In Memoriam: Brian Dennehy
Actor Brian Dennehy, whose career unfolded over more than 40 years, passed away on April 15, 2020. He was 81 years old.
Since he began acting in the late ’70s, he racked up over 180 film and TV credits. One of his most well known roles was in First Blood as the tough Sheriff Will Teasle, antagonist to Sylvester Stallone’s John Rambo. Later he gained a following for playing Chris Farley’s boisterous father in Tommy Boy.
A Bridgeport, CT native, Dennehy was born on July 9, 1938. He attended Columbia University where he earned a BA in history, then moved on to Yale to study drama. In 1977, he booked several gigs, doing guest spots on shows like Kojak, Serpico, and M*A*S*H. Some of his early film roles included Semi-Tough alongside Burt Reynolds and 10 with Dudley Moore and Bo Derek – the latter played his love interest in Tommy Boy.
Establishing himself as both a leading man and authoritarian character actor, he became quite busy. Throughout the ’80s he starred in movies like Silverado, Cocoon, Legal Eagles, and Best Seller, while doing guest spots on TV in Dynasty, Star of the Family, Cagney & Lacey, and Miami Vice.
His work in the ’90s included Presumed Innocent, Murder in the Heartland, Birdland, Romeo + Juliet as Ted Montague, and Nostromo.
Dennehy was very busy in the 2000s starring in The Fighting Fitzgeralds, Summer Catch, Just Shoot Me!, Assault on Precinct 13, The West Wing, Our Fathers, he loaned his voice to Ratatouille as rat chef Remy’s father Django, and worked opposite Robert De Niro and Al Pacino in Righteous Kill.
Since the 2010s, he was in The Good Wife, Public Morals, Hap and Leonard, Tag, The Blacklist, and had a few projects in the works.
Dennehy was a five-time Emmy nominee for TV movies, including his performance as John Wayne Gacy in To Catch a Killer and later for playing Willy Loman in an adaptation of Death of a Salesman, and won a Golden Globe for the latter.
Also active on the stage, Dennehy won two Tony Awards – one for Death of Salesman and the other for Long Day’s Journey Into Night. He primarily performed on stage in Chicago, but also worked on Broadway and in Dublin and Ontario.
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In Memoriam: Brian Dennehy
Actor Brian Dennehy, whose career unfolded over more than 40 years, passed away on April 15, 2020. He was 81 years old.
Since he began acting in the late ’70s, he racked up over 180 film and TV credits. One of his most well known roles was in First Blood as the tough Sheriff Will Teasle, antagonist to Sylvester Stallone’s John Rambo. Later he gained a following for playing Chris Farley’s boisterous father in Tommy Boy.
A Bridgeport, CT native, Dennehy was born on July 9, 1938. He attended Columbia University where he earned a BA in history, then moved on to Yale to study drama. In 1977, he booked several gigs, doing guest spots on shows like Kojak, Serpico, and M*A*S*H. Some of his early film roles included Semi-Tough alongside Burt Reynolds and 10 with Dudley Moore and Bo Derek – the latter played his love interest in Tommy Boy.
Establishing himself as both a leading man and authoritarian character actor, he became quite busy. Throughout the ’80s he starred in movies like Silverado, Cocoon, Legal Eagles, and Best Seller, while doing guest spots on TV in Dynasty, Star of the Family, Cagney & Lacey, and Miami Vice.
His work in the ’90s included Presumed Innocent, Murder in the Heartland, Birdland, Romeo + Juliet as Ted Montague, and Nostromo.
Dennehy was very busy in the 2000s starring in The Fighting Fitzgeralds, Summer Catch, Just Shoot Me!, Assault on Precinct 13, The West Wing, Our Fathers, he loaned his voice to Ratatouille as rat chef Remy’s father Django, and worked opposite Robert De Niro and Al Pacino in Righteous Kill.
Since the 2010s, he was in The Good Wife, Public Morals, Hap and Leonard, Tag, The Blacklist, and had a few projects in the works.
Dennehy was a five-time Emmy nominee for TV movies, including his performance as John Wayne Gacy in To Catch a Killer and later for playing Willy Loman in an adaptation of Death of a Salesman, and won a Golden Globe for the latter.
Also active on the stage, Dennehy won two Tony Awards – one for Death of Salesman and the other for Long Day’s Journey Into Night. He primarily performed on stage in Chicago, but also worked on Broadway and in Dublin and Ontario.
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