Brian Dennehy, the burly actor who started in films as a macho heavy and later in his career won plaudits for his stage work in plays by William Shakespeare, Anton Chekhov, Eugene O’Neill and Arthur Miller, has died. He was 81.
Dennehy died Wednesday night of natural causes in New Haven, Connecticut, according to Kate Cafaro of ICM Partners, the actor's representatives.
Known for his broad frame, booming voice and ability to play good guys and bad guys with equal aplomb, Dennehy won two Tony Awards, a Golden Globe and was nominated for six Emmys. He was inducted into the American Theatre Hall of Fame in 2010.
Among his 40-odd films, he played a sheriff who jailed Rambo in First Blood, a serial killer in To Catch A Killer, and a corrupt sheriff gunned down by Kevin Kline in Silverado.
He also had some benign roles: the bartender who consoles Dudley Moore in 10 and the levelheaded leader of aliens in Cocoon and its sequel.
Eventually Dennehy wearied of the studio life. "Movies used to be fun, ” he observed in an interview. "They took care of you, first-class. Those days are gone.”
Dennehy went to Hollywood for his first movie, Semi-Tough starring Burt Reynolds and Kris Kristofferson. Dennehy was paid US$10,000 a week for 10 week’s work, which he thought "looked like it was all the money in the world.”
Among his films: Looking For Mr. Goodbar, Foul Play, Little Miss Marker, Split Image, Gorky Park, Legal Eagles, Miles from Home, Return to Snowy River, Presumed Innocent, Romeo and Juliet and Assault On Precinct 13.
He played the father of Chris Farley’s titular character in the 1995 comedy Tommy Boy. He played serial murderer John Wayne Gacy in the 1991 TV movie To Catch a Killer and union leader Jackie Presser in the HBO special Teamster Boss a year later.
"I try to play villains as if they’re good guys and good guys as if they’re villains, ” he said in 1992.
He worked deep into his 70s, in such projects as SundanceTV’s Hap and Leonard, the film The Seagull with Elisabeth Moss and Annette Bening and the play Endgame by Samuel Beckett at the Long Wharf Theatre.
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. _ Mark Kennedy is at http://twitter.com/KennedyTwits By MARK KENNEDY AP Entertainment Writer Obit_Brian_Dennehy_94310 Obit_Brian_Dennehy_32955 Obit_Brian_Dennehy_14232
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