Brian Dennehy Biography, Life, Interesting Facts

Childhood and Early Life

Actor Brian Dennehy was born on the 9 July 1938 in Bridgeport, Connecticut.

Education

Brian Dennehy graduated from high school then studied at Columbia University, New York on a football scholarship.

Rise to Fame

Brian Dennehy served in the U.S. Marine Corps before focusing on a career in acting. He did various jobs to support himself including working as a truck driver and waiter. In the 1970s he appeared in television shows, Lou Grant, M*A*S*H* and Lou Grant.

Career
 In the 1980s, Brian Dennehy was in Dynasty, Miami Vice and Rules of Engagement. He was also in To Catch a Killer (1992), Jack Reed, The Fighting Fitzgeralds (2001), Public Morals (2015). He was in the films Looking for Mr. Goodbar (1977). First Blood (1982), Gorky Park (1983), Silverado (1985), Legal Eagles, Presumed Innocent (1990), Ratatouille (2007), Righteous Kill (2008), Alleged (2010), Knight of Cups (2015) and The Seagull (2018).

As a stage actor, Dennehy was in Rat in the Skull (1985), Galileo (1986), The Cherry Orchard (1988), The Iceman Cometh (1990), A Touch of the Poet (1996) and Death of a Salesman (1999). He appeared at the Goodman Theater on a number of occasions including Hughie (2004), Krapp’s Last Tape, Desire under the Elms, Long Day’s Journey into Night, Death of a Salesman, A Touch of the Poet, The Iceman Cometh and Galileo.

On Broadway Brian Dennehy has acted in Desire Under the Elms, Inherit the Wind, Long Day’s Journey into Night and Death of a Salesman. He has also appeared off-Broadway in various productions including Conversations in Tusculum and The Cherry Orchard. He has acted at the Stratford Shakespeare Festival in Stratford, Ontario in multiple productions including Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night. In London’s West End, he was in Death of a Salesman which won him a Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor. In 2014, he was on Broadway in Love Letter (2014) alongside Mia Farrow.

Awards and Achievements

Brian Dennehy is the recipient of many awards and nominations, some of these include: a Tony Award: Best Actor in a Play for Long Day’s Journey into Night  (2003),  Screen Actors Guild  Awards: Outstanding Performance by a Male in a Miniseries or Television Movie for Death of a Salesman (2001) and a Tony Award: Best Actor in a Play for Death of a Salesman (1999).  In 2010, he was inducted into the American Theater Hall of Fame.

Personal Life

Brian Dennehy was married to Judith Scheff from 1959 until 1974. He married Jennifer Arnott in 1988. He has three children, including daughter Elizabeth (b.1957) who is an actress.