James 'Radio' Kennedy, movie inspiration and T.L. Hanna fixture, has died

Show Caption Hide Caption Friends celebrate 71st birthday with Radio James Robert Radio Kennedy celebrates his 71st birthday with friends at the Chick-Fil-A on Greenville Street in Anderson on Tuesday. One drove from Minnesota after being invited at a Hanna football game three weeks ago to his birthday.

James "Radio" Kennedy, the inspiration for a Hollywood movie and a man described as "in his element when spreading joy," died early Sunday. He was 73.

He'd been a fixture on the sidelines of T.L. Hanna High School football games for more than 50 years.

He formed a bond with his community that reached far beyond Anderson.

"He was just a fine, fine man," said former Hanna football coach Harold Jones. "We all loved him. We will miss him incredibly."

For decades, Kennedy was an unofficial 11th-grader at Hanna, where he kept vigil since 1965 and never considered himself on the brink of departure from the school he loved like the 12th-graders were. Once quiet and overlooked, he became one of Anderson's most famous residents.

The 2003 film "Radio," starring Cuba Gooding Jr. in the title role, focuses on Kennedy's relationship with Jones, portrayed by Ed Harris. The film takes some dramatic license and compresses decades of time into a single football season, but it's regarded as truthfully telling the story of friendship and a town's acceptance of a man with intellectual disabilities and a warm smile.

It showed just a small bit of Kennedy's personality, said Josh Allen, Kennedy's great-nephew.

"The other 80% that people who never met him didn't see, they'd have loved that, too," Allen said.

Kennedy loved sports and rooted for many teams. He was invited to attend practices for the Carolina Panthers and made a bond with Clemson University's football team, but his true love was Hanna and the students there, said Allen and Jackie Kennedy, the niece who cared for Radio since 2011.

The school felt the same about him, said Kyle Newton, a spokesman for Anderson School District 5.

"Radio was the heart and soul of T.L. Hanna for over 50 years, and the impact he made in our community can't be overstated," Newton said in a statement. "He will be missed, but his legacy will live on in the countless lives he touched."

'Love and compassion can change lives': Memories of James Kennedy, an inspiration and a celebrity

Everyone who knew Kennedy at school has a story about him that will make you smile, former Hanna principal Sheila Hilton wrote on the Yellow Jackets Facebook page. Some remember the time he ate a cooler full of sandwiches that had been tucked away on a bus for the football team. Others talk about his ability to name the mascot of virtually every team in South Carolina.

The passion he held and the love he inspired have often been cited.

Funeral plans announced: James 'Radio' Kennedy to lie in state at T.L. Hanna High School

Jones said he cherished his time with Kennedy, and he said their being able to share their story with the world made a difference in people's lives.

Until recently, the pair had kept up a regular schedule of volunteer work. And even facing health problems, Kennedy led the Hanna football team onto the field at least twice this season by riding in a golf cart.

Kennedy also appeared regularly for other sports teams and at other school events, even at schools besides Hanna.

More: Woman who raised James "Radio" Kennedy dies

More: Radio still tuned into Anderson

As long as his health permitted, Kennedy remained a fixture in the community. Just days before Christmas 2016, when he heard that the Salvation Army was struggling to raise money during its holiday kettle campaign, he and Jones stood together in the bitter cold for hours outside Sam's Club on Liberty Highway.

"I'm trying to stay warm," Kennedy said then, "and help folks if I can."

Their efforts that day — as hundreds stopped for photos with "Radio" and then donated to the kettle — helped sustain the Salvation Army's work for weeks.

He got his nickname "Radio" because he always carried a transistor radio, said Carolyn Dawkins. She worked in the Belk department store annex in the early 1970s, when Kennedy would come by several times a week to talk high school sports with the store manager, Glenn New, who had kids in school.

"His story is amazing," Dawkins said. "How someone like Radio at that time — he was challenged, and he touched a lot of people's lives. He was still having fun."

Kennedy didn't talk much unless you got him going about local sports, but his smile was infectious and he was always a kind man, Dawkins said.

"So many people loved him," said Kennedy's niece and caregiver, Jackie Kennedy.

McDougald Funeral Home announced late Sunday that Kennedy's body will lie in state at T.L. Hanna High from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. Friday. A funeral for him will be Saturday at 2 p.m. at the Civic Center of Anderson.

He was described by former Independent Mail journalist Jon Solomon as "in his element when spreading joy." There might be no better description of the man with the big, always-ready smile.

Hilton, the former principal, wrote that it was "destiny" for Radio Kennedy to find a home on the football field all those years ago.

"He was without a Harvard degree or Pulitzer Prize or professional sports contract, but his fame surpassed all those accolades," Hilton wrote. "And the story is simple: love and compassion can change lives. It has changed his, and, in return, he has changed ours. And we are better people for having known him."

"Fun facts" about Radio listed on Anderson School District Five's website in an article written by former Hanna principal Sheila Hilton:

Came to T.L. Hanna in 1965

Was always a junior (the highest grade he can be without having to graduate)

Member of the NJROTC

Got the nickname "Radio" because he was always seen carrying a transistor radio

Lived with his niece Jackie and his younger brother "Cool Rock," George Allan Kennedy

Loved to go to Friday night home football games and home basketball games

Bowled on Tuesdays with the Rainbow Gang. This was the only day he didn't ride the bus to and from school

Coach Harold Jones remained active in Radio’s life. They supported the Salvation Army and spent several Saturdays during the year at the local Sam’s Club collecting donations

More: Radio, Coach Jones ring bell for Salvation Army in Anderson