Burt Kennedy (September 3, 1922 - February 15, 2001) was an American screenwriter and director known for mainly directing film Westerns. After World War II, Muskegon, Michigan-born Kennedy found work writing for radio, then used his training as a cavalry officer to secure a job as a fencing trainer and fencing stunt doubles in films. That lead to Kennedy being hired to write for a television program with a fencing theme for John Wayne's Batjac productions. Although the TV program was never produced it led the young writer to write screenplays for a number of Batjac films starting with the 1956 film Seven Men from Now. In the 1960s, after also becoming a film director, Kennedy moved on to write for western television programs.

American screenwriter and director, particularly of Westerns. The son of performers, he was part of their act 'The Dancing Kennedys" from infancy. He served in World War II as a cavalry officer and was highly decorated. After the war, he joined the Pasadena Community Playhouse, but was ousted after one play as an actor for missing rehearsal. He found a job writing radio programs such as "Hash Knife Hartley" and "The Used Story Lot", then used his army fencing training to land work as a stunt fencer in films. Kennedy was hired to write thirteen scripts for a proposed television program, "Juan and Diablo", with plans for Batjac contract player Pedro Gonzalez Gonzalez to star. The show was never produced, but Kennedy was kept on at Batjac to write films for producer John Wayne (I). His first, 'Seven Men From Now (1956)' was a superb Western, the first of the esteemed collaboration between director Budd Boetticher and star Randolph Scott (I). Kennedy wrote most of that series, as well as a number of others for Wayne's Batjac company, although it would be nearly twenty years before Wayne actually appeared in the film of a Kennedy script. In 1960, Kennedy got his first job as director, on a critical failure, 'Canadians, The (1961)'. He turned to television where he wrote and directed episodes of '"Lawman" (1958)', '"Virginian, The" (1962)', and most notably, '"Combat!" (1962)'. He returned to films in 1965 with the successful 'Rounders, The (1965)', later producing and directing the pilot for the TV series of the same name. His output since then has consisted of a number of popular Westerns, both theatrical and for television, as well as an occasional non-Western, but always with his trademark humor and stylish dialogue.