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ULTURE MATTERS
Brian Dennehy, veteran actor known for roles in 'Tommy Boy' and 'First Blood,' dies at 81
"Larger than life, generous to a fault, a proud and devoted father and grandfather, he will be missed by his wife Jennifer, family and many friends," his daughter said.
Image: Brian Dennehy
Brian Dennehy during the Broadway opening night performance of 'Love Letters' at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre on Sept. 18, 2014 in New York City.Walter McBride / WireImage file
April 16, 2020, 10:46 AM MST / Updated April 16, 2020, 12:34 PM MST
By David K. Li
Veteran actor Brian Dennehy died Wednesday night from natural causes that were not coronavirus-related, his daughter announced Thursday.
He was 81.
"Larger than life, generous to a fault, a proud and devoted father and grandfather, he will be missed by his wife Jennifer, family and many friends," Elizabeth Dennehy posted in a statement on Twitter.
Elizabeth Dennehy
@dennehyeliza
It is with heavy hearts we announce that our father, Brian passed away last night from natural causes, not Covid-related. Larger than life, generous to a fault, a proud and devoted father and grandfather, he will be missed by his wife Jennifer, family and many friends.
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The barrel-chested, prolific actor had many movie roles, including in “Tommy Boy,” “First Blood” and “Cocoon,” but won acclaim on stage, particularly for “Death of a Salesman” on Broadway in 1999.
He won another best actor Tony in 2003 for "Long Day's Journey into Night."
In addition to those two Tony Awards, Dennehy took life’s final bow with one Golden Globe win, a SAG Award and five Emmy nominations.
Broadway giant Lin-Manuel Miranda said he'll always remember Dennehy's "heartbreaking" portrayal of Willy Loman in "Death of a Salesman."
"Was lucky enough to see Brian Dennehy twice on stage, masterful in Love Letters, and monumentally heartbreaking in Death Of A Salesman. A colossus. What a loss," the "Hamilton" writer and actor tweeted.
Dennehy, who stood 6-foot-3, often played figures of authority with a stubborn streak.
He skillfully played small-town sheriff Will Teasle in "Rambo," showing no sensitivity to a troubled veteran played by Sylvester Stallone.
The larger-than-life actor also captured the intense, single-mindedness of Indiana University basketball coach Bobby Knight in the movie adaptation of "A Season on the Brink."
Tributes to him included a post from screenwriter and TV producer Dan Fogelman, who wrote: "A writing question I commonly get is 'do you picture an actor as you are writing a character?' Even though I never worked with him, I can’t tell you how many times I’ve imagined Brian Dennehy in my mind’s eye as I write something. A true powerhouse actor."
Despite Dennehy's serious stage bona fides, he may be best known to much of the movie-going public as Big Tom, the father of Chris Farley's Tommy in the 1995 comedy "Tommy Boy."
"So sad this wonderful man has passed," Peter Segal, director of "Tommy Boy," tweeted. "Brian was a kind, gentle person with incredible talent. I will miss Big Tom Callahan."
Mia Farrow
✔
@MiaFarrow
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.
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Actress Mia Farrow posted a picture of her puppy enjoying quality backstage time with the "magnificent" Dennehy when they were in "Love Letters."
"Just devastated to learn that the magnificent Brian Dennehy has died," she wrote. "And there are few friends as valued in my life."
I liked him in "Silverado".
PP