The veteran stage and screen star Brian Dennehy has died at age 81. It was not reportedly COVID-19-related. Dennehy is beloved for his roles in 40+ films, including First Blood, Tommy Boy and Cocoon. He was nominated for six Emmys and a Golden Globe.
But the burly actor who launched his career as an old school macho man in classic TV shows like Dallas and Dynasty also won acclaim, and the Best Actor Tony for his roles in Long Day’s Journey Into Night and Death of a Salesman. In addition to the Eugene O’Neill and Arthur Miller plays, Dennehy had roles in Shakespeare and Chekhov classics.
He was inducted into the American Theater Hall of Fame in 2010. Tributes to Dennehy poured in from stage and screen. Lin-Manuel Miranda called him “a colossus.” Actor Michael McKean said Dennehy was “brilliant and versatile, a powerhouse actor and a very nice man as well.”
Mia Farrow wrote: “Just devastated to learn that the magnificent Brian Dennehy has died. They is no one i enjoyed working with more. And there are few friends as valued in my life. I took this photo backstage when we were in Love Letters. He loved my pup Bowie.”
James Woods tweeted that he was “devastated.”
He is survived by his second wife, costume designer Jennifer Arnott and their two children, Cormac and Sarah. He also is survived by three daughters — Elizabeth, Kathleen and Deirdre — from a previous marriage to Judith Scheff.