H. WESLEY KENNEY
IN LOVING MEMORY
JANUARY 3, 1926-JANUARY 13, 2015
"Days" Executive Producer/Director, 1967-1979
H. Wesley Kenney, a director who would become an Executive Producer of "Days of Our Lives", passed away on January 13, 2015 at St. John's Health Center in Santa Monica. He was 89. Kenney had suffered a heart attack on Christmas Eve after a visit to his daughter's home.
Harry Wesley Kenney Jr. was born on January 3, 1926 in Dayton, Ohio, the son of Minnie and Harry Kenney Sr. He acted in high school and college, then had plans to become a drama teacher. However, after graduating from Carnegie Mellon University's College of Engineering in 1951, Kenney began working as a director at the short-lived DuMont TV network, where he would direct up to 12 different live broadcasts per day. After DuMont stopped broadcasting in 1956, Kenney would go on to direct and produce soap operas. He joined "Days of Our Lives" as a producer/director from 1967-1974. He returned to "Days" in 1976 and was the show's Executive Producer (the first person besides a Corday to hold that title) from 1977-1979. He was later a Co-Executive Producer of "The Young and the Restless" from 1982-1987, and the Executive Producer of "General Hospital" from 1987-1989. While on a brief leave from "Days" from 1974-1976, Kenney directed the entire fifith season of the primetime hit "All in the Family", as well as the pilot episode of its hit spinoff, "The Jeffersons." In his later years, Kenney became a professor at the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television.
During his career, Kenney was nominated for 19 Emmy Awards and won 7, including two as a director for "Days of Our Lives" in 1974 and 1978, three as a producer for "The Young and the Restless" in 1983, 1985 and 1986, and two for directing an "ABC Afternoon Playbreak" special in 1974.
In a 2008 interview, Kenney recalled "Days" Executive Producer Betty Corday: "She was a delightful lady and we worked very well." When asked how he'd like to be remembered, he stated this: "An average guy, who with great luck, was able to be successful."
Kenney met his wife, actress Heather North when she joined the cast of "Days of Our Lives" as Sandy Horton in 1967. They were married in 1971. He is survived by his wife, Heather; four children, Nina, Wesley, Karen and Kevin; seven grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren.