RIP
Natural causes. (Non-coronavirus realted, thank God.)
https://www.ctinsider.com/local/nhregister/article/Actor-Brian-Dennehy-longtime-CT-resident-dies-15205770.php?sid=5baaacf72ddf9c545d737065&utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=CT_NHR_Insider#photo-19305706‘Tommy Boy’ actor Brian Dennehy, longtime CT resident, dies at 81By Tara O’Neill April 16, 2020 Updated: April 16, 2020 6:11 p.m.
BRIDGEPORT — Brian Dennehy, a Bridgeport native with an acting career that spanned decades, died Wednesday of natural causes, according to his family. He was 81.
Dennehy was born in Bridgeport on July 9, 1938. He died Wednesday night in New Haven.
Dennehy was known for his role in many films, including “Tommy Boy” and “First Blood.”
His daughter, Elizabeth Dennehy, announced his death in a brief statement via Twitter Thursday afternoon. She clarified that his death was linked to natural causes, adding that it was not COVID-19-related.
She called her father “larger than life, generous to a fault, a proud and devoted father and grandfather.” She said Dennehy would be missed by his wife, Jennifer, their family and many friends.
Dennehy had lived in Derby, according to city officials who said he was a “proud alumnus of Pack 3 Scouts of America under the legendary Cub Master Edmund D. Strang.”
“Please join Mayor Richard Dziekan and the entire City of Derby in expressing our deepest sympathy to the entire Dennehy Family, Hollywood and the theater world on the loss of this famous son of Derby and an icon in American entertainment,” a statement from the city of Derby said.
Dennehy attended high school in Brooklyn, N.Y., and got his first taste for acting by landing the title role in “Macbeth.” He attended Columbia University, where he also played on the university’s football team.
He spent five years serving in the U.S. Marine Corps.
His acting career started in the 1970s with a few guest roles on television shows like “M*A*S*H,” “Kojak” and “Dallas.” He landed a recurring role in 1981 on “Dynasty.” The next year, he starred as Sheriff Teasle in Sylvester Stallone’s “First Blood.”
He starred in several films throughout the 1980s and 1990s, including “Silverado” and “Cocoon.”
In 1998, Dennehy played the classic role of Willy Loman, the worn-out hustler in Arthur Miller’s “Death of a Salesman.” He won a Tony Award for his Broadway performance.
Dennehy won a Golden Globe for best performance by an actor in 2001 for the television movie “Death of a Salesman.”
Among the many roles Dennehy became known for was his portrayal of serial murderer John Wayne Gacy in the 1991 television movie “To Catch a Killer.”
In 2003, he won his second Tony for his role in Eugene O’Neill’s “Long Day’s Journey into Night.”
In 2010, Dennehy was inducted into the American Theater Hall of Fame.
The next year, he appeared on stage in a Samuel Beckett play, “Krapp’s Last Tape” at the Long Wharf Theatre in New Haven.
He was last on Broadway, opposite Mia Farrow, in 2014 in “Love Letters.”
Just a few years ago, Dennehy took the stage at New Haven’s Long Wharf Theatre again to star in another Beckett play, “Endgame.” At the time, he said it would likely be his last “big” production.
Dennehy is survived by his wife, costume designer Jennifer Arnott, and five children: Cormac and Sarah with Arnott, and three daughters, Elizabeth, Kathleen and Deirdre, from his marriage to Judith Scheff.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
