Willard "Bill" Kennedy (June 27, 1908 â€" January 27, 1997) was an
American actor, voice artist, and host of the long-running
Detroit-based television show, Bill Kennedy at the Movies. He began
his career as a staff announcer in radio; Kennedy's voice narrates the
opening of the television series Adventures of Superman.Kennedy was
born June 27, 1908 in Cleveland Heights, Ohio.Kennedy began his media
career as a staff announcer at WWJ, The Detroit News.In the 1940s, he
became a Warner Bros. contract player, appearing in dozens of
Hollywood movies from 1941 through 1955. He was often cast as a police
officer or detective. He played Thierache, the Executioner, who sets
fire to Joan (played by Ingrid Bergman) in Joan of Arc (1948), but
recounted that after the picture previewed in a neighborhood popular
with gays, his one line â€" "We need more fagots" (a term referring to
a bundle of sticks used to burn someone at the stake) â€" generated
loud laughter from the audience during the execution scene. He also
played opposite Cary Grant in Destination Tokyo.
American actor, voice artist, and host of the long-running
Detroit-based television show, Bill Kennedy at the Movies. He began
his career as a staff announcer in radio; Kennedy's voice narrates the
opening of the television series Adventures of Superman.Kennedy was
born June 27, 1908 in Cleveland Heights, Ohio.Kennedy began his media
career as a staff announcer at WWJ, The Detroit News.In the 1940s, he
became a Warner Bros. contract player, appearing in dozens of
Hollywood movies from 1941 through 1955. He was often cast as a police
officer or detective. He played Thierache, the Executioner, who sets
fire to Joan (played by Ingrid Bergman) in Joan of Arc (1948), but
recounted that after the picture previewed in a neighborhood popular
with gays, his one line â€" "We need more fagots" (a term referring to
a bundle of sticks used to burn someone at the stake) â€" generated
loud laughter from the audience during the execution scene. He also
played opposite Cary Grant in Destination Tokyo.
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