationality | American |
Occupation |
|
Years active | 1971–present |
Known for |
Martel "Too Sweet" Gordone – Penitentiary, Penitentiary II, Penitentiary III Leon "The Lover" Johnson – Body and Soul |
Spouse(s) |
[1][2] Lolita Armbrister (m. 1995) |
Website |
leonisaackennedy |
Leon Isaac Kennedy (born January 1, 1949) is an American actor, film producer and playwright. Kennedy is perhaps best known as Martel "Too Sweet" Gordone in Jamaa Fanaka's Penitentiary (1979), Penitentiary II (1982) and Penitentiary III (1987).[3] Kennedy also is best known for his role as Leon "The Lover" Johnson in the 1981 film Body and Soul alongside his then–wife Jayne Kennedy.
Career
Born in Cleveland, Kennedy first began his career as a disc jockey and nightclub promoter.[4] Kennedy headed to Los Angeles, California to seek success in his career in June 1971. Once in California, Kennedy became a DJ on the FM rock station and also worked as a coordinator for a variety show.[5] In 1972, Kennedy had a part in Fred Williamson's action film Hammer.[6] In 1976, Kennedy appeared in another Fred Williamson film, Mean Johnny Barrows. Kennedy later appeared in the film Death Force (aka Fighting Mad), a 1978 Philippine-US collaboration that starred black action hero James Iglehart.[7][8]
In 1981, Body and Soul was released. The film featured Kennedy in the lead role as Leon Johnson, an up-and-coming boxer, and was written by him as well. A re–make of 1947's Body and Soul, the film also starred Jayne Kennedy and Peter Lawford.[9] In 1988, Kennedy appeared with Ernest Borgnine, Herbert Lom , Oliver Reed, Robert Vaughn and Arnold Vosloo in Skeleton Coast.[10] In 1991, Kennedy appeared in Damages which was an episode of Against the Law playing the part of Spider.[11]
Personal
Kennedy has been married twice. In June 1971, Kennedy, then 22, married Jayne Harrison, a 19–year old beauty pageant contestant who was from Wickliffe, Ohio; they divorced in 1982.[12] In August 1995, Kennedy married to former Miss Bahamas Lolita Armbrister[13] in the Bahamas.[14] Kennedy became a Christian evangelist during the early–1990s. In 2014, Kennedy sued Ebony magazine and Johnson Publishing Company; claiming in a article for their March 2013 "Scandal" issue the magazine falsely identified him as the person who leaked the infamous 1970s sextape of him with his then–wife Jayne Kennedy during their 1981 divorce proceedings.[15][16]
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Leon Isaac Kennedy. |
References
- ↑ Notable Black American Women, Book 2 - Jayne Kennedy Overton
- ↑ JET Magazine - Leon Kennedy Planned Slow Emergence Into Limelight - June 11, 1981
- ↑ Encyclopedia of Sports Films - By K Edgington, Thomas Erskine, James M. Welsh
- ↑ Trying to Get Over: African American Directors after Blaxploitation, 1977-1986, By Keith Corson - Page 127 |Outside of Society
- ↑ Jet, May 24, 1973 - Page 21 - 23 LIFESTYLES, Beauty + Brains = Success
- ↑ Rotten Tomatoes - Hammer (1972)
- ↑ Reflections on Blaxploitation: Actors and Directors Speak, By David Walker, Andrew J. Rausch, Chris Watson - Page 205 BLAXPLOITATION FROM A TO Z
- ↑ Trying to Get Over: African American Directors after Blaxploitation, 1977-1986, By Keith Corson - Page 127 |Outside of Society
- ↑ New York Times, November 22, 1981 - Movie Review, 'Body and Soul', Remake of Ring Saga
- ↑ Comeuppance Reviews, 3/07/2012 - Skeleton Coast (1988)
- ↑ TV.com - Against the Law Season 1 Episode 14, Damages
- ↑ Jet, May 24, 1973 - Page 21 - 23 LIFESTYLES, Beauty + Brains = Success
- ↑ The Bahamas Weekly - GRAND BAHAMA Beauty Queens of Grand Bahama on parade at Junkanoo Summer Festival
- ↑ Jet Magazine, August 28, 1995 - Page 62 CELEBRITIES, Former Actor Leon Isaac Kennedy Weds In Bahamas
- ↑ TMZ - SPORTSCASTER SEX TAPE JAYNE KENNEDY'S EX-HUBBY SUING: "I Didn't Leak Our Sex Tape!!" - February 5, 2014
- ↑ EURWEB - Leon Issac Kennedy - In Open Letter Tells Why He's Suing Ebony Magazine & Johnson Publications - February 2014