Brian Dennehy

Brian Dennehy
Dennehy in July 2009
Born Brian Manion Dennehy
(1938-07-09) July 9, 1938
Bridgeport, Connecticut, U.S.
Occupation Actor
Years active 1977–present
Spouse(s)
Judith Scheff (m. 1959–1974)

Jennifer Arnott (m. 1988)
Children 5

Brian Manion Dennehy[1] (born July 9, 1938) is an American actor of film, stage, and television. A winner of one Golden Globe, two Tony Awards and a recipient of six Primetime Emmy Award nominations, he gained initial recognition for his role as Sheriff Will Teasle in First Blood (1982). He has had roles in numerous films including Gorky Park (1983), Silverado (1985), Cocoon (1985), F/X (1986), Presumed Innocent (1990), Romeo + Juliet (1996), and Knight of Cups (2015). Dennehy won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Miniseries or Television Film for his role as Willy Loman in the television film Death of a Salesman (2000).

Early life

Dennehy was born in Bridgeport, Connecticut, the son of Hannah (Mannion) and Edward Dennehy, a wire service editor for the Associated Press.[2] He has two brothers, Michael and Edward.[3][4] He is of Irish ancestry and was raised Roman Catholic.[5][6] The family relocated to Long Island, New York, where Dennehy attended Chaminade High School in the town of Mineola.[7]

A football scholarship paved the way to Columbia University in New York City, where he played football, earned a BA in history and became a member of the Sigma Chi fraternity. He went on to graduate studies in dramatic arts at Yale University. He played rugby union for Old Blue RFC. Prior to pursuing acting Dennehy worked as a stockbroker for Merrill Lynch in their Manhattan office in the mid 1970s.[8]

Career

Film

Dennehy is primarily known as a dramatic actor. His breakthrough role was as the overzealous sheriff Will Teasle in First Blood (1982) opposite Sylvester Stallone as John Rambo.

His earlier films included several comedies, like Semi-Tough with Burt Reynolds (in which he portrayed a pro football player), Foul Play with Chevy Chase, and 10 with Dudley Moore (as an Acapulco bartender). He later portrayed a corrupt sheriff in the western Silverado and an alien in Cocoon, both released in 1985.

Memorable supporting parts featured Dennehy in such films as Split Image (1982), Legal Eagles (1986), F/X: Murder By Illusion (1986), Presumed Innocent (1990) and F/X2: The Deadly Art of Illusion (1991).Prophet of Evil (1993)

Dennehy gradually became a valuable character actor but also achieved leading-man status in the thriller Best Seller (1987) co-starring James Woods. He also starred in the Peter Greenaway film The Belly of an Architect, for which he won the Best Actor Award at the 1987 Chicago International Film Festival. Commenting upon this unusual venture, Dennehy said, "I've been in a lot of movies but this is the first film I've made."

He went on to star as Harrison in the Australian film The Man from Snowy River II in 1988.

One of his most well-known roles came in the 1995 Chris Farley-David Spade comedy Tommy Boy as Big Tom Callahan. He also was reunited with his 10 co-star Bo Derek in Tommy Boy, in which she played his wife.

Dennehy had a voice role in the animated movie Ratatouille as Django, father of the rat chef Remy. He appeared as the superior officer of Robert De Niro and Al Pacino in the 2008 cop drama Righteous Kill and as the father of Russell Crowe in the 2010 suspense film The Next Three Days.

Dennehy starred as Clarence Darrow in Alleged, a film based on the Scopes Monkey Trial, the famous court battle over the teaching of evolution in American public schools.[9]

Television

Dennehy began his professional acting career in small guest roles in such 1970s and 1980s series as Kojak, Lou Grant, Dallas and Dynasty. He also appeared in an episode of Miami Vice during the 1987–88 season.

Dennehy in October 2003

Dennehy portrayed Sergeant Ned T. "Frozen Chosen" Coleman in the television movie A Rumor of War (1980) opposite Brad Davis. He continued to appear in such high-profile television films as Skokie (1981), Split Image (1982), Day One, (1989), A Killing in a Small Town (1990) opposite Barbara Hershey. He also played the title role in HBO's Teamster Boss: The Jackie Presser Story.

Dennehy had a lead role as fire chief/celebrity dad Leslie "Buddy" Krebs in the short-lived 1982 series Star of the Family. Despite his star power, that show was canceled after a half a season.

Dennehy was nominated for Emmy Awards six times for his television movies. He was nominated for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or TV Movie for his performance as John Wayne Gacy in To Catch a Killer, and he was nominated that same year in a different category, Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or TV Movie, for The Burden of Proof (1992). Other Emmy nominatations were for his work in A Killing in a Small Town, Murder in the Heartland (1993) and for the Showtime cable TV movie Our Fathers (2005), which was about the Roman Catholic Church sex abuse scandal. In 2000, Dennehy was nominated for an Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or TV Movie for a television presentation of his performance as Willy Loman in Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman which he had performed on Broadway. The performance did, however, precipitate a Golden Globe Award.

He has starred in the popular crime drama Jack Reed TV movies. He also appeared as a recurring character in the NBC sitcom Just Shoot Me!.

Dennehy was parodied in South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut (1999) and an episode of The Simpsons.

In January 2007, he starred in the episode "Scheherazade" of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit as a retired criminal who wants to reconnect with his daughter and admit his crimes before dying of a terminal disease thus eventually clearing a wrongfully imprisoned inmate. In April 2008, Dennehy guest-starred as a Teamster boss in an episode of 30 Rock.

Dennehy guest-starred in a 2009 episode of Rules of Engagement as the father of the main character, Jeff.[10]

Dennehy has also narrated many television programs.[11] He narrated Canadian-Irish docudrama Death or Canada.[12][13]

Dennehy is set to star in the upcoming Amazon Studios series Cocked which will costar Jason Lee, Dreama Walker, Diora Baird, and Sam Trammell.

Most recently Dennehy starred as Elizabeth Keen's grandfather on the NBC series The Blacklist.

Theater

Dennehy has won two Tony Awards, both times for Best Lead Actor in a Play. The first win was for Death of a Salesman (for which he also won a Laurence Olivier Award for the production's London run), in 1999, and the second was for Eugene O'Neill's Long Day's Journey into Night in 2003. Both productions were directed by Robert Falls and were originally produced at the Goodman Theatre company in Chicago.

On stage, Dennehy has made frequent performances in the Chicago theater world, and made his Broadway debut in 1995 in Brian Friel's Translations. In 1999, he was the first male performer to be voted the Sarah Siddons Award for his work in Chicago theater. He made a return to Broadway in 2007 as Matthew Harrison Brady in Inherit the Wind opposite Christopher Plummer, then returned again opposite Carla Gugino in a 2009 revival of Eugene O'Neill's Desire Under the Elms.

In fall 1992, he played the lead role of Hickey in Robert Falls's production of Eugene O'Neill's The Iceman Cometh at the Abbey Theatre in Dublin.[14]

In 2008, Dennehy appeared at the Stratford Shakespeare Festival, in Stratford, Ontario, Canada, appearing in All's Well That Ends Well as the King of France, and a double bill of plays, Samuel Beckett's Krapp's Last Tape and Eugene O'Neill's Hughie, where Dennehy reprised the role of Erie Smith.

In 2010, he was inducted into the American Theatre Hall of Fame.[15]

In December 2010, he returned to Ireland to play Bull McCabe in the Olympia Theatre of Dublin's stage version of John B. Keane's The Field.[14][16][17]

In 2011, Dennehy returned to the Stratford Shakespeare Festival in the role of Sir Toby Belch in Shakespeare's Twelfth Night. He also played Max in Harold Pinter's The Homecoming, which is the first Pinter work to be produced there.

In April through June 2012, he played the role of Larry Slade in the Eugene O'Neill play The Iceman Cometh at the Goodman Theatre in Chicago,[18] which he reprised in 2015 when the production, with most of the Goodman Theater production cast, was revived at the BAM Harvey Theater in New York City.[19]

In the comic book series Ultimate Spider-Man, that series' version of the villain Norman Osborn was rendered by artist Mark Bagley to resemble actor Brian Dennehy, as per writer Brian Michael Bendis' instructions.[20]

Dennehy is a 2006 album by the rapper Serengeti (real name David Cohn). The album's title track is performed from the point of view of "Kenny Dennis", a Chicago resident and avid sports fan in his 40s whose favorite actors are Brian Dennehy and Tom Berenger. Cohn, watching a broadcast of the Little League World Series in which the competitors were asked their favorite actors and athletes, imagined someone naming Dennehy as his favorite actor. He then used this as the starting point to develop the rest of the Kenny character, which has become a recurring alter ego for Serengeti.[21]

Personal life

Dennehy enlisted in the United States Marine Corps in 1958 and served on Okinawa[22] until 1963. In numerous interviews, Dennehy claimed to be a Vietnam veteran who served a five-year tour there and recounted harrowing tales of combat,[23] but according to the book Stolen Valor, Dennehy never served in Vietnam and never saw active combat.[23] The author of Stolen Valor wrote to Dennehy regarding the discrepancy, but received no reply from the actor, although Dennehy later admitted in an interview that he had lied about his service and apologized for it.[23]

He has been married twice and has five children including actress Elizabeth Dennehy.[24]

Filmography

Film

Year Title Role Notes
1977 Semi-Tough T.J. Lambert
1977 Looking for Mr. Goodbar Surgeon
1977 Bumpers Ernie Stapp
1978 Foul Play Fergie
1978 F.I.S.T. Frank Vasco
1979 10 Don the Bartender
1979 Butch and Sundance: The Early Days O.C. Hanks
1980 Little Miss Marker Herbie
1982 Split Image Kevin Stetson
1982 First Blood Sheriff Will Teasle
1983 Gorky Park William Kirwill
1983 Never Cry Wolf Rose Little
1984 Finders Keepers Mayor Frizzoli
1984 The River Rat Doc Cole
1985 Silverado Sheriff Cobb
1985 Cocoon Walter
1985 Twice in a Lifetime Nick
1985 The Check Is in the Mail Richard Jackson
1986 F/X Lt. Leo McCarthy
1986 Legal Eagles C.J. Cavanaugh
1987 The Belly of an Architect Stourley Kracklite
1987 Best Seller Lt. Dennis Meechum
1988 Miles from Home Frank Roberts, Sr.
1988 The Man from Snowy River II Harrison
1988 Cocoon: The Return Walter
1989 Georg Elser – Einer aus Deutschland Wagner
1989 Indio Whytaker
1990 Blue Heat Frank Daly
1990 Presumed Innocent Raymond Horgan 1991
1991 F/X2 Leo McCarthy
1992 Gladiator Jimmy Horn
1994 Jackaboy Blue Guggles McMillian
1995 Tommy Boy Big Tom Callahan II
1995 The Stars Fell on Henrietta Big Dave McDermot
1996 Romeo + Juliet Ted Montague
1998 Dish Dogs Frost
1999 The Virtuoso Unknown
1999 Out of the Cold David Bards
1999 Silicon Towers Unknown
2001 Summer Catch John Schiffner
2001 Three Blind Mice Matthew Hope
2002 Stolen Summer Father Kelly
2002 Code Yellow: Hospital at Ground Zero Narrator
2002 Drawing First Blood Himself Short film
2004 She Hate Me Chairman Billy Church
2005 Assault on Precinct 13 Jasper O'Shea
2005 Tommy Boy: Behind the Laughter Himself Short film
2005 10th and Wolf Horvath
2006 The Ultimate Gift Gus
2006 Everyone's Hero Babe Ruth Voice
2007 Ratatouille Django Voice
2007 War Eagle, Arkansas Unknown
2008 Righteous Kill Lt. Hingus
2009 Factory 9 Unknown
2010 Alleged Clarence Darrow
2010 The Next Three Days George Brennan
2010 Meet Monica Velour Pop Pop
2010 Every Day Ernie
2011 The Big Year Raymond Harris
2013 The Challenger Chairman William Rogers
2015 Knight of Cups Joseph
2018 The Seagull Sorin
2018 Tag Mr. Cilliano

Television films

Year Title Role Notes
1977 Johnny, We Hardly Knew Ye Longshoreman
1977 It Happened at Lakewood Manor Fire Chief
1978 A Real American Hero Buford Pusser
1978 Ruby and Oswald George Paulsen
1978 A Death in Canaan Barney Parsons
1979 Dummy Ragoti
1979 The Jericho Mile Dr. D
1979 Silent Victory: The Kitty O'Neil Story Mr. O'Neil
1980 A Rumor of War Sgt. Ned Coleman
1980 The Seduction of Miss Leona Bliss Dawson
1981 Skokie Chief Arthur Buchanan
1981 Fly Away Home Tim Arnold
1983 I Take These Men Phil Zakarian
1983 Blood Feud Edward Grady Partin
1984 Off Sides (Pigs vs. Freaks) Sgt. Cheever
1986 Acceptable Risks Don Sheppard
1987 The Lion of Africa Sam Marsh
1988 A Father's Revenge Paul Hobart
1989 Day One General Leslie Groves
1989 Perfect Witness James Falcon
1990 A Killing in a Small Town Ed Reivers
1990 Rising Son Gus Robinson
1989 Pride and Extreme Prejudice Bruno Morenz
1991 In Broad Daylight Len Rowan
1992 The Diamond Fleece Lt. Merritt Outlaw
1992 Teamster Boss: The Jackie Presser Story Jackie Presser
1992 To Catch a Killer John Wayne Gacy
1992 The Burden of Proof Dixon Hartnell
1992 Deadly Matrimony Sgt. Jack Reed
1993 Foreign Affairs Chuck Mumpson
1993 Prophet of Evil: The Ervil LeBaron Story Ervil LeBaron
1993 Final Appeal Perry Sundquist
1993 Jack Reed: Badge of Honor Jack Reed
1993 Murder in the Heartland John McCarthur
1994 Leave of Absence Sam
1994 Midnight Movie James Boyce
1994 Jack Reed: A Search for Justice Jack Reed
1995 Jack Reed: One of Our Own Jack Reed
1995 Shadow of a Doubt Charlie Sloan
1996 Jack Reed: A Killer Among Us Jack Reed
1996 Jack Reed: Death and Vengeance Jack Reed
1996 A Season in Purgatory Gerald Bradly
1996 Undue Influence Paul Madriani
1997 Indefensible: The Truth About Edward Brannigan Eddie Brannigan
1998 Voyage of Terror U.S. President
1998 Thanks of a Grateful Nation Senator Riegle
1999 Netforce Lowell Davidson
1999 Sirens Lt. Denby
1999 Too Rich: The Secret Life of Doris Duke Louis Bromfield
2000 Fail Safe Gen. Bogan
2000 Death of a Salesman Willy Loman
2001 Warden of Red Rock Sheriff Church
2002 A Season on the Brink Bobby Knight
2003 The Crooked E: The Unshredded Truth About Enron Mr. Blue
2003 The Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone Tom Stone
2004 Category 6: Day of Destruction Andy Goodman
2005 Our Fathers Father Dominic Spagnolia
2005 The Exonerated Gary Gauger
2007 Marco Polo Kublai Khan
2013 The Challenger Chairman William Rogers
2017 A Very Merry Toy Store Joe Haggarty

Television series

Year Title Role Notes
1977 Kojak Peter Connor Episode: "The Godson"
1977 Serpico Jody Episode: "Sanctuary"
1977 Lanigan's Rabbi Burton Tree Episode: "Corpse of the Year"
1977 Police Woman Burrows Episode: "Shadow of Doubt"
1977 Lou Grant Wilson Episode: "Nazi"
1977 M*A*S*H Ernie Connors Episode: "Souvenirs"
1977 Lucan Fisher Episode: "Listen to the Heart Beat"
1977 The Fitzpatricks Coach Hatfield Episode: "Superman"
1978 Pearl Sgt. Otto Chain 3 episodes
1978 Dallas Luther Frick Episode: "Winds of Vengeance"
1978 The Tony Randall Show Brian Sr. Episode: "Bobby and Brian"
1979 Big Shamus, Little Shamus Arnie Sutter 2 episodes
1979 Knots Landing James Cargill Episode: "Chance of a Lifetime"
1981 Dynasty D.A. Jake Dunham 5 episodes
1981 Darkroom Roland Episode: "Make-Up"
1982 Star of the Family Leslie Krebs 10 episodes
1984 Cagney and Lacey Michael MacGruder Episode: "The Bounty Hunter"
1984 Hunter Dr. Bolin Episode: "Hunter"
1985 Evergreen Matthew Malone 3 episodes
1985 The Last Place on Earth Frederick Cook 2 episodes
1985 Tall Tales & Legends Buffalo Bill Episode: "Annie Oakley"
1987 Miami Vice Reverend Billy Bob Proverb Episode: "Amen...Send Money"
1987 Faerie Tale Theatre King Neptune (Narrator) (voice) Episode: "The Little Mermaid"
1994 Birdland Dr. Brian McKenzie 4 episodes
1996 Dead Man's Walk Major Chvallie 2 episodes
1996 Nostromo Joshua C. Holyrod 4 episodes
1998–2003 Just Shoot Me Red Finch 4 episodes
2001 The Fighting Fitzgeralds Fitzgerald 10 episodes
2005 The West Wing Senator Rafe Framingham Episode: "Ninety Miles Away"
2006 The 4400 Mitch Baldwin Episode: "Blink"
2007 Law and Order: Special Victims Unit Judson Episode: "Scheherezade"
2007 Masters of Science Fiction Bedzyk Episode: "The Discarded"
2008 30 Rock Mickey J Episode: "Sandwich Day"
2009 Rules of Engagement Roy Episode: "Dad's Visit"
2010 Rizzoli & Isles Detective Kenny Leahy Episode: "Boston Strangler Redux"
2012 The Good Wife Bucky 2 episodes
2013 The Big C Mr. Tolkey Episode: "The Finale"
2015 Public Morals Joe Patton 8 episodes
2016–2018 The Blacklist Dom 4 episodes
2017 Hap and Leonard Sheriff Valentine Otis 6 episodes

Awards and nominations

Year Association Category Nominated work Result
1990 Primetime Emmy Awards Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie A Killing in a Small Town Nominated
1992 Primetime Emmy Awards Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie The Burden of Proof Nominated
1992 Primetime Emmy Awards Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie To Catch a Killer Nominated
1993 Primetime Emmy Awards Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie Murder in the Heartland Nominated
1994 CableACE Awards Best Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie Foreign Affairs Won
1997 Satellite Awards Best Supporting Actor – Series, Miniseries or Television Film A Season of Purgatory Nominated
1999 Drama Desk Awards Outstanding Actor in a Play Death of a Salesman Won
1999 Satellite Awards Best Supporting Actor – Series, Miniseries or Television Film Thanks of a Grateful Nation Nominated
1999 Tony Awards Best Actor in a Play Death of a Salesman Won
2000 Primetime Emmy Awards Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie Death of a Salesman Nominated
2001 Golden Globe Awards Best Actor – Miniseries or Television Film Death of a Salesman Won
2001 Producers Guild Awards Outstanding Producer of Long-Form Television Death of a Salesman Won
2001 Screen Actors Guild Awards Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Miniseries or Television Movie Death of a Salesman Won
2003 Drama Desk Awards Outstanding Actor in a Play Long Day's Journey Into Night Nominated
2003 Tony Awards Best Actor in a Play Long Day's Journey Into Night Won
2005 Primetime Emmy Awards Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie Our Fathers Nominated
2005 Satellite Awards Best Supporting Actor – Series, Miniseries or Television Film Our Fathers Nominated

References

  1. ↑ "Person Details for Brian Manion Dennehy, "United States Public Records, 1970-2009" — FamilySearch.org".
  2. ↑ Dennehy, Michael. "Grateful that my parents came to America". NorthJersey.com.
  3. ↑ "Brian Dennehy Biography". filmreference. 2008. Retrieved April 10, 2008.
  4. ↑ "Brian Dennehy Biography". Yahoo! Movies. 2008. Retrieved April 10, 2008.
  5. ↑ Parsi, Novid (January 7, 2010). "Dennehy's Last Tape". Time Out. Retrieved June 24, 2010. I come from an Irish Catholic family,...
  6. ↑ Harmetz, Aljean (April 23, 1989). "FILM; For Brian Dennehy, Character Tells All". The New York Times. Retrieved June 24, 2010.
  7. ↑ "Brian Dennehy returns to Long Island". Newsday. February 14, 2013. Retrieved March 17, 2018.
  8. ↑ "Brian Dennehy '60 - cover story".
  9. ↑ http://www.mlive.com/news/flint/index.ssf/2009/08/brian_dennehy_fred_thompson_to.html
  10. ↑ "Exclusive: Brian Dennehy Lands "Meaty" Sitcom Role". TV Guide. 2008. Archived from the original on September 6, 2008. Retrieved September 4, 2008.
  11. ↑ "Brian Dennehy's IMDB profile". Retrieved March 20, 2009.
  12. ↑ "IFTA nominations for Farrell & Gleeson". RTÉ. January 8, 2009. Retrieved January 8, 2009.
  13. ↑ Ahearn, Victoria (March 12, 2009). "Brian Dennehy narrates film on Toronto's role in Irish famine". The Star. Retrieved March 20, 2009.
  14. 1 2 "The Bull in winter". The Irish Times. January 1, 2011.
  15. ↑ "Theater Hall of Fame Ceremony, Honoring Linda Lavin, Brian Dennehy, Michael Blakemore, Presented Jan. 24". Playbill. Archived from the original on 2014-02-22.
  16. ↑ Fintan O'Toole (January 1, 2011). "Real-life dramas? We don't do those. But John B Keane did". The Irish Times.
  17. ↑ Emer O'Kelly (January 23, 2011). "The ignoble passions of The Field fail to ignite". Independent.ie.
  18. ↑ Bullen, Robert (May 8, 2012). "Goodman's Iceman Cometh, Starring Nathan Lane, Chills to the Core". Huffington Post.
  19. ↑ Isherwood, Charles (February 12, 2015). "Review: 'The Iceman Cometh' Revived, With Nathan Lane and Brian Dennehy". New York Times.
  20. ↑ Brucie, Dylan (March 2007). "Ultimate Spider-Man". Wizard Xtra!. p. 117.
  21. ↑ "Serengeti on His Hip-Hop Metafiction Therapy Session 'Kenny Dennis EP'". Spin. 2012-06-18. Retrieved 2017-08-11.
  22. ↑ Ehrenberg, Nicholas (November 11, 2005). "Fake War Stories Exposed". CBS News. Retrieved 18 December 2014.
  23. 1 2 3 Burkett, B. G. (September 2, 1998). Stolen Valor: How the Vietnam Generation Was Robbed of Its Heroes and Its History (1st ed.). Verity Pr Inc. ISBN 096670360X.
  24. ↑ "Where Are They Now? TNG Guest Star Elizabeth Dennehy". StarTrek.com. July 10, 2012. Retrieved March 17, 2018.
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