Movie actor Mike Kennedy of Las Vegas has some bitter sweet memories of Ponca Military Academy, but admits his junior school year 1956 was a "life changing event." Afterwards he returned to Norman High School to graduate and made a miraculous turn-around from a D minus grade average to a honor student.
Kennedy's arrival at PMA was not exactly pleasant. He was placed there because he liked to fight and had been involved in a number of battle scarred scrimmages, most of which he initiated. Mike was given a room with a desk and a chair and a history book and told that when anyone checked on him he better have the book in his hand. After a couple days of this solitary treatment he decided he'd better read. Col. Cox, who owned the academy, was his commodore and had also been Mike's father's commodore. Col. Cox came here from a Missouri Military Academy.
The PMA experience was the beginning of his change in attitude. "It was like a key turned the light on in my head," he said. All memories were not pleasant because often the younger boys could be heard crying because they couldn't go home or see their parents.
While at PMA, Mike became a problem solver instead of a problem. Other cadets began coming to him to talk about their problems. He said he went from being a problem cadet to being invited to the Officer's Club. He did use some of his fighting muscle to help out younger cadets when they went into town and were picked on by the town boys. He earned the nick-name of "Moose."
Kennedy said some of the town boys were jealous of the cadets because they had uniforms and the girls liked the uniforms. This has been mentioned in this series by other cadets.
Major Ross Cubbage, who taught math, and Major G.B.Moore were two of his favorite instructors. Kennedy pointed out that the classes were small about 12 in a class and this made it rewarding for all the participants. Although he has not seen the statue at the PMA Park, which features an older cadet helping a younger boy with his tie, Kennedy members mentoring younger boys. He was a right hand guard in the marching squad and was involved in a number of the athletics activities. One of the best lessons learned was "respect."
He recalls a riddle given to the cadets by an instructor and they were told if they solved the riddle they would get an expense trip home to visit. The 121 cadets eagerly said, "Give us the riddle."
The riddle went like this Tilly Williams is odd, but not peculiar. She likes eggs but not bacon. She likes walls and floors but not ceilings. She likes pepper but not salt." This little riddle drew all the cadets together trying to solve it and they forgot their problems, about being homesick and pulled together as a group. No one solved it. The answer is Tilly likes all those things with double letters. After senior high graduation he attended Oklahoma University but did not graduate. Instead he headed for California to seek his fortune in films.
The first film was a Walt Disney production Love in a Fishbowl starring "Willie Shatner." He has played in a number of character roles in films, often in authoritative roles, Catholic priests, police commissioner. William Shatner stars in the TV series Boston Legal. Kennedy has been in about 56 movies, some of them westerns.
Mike has been in three Academy Award movies including JFK and Nixon. His agent called him recently to talk about a new Morgan Freeman script. Kennedy said, "I don't need to read the script, if Morgan wants me I'll be there." He said "Morgan is a nice man." He has been in a recent round table readings with Woody Harrelson, who is trying his hand at directing, and Kevin Spacey.
He recalls looking out of the PMA dorm at the golf course where he couldn't play. But he and his wife play a lot now in Vegas and in Texas.
Currently he and his wife Carole of 50 years have four homes. Besides the one in Las Vegas another is a vacation family retreat at Horseshoe Bay, Texas. They have a son and a daughter and five grandchildren.
Kennedy says he makes one or two films a year that his children and grandchildren can be proud.
