He began life as an office boy, largely educated himself and began lecturing and writing early. He later became an actor, press agent, and theatrical business manager. This led to the production of dramas for the stage with which he combined the writing of short stories, critical articles and poems. He taught for several years at Bennett Junior College in Millbrook, New York. He retired in Los Angeles.

After 1905, he spent most of his time writing drama, including:

• The Servant in the House, his first success (1908)
• The Winter Feast (1908)
• The Terrible Meek (1911)
• The Necessary Evil (1913)
• The Idol-Breaker (1914)
• The Rib of the Man (1916)
• The Army with Banners (1917)

All of these dramas deal with problems of society and are of a serious, reforming tendency.

• World Within: A Cycle of Sonnets (1956) -- posthumously published collection of sonnets

In 1898, he married actress Edith Wynne Matthison. She was an advisor during the development of his dramas, acted in them, and also taught at Bennett Junior College.

• This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Rines, George Edwin, ed. (1920). "Kennedy, Charles Rann" . Encyclopedia Americana.
• Reynolds, Francis J., ed. (1921). "Kennedy, Charles Rann" . Collier's New Encyclopedia. New York: P. F. Collier & Son Company.
• "Online Archive of California: Finding Aid for the Charles Rann Kennedy papers, 1887-1947". oac.cdlib.org. Retrieved 15 September 2011.

• Works by Charles Rann Kennedy at Project Gutenberg
• Works by or about Charles Rann Kennedy at Internet Archive
• Charles Kennedy at IMDb
• Charles R. Kennedy at Find a Grave