- Born
- Died
- Birth nameBrian Manion Dennehy
- Height6′ 2″ (1.88 m)
- Imposing, barrel-chested and often silver-haired Brian Dennehy was a prolific US actor, well respected on both screen and stage over many decades. He was born in July 1938 in Bridgeport, CT, and attended Columbia University in New York City on a football scholarship. Brian majored in history, before moving on to Yale to study dramatic arts. He first appeared in minor screen roles in such fare as Looking for Mr. Goodbar (1977), Semi-Tough (1977) and Foul Play (1978) and proved popular with casting directors, leading to regular work. However, he really got himself noticed by movie audiences in the box-office hit First Blood (1982) as the bigoted sheriff determined to run Vietnam veteran "John Rambo" (played by Sylvester Stallone) out of his town. Dennehy quickly escalated to stronger supporting or co-starring roles in films including the Cold War thriller Gorky Park (1983), as a benevolent alien in Cocoon (1985), a corrupt sheriff in the western Silverado (1985), a tough but smart cop in F/X (1986) and a cop-turned-writer alongside hit man James Woods in Best Seller (1987). In 1987, Dennehy turned in one of his finest performances as cancer-ridden architect "Stourley Kracklite" in Peter Greenaway's superb The Belly of an Architect (1987), for which he won the Best Actor Award at the 1987 Chicago Film Festival. More strong performances followed. He reprised prior roles for Cocoon: The Return (1988) and F/X2 (1991), and turned in gripping performances in three made-for-TV films: a sadistic small-town bully who gets his grisly comeuppance in In Broad Daylight (1991), real-life serial killer John Wayne Gacy in the chilling To Catch a Killer (1992) and a corrupt union boss in Teamster Boss: The Jackie Presser Story (1992). In 1993, Dennehy appeared in the role of police "Sgt. Jack Reed" in the telemovie Jack Reed: Badge of Honor (1993), and reprised the role in four sequels, which saw him for the first time become involved in co-producing, directing and writing screen productions! Demand for his services showed no signs of abating, and he put in further memorable performances in Romeo + Juliet (1996), as bad-luck-ridden "Willy Loman" in Death of a Salesman (2000) (which earned him a Golden Globe Award), he popped up in the uneven Spike Lee film She Hate Me (2004) and appears in the remake Assault on Precinct 13 (2005). The multi-talented Dennehy also had a rich theatrical career and appeared both in the United States and internationally in dynamic stage productions including "Death of a Salesman" (for which he picked up the 1999 Best Actor Tony Award and a Drama Desk Award), "A Touch of the Poet", "Long Day's Journey into Night" (for which he picked up another Tony Award in 2003) and in Eugene O'Neill's heart-wrenching "The Iceman Cometh."- IMDb mini biography by: firehouse44@hotmail.com
- SpousesJennifer Arnott(July 17, 1988 - April 15, 2020) (his death, 2 children)Judith Lee Scheff(April 20, 1959 - 1974) (divorced, 3 children)
- ChildrenCormackSarahDeirdre Dennehy
- ParentsEdward DennehyHannah Dennehy
- RelativesMichael Dennehy(Sibling)Edward Dennehy(Sibling)
- Playing men of power who in addition to being corrupt, are just plain mean
- Used to work as a stockbroker at the same firm as Martha Stewart. The two remain good friends.
- His younger brother is an FBI agent.
- He served in the US Marine Corps, but contrary to previous press releases never saw any combat nor was he wounded.
- Father of two adopted children: Cormack (b. 1993) and Sarah (b. 1995).
- His football coach and English teacher at Chaminade High School turned him on to both sports and acting. While there he played both tackle and the title role of "Macbeth".
- [in 1993, on his quitting drinking] I used to be a pretty serious drinker. Heavy in defiance of knowing my family situation, which is chock-full of alcoholism. For a long time I was a functional alcoholic, though it never got in the way of my work. But it affected relationships. I never killed anybody, but I made people unhappy, including myself and people who are extremely important to me, like my kids. It's easy to say I had a wonderful time and a lot of great years, and I did. There were some bad times, too. So that was not a major give-up. That time was due.
- At 68 years old I'm as interested now, if not more so, than I was when I was 24 or 25...[but] if you're sixty-something, pushing 70, the chances of you getting a tremendously fascinating part in the movies are very low, as to be almost negligible, or even in television. But in the theatre, there are still things to do, very interesting, very profound things.
- It took a long time for me to have any impact in the business because I didn't look like an actor, I didn't sound like an actor.
- I lied about serving in Vietnam and I'm sorry. I did not mean to take away from the actions and the sacrifices of the ones who did really serve there...I did steal valor. That was very wrong of me. There is no real excuse for that. I was a peace-time Marine, and I got out in 1963 without ever serving in Vietnam... I started the story that I had been in 'Nam, and I got stuck with it. Then I didn't know how to set the record straight.
- Semi-Tough (1978) - $100,000
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