Marklen Kennedy
Marklen Kennedy is an American actor, producer, film industry executive and founder of In Your Face Productions.
Marklen Kennedy | |
|---|---|
| Born | Richard Marklen Kennedy Houston, Texas, United States |
| Alma mater | Southern Methodist University |
| Occupation | Producer, actor, executive |
| Spouse(s) | Carey Lessard |
| Children | 2 |
| Website | marklenkennedy |
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 a person 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 in the nightlife industry.[2] He moved to Las Vegas in 2002 and continued to expand his career in nightlife as a Vice President for the group that runs the Bellagio's Light and Mirage's Jet nightclubs [3] before launching his career as a reality television producer. He resides in Las Vegas with his wife, Carey Lessard, and their two children.[4]
Professional life
Kennedy, was the talent producer for the History Channel's award-winning miniseries Texas Rising in 2015 and appeared in one episode of the series.[5] He is the owner and executive producer of In Your Face Productions based in Las Vegas. He is the creator and executive producer of several series including Showtime's Gigolos in which he works with Richard Grieco,[6][7] FYI Networks Late Nite Chef Fight[8] and Lifetime's Postmortem in Vegas. Kennedy has been a recurring character on Pawn Stars, and appeared in an episode of Melrose Place, and an episode of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation. He appeared on Lifetime’s series Vivica A. Fox’s Black Magic, which premiered in January 2017.[9]
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.[10] Kennedy conducted the ceremony at Elton John's Fizz champagne lounge at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas.[11]
Kennedy, who appears in his movie Cops & Robbers released in 2016, produced his latest film Bruja in Mexico with MMA legend turned actor Randy Couture.[12] In addition to his hit series Gigolos, Kennedy has produced Late Night Chef Fight and Trailer Park Housewives.[13][14]
His next show “Labor of Love” will be aired on FOX in 2020. The story is based on his wife and him when they struggled to have their second child.[15]
Filmography
| Year | Title | Executive Producer | Producer | Actor | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Diamonds in the Sky | Yes | ||||
| 2017 | Cops and Robbers | Yes | Yes | Shakers | ||
| 2017 | Knuckles | Yes | ||||
| 2017 | Treasure Hunter: Legend of the White Witch | Yes | ||||
| 2017 | Dead trigger | Yes | ||||
| 2017 | Fright fest | Yes | Grapefruit Guard | |||
| 2017 | Vivica's Black Magic | Yes | Yes | Marklen Kennedy | TV Series | |
| 2017 | Kinky | Yes | Dr. Weiss | |||
| 2016 | Female fight squad | Yes | Yes | Yes | Carl | |
| 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 | ||
| 2006 | Body & Soul | Yes | Drake | Video | ||
| 2005 | Hollywood Sex Fantasy | Yes | Cameron / Tim (as Jack Lincoln) | |||
| 2002 | Close Enough to Touch | Yes | Robert (as Jack Lincoln) | |||
| 2001 | As the World Turns | Yes | Billy | TV Series | ||
| 2001 | Voyeur Confessions | Yes | Kent Taylor | Video | ||
| 2001 | Sexy Urban Legends | Yes | Bill (segment "Cybersex") | TV Series | ||
| 2001 | Sexual Magic | Yes | Vincent (as Jared Lincoln) | Video | ||
| 2001 | Girl for Girl | Yes | Ben | |||
| 2000 | Everybody Loves a Star | Yes | Cameron Hunter / Tim | |||
| 1999 | Penny Dreadfuls | Yes | Yes | Sonny | ||
| 1999 | Ryan Caulfield: Year One | Yes | Stockbroker | TV Series | ||
| 1999 | Melrose Place | Yes | Bartender #2 | TV Series | ||
| 1999 | Santa's Little Helper | Yes | Steve Wilder | Short | ||
| 1998 | The Glass Box | Yes | Ray | |||
| 1998 | Perfect Prey | Yes | Investigator Lyons | TV Movie | ||
| 1998 | Heaven or Vegas | Yes | Donald | |||
| 1997 | Women: Stories of Passion | Yes | Sean | TV Series | ||
| 1997 | Pacific Palisades | Yes | Adam Bentley | TV Series | ||
| 1997 | Magenta | Yes | Craig | |||
| 1996 | Backroads to Vegas | Yes | William | TV Movie | ||
| 1994 | On Deadly Ground | Yes | Villager (uncredited) | |||
| 1994 | A.P.E.X. | Yes | Apex Robot | |||
| 1993 | The Secret Life: Jeffrey Dahmer | Yes | Composite Victim | |||
| 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 (uncredited) |
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.
- 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.
- kdiggs@starlocalmedia.com, Kim Diggs. "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.