Marklen Kennedy
Marklen Kennedy is an American actor, producer, film industry executive and founder of In Your Face Productions.
Marklen Kennedy | |
|---|---|
| Born | Houston, Texas, United States |
| Alma mater | Southern Methodist University |
| Occupation(s) | Producer, actor, executive |
| Spouse | Carey Lessard |
| Children | 2 |
| Website | campsite |
Biography
Kennedy was born in Houston, Texas and raised in Plano, Texas.[1] He graduated from Southern Methodist University in Dallas. He played college football and was named to an All Southwest Conference Football Team and was a player of interest to both the Dallas Cowboys and the Oakland Raiders until a motorcycle accident ended his football career. He then moved to Los Angeles where he worked regularly as an actor until the nightlife industry.[2] He moved to Las Vegas in 2002 and continued to expand his career in nightlife [3] as a Vice President for the Light Group and ran FOH for Bellagio's Light Nightclub, Mirage's Jet Nightclub and Tao Groups Tao Beach [4] before launching his career as a film and television producer. He resides in Las Vegas with his wife, Actress and Model Carey Lessard, and their two children, Barbeque and Queso.[5]
Professional life
Kennedy, was a producer for the History Channel's award-winning miniseries Texas Rising in 2015 and appeared in one episode of the series as Texas Ranger, Zacharias Coffey.[6] He is the owner and executive producer of In Your Face Productions and is the creator and executive producer of several series including Showtime's Gigolos in which he produced with Richard Grieco,[7][8] FYI Networks Late Nite Chef Fight[9] Lifetime's Postmortem in Vegas and FOX TV's Labor of Love. Kennedy has been a recurring character on Pawn Stars, and appeared in Melrose Place, and CSI: Crime Scene Investigation. He appeared on Lifetime’s series Vivica A. Fox’s Black Magic, which premiered in January 2017.[10]
Kennedy, in addition to being a Producer, is an Ordained Universal Life Church Minister, who officiated the wedding ceremony of actor Cory Feldman and wife Courtney Anne in November 2016.[11] Kennedy conducted the ceremony at Elton John's Fizz champagne lounge at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas.[12]
Kennedy, who appears in and produced the movie Cops & Robbers released in 2016, produced the movie Female Fight Club appeared and produced the movie Fright Fest and produced the film Bruja in Mexico with MMA legend turned actor Randy Couture.[13] In addition to his hit series Gigolos, Kennedy has produced Late Night Chef Fight and Trailer Park Housewives.[14][15]
His next show “Labor of Love” aired on FOX in 2020. The story is based on his wife and him when they struggled to have their second child.[16]
Billy F Gibbons from ZZ Top is his son's Godfather. Rock and Roll Hall of Famer, Billy Gibbons, made a surprise appearance inside a Texas elementary classroom to read for a stunned group of 2nd-graders.[17]
Filmography
| Year | Title | Executive Producer | Producer | Actor | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | SMU Football: The Hilltop | Yes | Marklen Kennedy | TV series | ||
| 2019 | Diamonds in the Sky | Yes | Movie | |||
| 2017 | Cops and Robbers | Yes | Yes | Shakers | Movie | |
| 2017 | Knuckles | Yes | Movie | |||
| 2017 | Treasure Hunter: Legend of the White Witch | Yes | Movie | |||
| 2017 | Dead trigger | Yes | Movie | |||
| 2018 | Fright fest | Yes | Yes | Grapefruit | Movie | |
| 2017 | Vivica's Black Magic | Yes | Yes | Marklen Kennedy | TV series | |
| 2018 | Kinky | Yes | Dr. Weiss | Movie | ||
| 2016 | Female Fight Squad | Yes | Yes | Yes | Carl | Movie |
| 2016 | Gigolos | Yes | Yes | TV series | ||
| 2015 | Late Nite Chef Fight | Yes | Yes | Foodie | TV series | |
| 2015 | Texas Rising | Yes | Yes | Zacharias | TV mini-series | |
| 2015 | Avenging the Alamo: The Road to Texas Rising | Yes | TV movie documentary | |||
| 2014 | Back of the House Brawls | Yes | TV series | |||
| 2014 | Postmortem in Las Vegas | Yes | Yes | John Doe | TV movie | |
| 2014 | Vegas DOA | Yes | TV movie | |||
| 2012 | Vegas Moms | Yes | TV movie | |||
| 2010 | CSI: Crime Scene Investigation | Yes | Pool Manager | TV series | ||
| 2001 | As the World Turns | Yes | Billy | TV series | ||
| 2001 | Urban Legends: Cyber | Yes | Bill | TV series | ||
| 2001 | Girl for Girl | Yes | Ben | Movie | ||
| 2000 | Everybody Loves a Star | Yes | Cameron Hunter / Tim | Movie | ||
| 1999 | Penny Dreadfuls | Yes | Yes | Sonny | Movie | |
| 1999 | Ryan Caulfield: Year One | Yes | Stockbroker | TV series | ||
| 1999 | Melrose Place | Yes | Bartender Manager | TV series | ||
| 1999 | Santa's Little Helper | Yes | Steve Wilder | Short | ||
| 1998 | The Glass Box | Yes | Ray | Movie | ||
| 1998 | Perfect Prey | Yes | Investigator Lyons | TV movie | ||
| 1998 | Heaven or Vegas | Yes | Donald | Movie | ||
| 1997 | Women: Stories of Passion | Yes | Sean | TV series | ||
| 1997 | Pacific Palisades | Yes | Adam Bentley | TV series | ||
| 1997 | Magenta | Yes | Craig | Movie | ||
| 1996 | Backroads to Vegas | Yes | William | TV movie | ||
| 1994 | On Deadly Ground | Yes | Villager | Movie | ||
| 1994 | A.P.E.X. | Yes | Apex Robot | Movie | ||
| 1993 | The Secret Life: Jeffrey Dahmer | Yes | Victim | Movie | ||
| 1993 | Witchcraft V: Dance with the Devil | Yes | William | Video | ||
| 1992 | Ring of the Musketeers | Yes | Officer Rigs | TV movie | ||
| 1991 | Necessary Roughness | Yes | Football Player | Movie |
References
- Diggs, Kim. "Update: Hollywood remembers the Alamo Collin County natives represent Texas in new History Channel series". Retrieved May 24, 2015.
- DeFrank, Sean. "Creativity, Unscripted From gigolos to trailer parks, Marklen Kennedy mines the underbelly of Las Vegas—and his own past—for gutsy reality-TV ideas". Retrieved November 10, 2011.
- Walters, Mike (October 23, 2021). "'ZZ Top' Star Billy Gibbons Makes Surprise Appearance In 2nd Grade Classroom!". The Blast. Retrieved July 5, 2022.
- Adande, J.A. (October 16, 2006). "This Vegas Act Warmup Proves the Stakes Are High". Retrieved October 16, 2006.
- "Marklen Kennedy on 'Gigolos' and Vegas Reality TV". knpr.org. Retrieved March 7, 2017.
- Diggs, Kim. "Update: Hollywood remembers the Alamo". starlocalmedia.com. Retrieved March 7, 2017.
- Rilling, Deanna (November 16, 2010). "Nightlife news & notes: Reality shows, Godskitchen goes, beer for pong flows". Retrieved November 16, 2010.
- "Corey Feldman's Knife-y Speech After Gigolo King Marries Him Off". TMZ.com. Retrieved November 25, 2016.
- Adande, J.A. (October 16, 2006). "This Vegas Act Warmup Proves the Stakes Are High". Retrieved October 16, 2006.
- "Vivica A. Fox – Vivica's Black Magic – Starry Constellation Magazine". starrymag.com. January 4, 2017. Retrieved March 7, 2017.
- Heller, Corinne (November 23, 2016). "Corey Feldman Marries Courtney Anne in Las Vegas a Week After Proposing". Retrieved November 23, 2016.
- Leach, Robin. "Strip Scribbles: 'Late Nite Chef Fight,' Andiamo, Rivea, Skyfall Lounge, Zydeco Po-Boys". Retrieved October 15, 2015.
- Leach, Robin. "Strip Scribbles: 'Gigolos,' Britney Spears, 'Ghost Adventures,' 'Bachelor' L.V. twins". Retrieved April 14, 2016.
- Kaplan, Michael. "The Man Behind 'Gigolos' Talks Reality TV". Retrieved May 4, 2015.
- DeFrank, Sean. "Creativity, Unscripted From gigolos to trailer parks, Marklen Kennedy mines the underbelly of Las Vegas—and his own past—for gutsy reality-TV ideas". Retrieved November 10, 2011.
- "Filmmaker Marklen Kennedy: "Relationships are the key to success; You'll never stay ahead of the curve if you don't network"". Retrieved March 27, 2020.
- "'ZZ Top' Star Billy Gibbons Makes Surprise Appearance In 2nd Grade Classroom!".