Enlisted in the US Army during the filming of his first movie, Fearless Fagan (1952). He was stationed in Germany and worked as an entertainment NCO while setting up celebrity-styled shows for the USO. While there, he also played in several episodes of the syndicated series Flash Gordon (1954) with a nearly all-German crew.
To the chagrin of his fundamentalist minister father, he hitchhiked
to Hollywood at age 15 to try his luck. He became ill and had to return
home, but moved back to Los Angeles after his father's death a few years
later.
Was originally set to appear in Rebel Without a Cause (1955) as one of the gang members, but was out of the picture after the cast was scaled back. He does, though, appear in a wardrobe test that is included as an extra on the film's Blu-ray release.
Although they barely got to know each other during the shooting of Attack of the Puppet People (1958), he and Laurie Mitchell became close friends many years later when author Mike Barnum reunited them around 2006. The two co-stars remained close until Kenny's death.
Semi-retired in Florida, he appeared at autograph and sci-fi/horror conventions on occasion.