Kennard was known as the "filibuster champion" for once having filibustered for 29 hours and 22 minutes, not stopping until he had the votes he needed to create the University of Texas at Arlington.
Kennard also championed cigarette taxes dedicated to the acquisition and preservation of state parks.
Between legislative sessions in Austin, the liberal Democrat ran U.S. Rep. Jim Wright's office in Washington during Lyndon Johnson's New Frontier.
